After a long day of travelling full of nerves and excitement, we finally arrived in Chiang Mai and we were met by the lovely Shellie our local volunteer coordinator from Cultural Canvas Thailand. Chiang Mai greeted us with an intense heat the moment we stepped out of the airport. No one spoke in the first few minutes as we all just stood in awe of our surroundings. Chiang Mai is a picturesque northern thai city surrounded by beautiful lush green mountains.
As we travelled to the volunteer house thai culture hit us immediately. The temples are breathtaking. The presence of buddhism here is huge, there are over 300 Wats (buddhist temples), each one as visually stunning as the last. We arrived at the volunteer house where I will stay for eight weeks. We were greeted with warm welcomes from the international volunteers and are affectionally known as the Irish takeover/invasion as there are now ten Irish volunteers. 
Within an hour we all headed out for dinner where we would get to know one another and explore Chiang Mai at night. I felt almost overwhelmed by all that was going on around me. It was as if all of my senses were on overdrive. The streets were full to the brim with people in all directions,so many different colours, sounds, smells from the food stalls, arts and crafts, restaurants, bars and the lively night market. Chiang Mai is a city of warm and friendly people full of culture and diversity.
