You step out into the streets of Chiang Mai and gaze incredulously at the traffic weaving in and out of itself. You think to yourself, this is madness, riding a bike here is suicide; and then you see someone slowly buzzing past, carrying her infant son on the handle bars and three more family members on the back holding a dog in one hand and 50 bananas in the other (maybe that's going a bit too far). Imagine seeing that in England.

But, without a bike you are nobody here. It is a national symbol, and a convenient way to get around. It certainly allows you to tour the city at will and see everything. Fear nothing, the traffic doesn't move very fast and the 'scooter' bikes for hire are dead easy to ride.