Chiang Mai is in the north of Thailand and well known for its culinary delights and rich history. This was our last destination of our month long visit to Thailand.
One would think by this point in our trip we would have bus travel down pat, but we learned another important lesson on our overnight bus from Ayuthaya…always ask what time the bus will arrive at our destination. If we would have known that our bus arrived in Chiang Mai at 4AM, we probably would have made a hotel reservation. Well, we didn’t:) So after getting dropped off at the station, we looked in our trusty Lonely Planet for the guesthouse that was most likely to be open at 4AM. We guessed wrong and arrived via tuk tuk at a dark guesthouse. However, the front door was open, and there was someone sleeping on the couch. So we decided to try to wake them up. After trying several times, we gave up as we decided it was kinda creepy waiting there for them to wake up to us watching him sleep!
So we started wandering the streets of Chiang Mai looking for an open guesthouse. Most places had their front gates pulled down and were dark. After an hour, we finally found a place that was open and would have a room available at 7:30. Score, so we sat with a cup of coffee by their pool waiting, relieved to put our huge backpacks down. Well, turns out that room had a broken toilet, so we had to wait until 10AM for their next room to be ready. Ugh, so we left our big bags at their reception and headed to the bookshop where we could kill a few hours. The shop had a great selection of second hand books, so we walked out with 8!!
Back at the guesthouse, they showed us the room, which turned out to be awful. So we shouldered our big packs and again hit the streets looking for a room. The next room we looked at had a mattress on the floor, bare teak walls, but a bathroom with a separate shower stal,l so we took it! Plus it was only $8 a night, and by this point I was exhausted. Funny how the luxury of a separate shower stall sold us on this room, but really wet toilet seats are not fun in the morning!
The rest of the day was spent resting in our room and splurging on a Thai massage in the afternoon. We had to get reading as after our nap we realized we had just added 5 lbs. of books to each of our backpacks from our morning splurge!
On January 3, Mike and I cooked for the first time in many months by taking a Thai cooking class. We were picked up in the morning and transported to the local market where our instructor taught us about the different types of rice, how coconut milk is made, and the difference between fish and oyster sauce. Then back into the truck with all our ingredients to travel to the farm where we would spend the day. Next, we put on our red aprons and straw hats for a tour of the herb garden to learn about the different herbs used in Thai cooking. Finally, it was time to cook. We would cook 6 courses, and Mike and I chose different dishes so we could teach each other later.
Now it was time to put our muscles to work to make our own curry paste by hand. All the ingredients were delivered to our workstations on platters, so we only had to do some chopping and minimal measuring. The curry paste was hard work to pound the chilies, herbs and garlic into a smooth paste using my mortar. My arm was tired by the time I got the right consistency!
Next, I made chicken coconut soup which was delicious! Then time to use my curry paste and make yellow curry with chicken. My stir fry dish was sweet and sour chicken, which was the only dish that I didn’t think turned out very well. But I did learn to scoop and flip while stir frying. My noodle dish was Pad Thai which was so yummy and, finally for dessert, banana in coconut milk. So much food and we got to eat it all too. By the end of the class, I was stuffed full of good food:) It was a really fun day learning something new, and our instructor was great. She kept it light, and her favorite saying was “Same same, but different same same.” I am so glad we took this class and can’t wait to try out these recipes at home.
The next day, Mike and I got wheels of our own to explore the surrounding area. Our guesthouse rents scooters, so we jumped at the opportunity. Mike drove and I navigated. Mike did an amazing job driving on the left side of the street and figuring out the flow of motor bikes that were everywhere! We only thought we were going to die a few times, and I think the locals keep their distance when they saw a white guy on a motorbike!
Our main destination was Doi Suthep, which was 16 km up a hill on a windy road. The ride to the temple was scenic, and it was nice to be out of the city. The legend is that a relic was strapped to an elephant that was then let loose. Wherever the elephant died would be the location for a temple to house the relic. Well, I guess the hill was too much for the elephant because it died at the top of the hill. The temple was packed, and it was neat to observe the worshippers walking around the center temple reciting prayers carrying incense sticks.
