Since moving away from Chiang Mai, I've found myself dreaming of all the mouthwatering dishes I took for granted when I lived there. Khao soi, som tam, curries, ice cream, salads, noodles, and of course, all those fiery chillies! So I've made a list of the most scrumptious, addictive, mouthwatering foods in Chiang Mai (in my opinion) and where you can find them all, of course!

Almost every night of the week I get takeaway dinners from my local no-name restaurant, which is seriously lacking in ambiance as well as pretence, and is bursting with delicious, simple, cheap Thai food. I know there are lots of these around, and other people have also been lucky enough to find their own special no-name place, which are usually conveniently located to them or just housing some friendly cooks and other interesting locals. Mine has become a bit of a special place for me that I have grown to appreciate quite profoundly, and expect to miss more than many other places once I leave Chiang Mai.

A street in the heart of Vientiane.

A few months after my first exhausting and educational visa run to Laos, I was shivering on an overnight bus

There's a mountain I can see from the roof of my apartment building. Sometimes it looks grey, washed out, and rain clouds cloak it with their misty pillows. Sometimes it looks dark and moody, while the sky blares orange behind its back. During the smog season, it's barely visible (we'll get to that later). Mostly it just looks like a big old mountain with bits of city scattered in front of it.

Once in a while, I'll take the trip up the mountain on my bike, and these are the sights I'll usually see:

A great place to get hollered at by people trying to sell you things.