Golden House, Chiang Mai

Leaving Chiang Mai today after one week here and heading towards Laos. Should reach Chiang Khong in 5h and cross the border to Laos from there, maybe today, maybe tomorrow morning.

The week in Chiang Mai has been full of activities.

• Visited the Sunday street market. Lots of different handicraft were sold but we didn't buy anything. I need to buy new flip-flops but the ones sold are too expensive and/or too small. One notable item was small cages of birds that one could buy to release (just 20 Baht). Is releasing a bird a good thing (because a bird would be released), or a bad thing because it encourages capture of birds?
  
• Visited several second-hand bookstores. Most of the books are in English (but there are also shelves dedicated to Finnish) and the selection is quite good. The books could be cheaper though, e.g. paid 280 Baht for a book about Ramanujan.
• Ate several 7-eleven hot-dogs, but also ate at night food markets, a university mensa, and a fancier restaurant that offers northern Thai food (e.g. rice with pickled pork)
  
• Visited a Thai boxing match. Our favourite Petsiam unfortunately lost against the Japanese Tsubasa. Did not gamble as it was said to be illegal.
  
• Did the "Flight of the Gibbon" i.e. riding a set of zip-lines through the jungle. Could have been more extreme...
  
• Did a 3-days/2-nights trekking in the hills north of Chiang Mai. Saw some orchids and butterflies; hiked though some rice and fruit plantations; hiked in a jungle; washed and then rode some elephants; next morning hiked some more to the altitude of 1060m where the temperature is cooler (pine trees start to grow there) and where the Lahu people had set up a village (didn't learn much about the Lahu people besides that they want to massage you for 150 Baht + tip); then played some Celebrity Heads with out fellow trekkers; next morning hiked down the slippery hillside; swam in a natural pool below a waterfall; did some grade 1 white-water rafting; then some bamboo rafting (the raft was almost entirely submerged as there was 7 of us on it); and then went back to Chiang Mai.
  
• Visited the Immigration Office to find out if we need a re-entry permit since we want to come back to Thailand in a month or so to catch a flight from Bangkok. We were told that we don't need a re-entry permit as citizens of both Hungary and Estonia can get a new visa at the Cambodian border (free of charge). Remains to be seen if it really works this way.
• Visited Doi Suithep up in the hills (1050m and nice cool temperature again). This temple hosts some relics of Buddha. Didn't see them. Are they stored in the golden pagoda?
• Visited the Chiang Mai zoo (100 Baht + 100 Baht extra is you want to see the pandas). Panda seems to be the symbol of Chiang Mai even though in Thailand no pandas live and the ones at the Zoo are a gift from China. The highlight of the Zoo are 3 hippos whose enclosure is so close to the walking path that one could touch them if one wanted. (Note that hippo is a pretty dangerous animal, being the 2nd most frequent killer of tourists in Africa.)