Chiang Mai, Thailand, was recently named one of the top 5 travel destinations in the world. I love living and working here. I lived in Bangkok for 5 years and I did NOT like living there. Bangkok is a city of 14 million people and that is waaaay too many for me. Chiang Mai has only 3 million. I know that it is weird to say, but Chaing Mai feels like a small town when you have been living in a mega city like Bangkok for 5 years.
The people here are friendly and there is a lot of English spoken which makes it a wonderful travel destination for Americans, Brits, Australians, or actually anybody who speaks English. There are actually many English speaking people living and working here. There are hundreds of NGO's or non-government organizations stationed here and also many retired people also.
Since Thailand is a free country surrounded by countries that are not free, there are many refugees here and many organizations working with them as well. There are many Christian groups working here also.
Thailand is a safe country to visit with just normal precautions, those being, stay out of the dens of iniquity at night and stay sober. No country is safe in combination with alcohol, prostitutes, and the crime that shows up in those kinds of places.
Chiang Mai is loaded with good restaurants, inexpensive, but very nice hotels, great markets for shopping and a lot of interesting sights to see and places to go nearby. I can see why it is rated as one of the top 5 travel destinations in the world. And to think that I am fortunate enough to actually live here.
