Chiang Mai in watercolor
jasonleow • 22 Sept 2025 •
ChatGPT-5 is amazing.
I ran my photos from Chiang Mai through the latest OpenAI model, using a bare bones “convert this to watercolor” prompt. What it spit back out looks like pure art! Just look at this:
In fact, I prefer these over the real photos now.
And it really captured Chiang Mai the way I knew it. Nothing too fancy like oil on cavas. Watercolor feels just right for what it represents - small town vibe, honest and unpretentious, not over-developed, and easy. Chiang Mai reminded me a lot what we love about Melaka and Penang.
As first impressions go, it’s one of the best of a city I’ve had.
Plus more.
The more important question is, What would it feel like to live there? 🤔
Comments
@Winkletter Great idea! I tried it here… made me realised some things I didn’t think about - https://www.perplexity.ai/search/pretend-you-are-a-singaporean-8dCB7WjIQxClhg9eV_wn8Q
Burning season?! That reminds me of my mom having to drive us through the smoke coming off of burning sugar cane fields. I’m sure that was good for my long-term health.
@Winkletter Oh yeah there’s burning season in Chiangmai, in Feb-Apr. Can get pretty bad. We visited many schools and all equipped with bigass air purifiers
You could ask AI to write a story.