Four Seasons Chiang Mai

Finally, in need of some rest and relaxation we decided to stay in for the day and enjoy all that the Four Seasons has to offer. We started the day with a leisurely breakfast in our room, then strolled down to the resort library. Open from 9.00 - 10.30 am each morning, or by appointment, the collection is small, but in a beautiful room which encourages you to sit and read. Computers and daily papers are available as well as select titles on Thai cuisine, arts and crafts, culture and nature. I spent some time looking at a great book "The vanishing tribes of Burma" and then finding a book on the birds of Thailand was able to identify a number of the birds we have seen so far. The bird watching list to date includes the following: Bittern (edge of rice paddies) olive backed sunbird (by the pool deck in the flowering shrubs) red whiskered bulbul (in cages everywhere kept as song birds) nutmeg mannikin (in flocks within the rice paddies), Thai green parrots (in cages at Baan Tong Luang) spotted dove and greater coucal (within the tropical gardens of the resort).

The resort is truly beautiful and the overnight rain has freshened things up. The gardens are gorgeous and very well maintained. We even saw staff sweeping both the top of the walls, in addition to the leaves of tall shrubs so that loose leaves were brushed down and within reach to be picked up and taken away. Such attention to detail is not often observed at home.

Late morning we spent some time poolside. The pool deck is gorgeous, and there is a lower deck area reserved for adults as opposed to families. This lower area hangs right over the edge of the rice paddies and as such is a relaxing place to while away the hours. After a swim and a drink poolside it was back to our room for lunch on our private deck, before heading off to the spa for the afternoon. Quite possibly a perfect day.

1.2.2013