The first of our two day trip tours from Chiang Mai was Doi Inthanon national park. With 5 stops, it provided some amazing views and some delicious drinks. The king and queen waterfalls were created by the damming of a river, the second (and third) stunning water features created by hydro-engineering in the 70's, after the large lake in Khao Sok national park. Despite their engineered origins, waterfalls are waterfalls and the spectacle of tons of water throwing itself off an 80 meter cliff will always be worth seeing in my book. The highest point in Thailand (a modest 2565 meters above sea level) was accompanied by a beautiful forest and the first genuine chill we've felt outside of overzealous air conditioning since our arrival in Thailand. The tour rounded out its mountaintop visits with the king and queen pagodas (the same pair as the waterfalls). Constructed and maintained by the Royal Thai Air Force, these palatial pagodas paired with proper pruning of prodigious plants provides a pleasant panorama (they had nice gardens and quite a view). 

On our way down the mountain we stopped at a Hmong market and a Karen village. Both groups of "highlander" mountain-based tribes have a libation of choice to ply on their visitors: whiskey for the Hmong and coffee for the Karen. 

Upon returning, we feared stepping foot in our room would lead to crashing for the evening, and we hastily dropped our bag to head to the Rachadamneon sunday market. This over-a-mile-long was (and continues to be) the best night market we have seen. Less repetitive in wares and food than others, we were amazed at the artistry from brass rings hand made from melted-down coins, to knit dinosaurs, and more traditional wood carvings and needlework. Once again both glad for and resenting the restrictive space of our limited luggage, we made do with a couple of rings for Kaia and some street food treats before heading home.