Back in Chang Mai

So I'm back in Chang Mai again. I would liken Chang Mai to Manchester, being the nations second city and based in the chilly North. Of course, when I say chilly, I mean slightly less, boiling hot than the South!
I know I'm meant to be in Burma now, but the travel agent, who booked my flight, made a mistake with the booking, and I leave on Tuesday now......or do I? This gives me more time to get to know Chang Mai.
Seen the night bazaar, seen the markets, seen the Irish bar(twice) and seen about 20 of the 300 temples, now that's a lot of wats!
The place is crawling with monks, of all ages. They only eat twice a day, before midday, and get their food off the people who wait on the street for them, at dawn. I missed them this morning, they were done by 7am. I'll make a more concerted effort tomorrow, honest.
You can't have too many monk photos!
On the less than holy side, the town is also crawling with middle aged, overweight, white men, walking around hand in hand with thai women, half their size. It's not the best formula for international relations, and no wonder some of the Thai guys resent us 'farang'.
So I'm keeping my nose clean and avoiding the pool bars, waving off the throngs of would be Thai brides.
I am, however, becoming quite adept at flying around on my 'Honda Dream' 100cc scooter and inhaling as much of the toxic tuk tuk fumes as possible. Integrating quicker than expected!
There seems to be no rhymn nor reason for the driving style here. If there's a gap, then just go for it! The most I've seen on one scooter is four. The groupings can range from entire families, a brace of monks or people transporting practically anything from furniture to livestock.
Needless to say, the Thais are quite a lightweight race. When I got on the back of my mate, Vincents, scooter......it bottomed out! I can only put that down to the large noodle dish, that I had prior to the ride.
The scooter, however, is the best way to get around and explore the city and beyond.
I've been in this hotel to long now and starting to feel like the major out of Fawlty Towers. To accompany me, there is a Manuel type character and a bloke/ladyboy who would probably assume the Basil role. I'm known as 'Mr.Mark'.

So not much in the way of photography at the moment. There's been a lot of scrub burning here, to prevent build up and, ultimately, forest fires. This, combined with the ever present carbon monoxide, gives the place a constant smog. Not condusive to photography.

I promise, I'll try harder in Burma.