After visiting the temple, we continued uphill where the road got narrower and steeper, eventually turning into bumpy gravel. Our gas gauge started declining quickly, so we started to get worried about running out of gas as we were out in the middle of nowhere. We gave up trying to make it to the hill village and stopped at a little tiny open-air coffee shop instead. The coffee shop overlooks the coffee fields, and we checked out their small operation. The story is that the King of Thailand gave this land to these people in exchange for their promise not to grow opium, so they started growing coffee. The coffee was excellent.
                     
Time to head back and try not to use too much gas before finding a gas station. We did get passed by a motorbike with 3 guys on it all with cameras taking pictures of us. It was a bit scary to see the driver turn almost all the way around to get a good look at us! We did make it back to town, and the bike only took 2 liters of gas – faulty gas gauge! When we were back in our little neighborhood, I took the bike for a spin. Oh, it was so much fun to drive:) I might have to get one of these when I get home!
That evening, we decided to check out the night market for dinner and traveled on our motorbike. The night market had tons of stalls selling every souvenir possible, but they also had great food! For dessert I had a chocolate chip waffle with caramel sauce which was delicious! The ride back to the room was a bit more scary as the traffic was bad. We were on a 3 lane road of stop-and-go traffic completely surrounded by motorbikes who were swerving in and out in front of us. After too many close calls, Mike resorted to yelling out “White man on motorbike” which gave him some extra room to work with!
On January 3rd, we decided that we could afford to upgrade rooms as my back was killing me from the mattress on the floor. So we found a lovely room that was pure luxury! Huge so plenty of space for each of us to spread our stuff out, fast wi-fi in the room, and most importantly a separate shower stall with hot water! We were in heaven! Funny, what becomes important to us after 6 months of traveling:)
After a relaxing morning enjoying our fancy room, Mike and I continued our higher education by taking a Thai massage class. Thai massage is usually a step by step process and all of the ones that we have had on the trip have followed the same pattern. So since we enjoyed it so much, we decided that we had to learn!
We were the only two students, so we got lots of attention! I was the student first, so Mike laid down while the instructor went step by step through the leg portion while I watched and took notes in our instruction book. Then it was my turn to practice on Mike. The hardest part was figuring out how to use my body to support him while massaging. Then we switched. We continued this pattern for the rest of the body parts. Our instructor was great, plus she gave a really good massage, so both Mike and I liked to be the patients! It was a really fun way to spend the day, and now we can massage the aches from each other after long bus rides!
That evening, we got to go back to the night market and hang out with our friends Ross and Bonnie from the UK. We spent New Year’s eve with them and ran into them again in Chiang Mai. It was a fun night, and of course I had to get another chocolate chip waffle for dessert:)
After being in Chiang Mai for 4 days, it was finally time to tour the town’s historic temples. The first temple we visited was the oldest, dating back to 1296, and famous for housing a crystal Buddha. The crystal Buddha is believed to bring the rains each year, and I was surprised that it was only a few inches tall. The next stop was a teak temple that was very tall with huge wooden columns inside. I loved the dark, pretty wood. Our last temple of the day was Wat Phr Singh, and I liked this one the best because the monks were worshipping, so it was fun to observe them and listen to their chanting.
We cut the sightseeing short because it was in the 90’s, and I was overheating plus there are only so many temples you can visit in one day before you are templed out! For dinner, we found a Mexican restaurant owned by a Texas ex-pat and for the first time enjoyed amazing Mexican food! Oh, such a nice treat plus the margaritas were awesome!
Our last day in Chiang Mai was lazy as our bus didn’t leave until 8pm. Checkout was 12pm, so we stayed in our air conditioned room until the last minute before hitting the town. We did go back to the bookshop but were restrained enough to only buy the Australia Lonely Planet guide. Then we treated ourselves to Starbucks. They still had Christmas specials, so I was able to get a delicious peppermint mocha! The rest of the day was spent catching up on journals and reading.
Chiang Mai was amazing. I am really glad that we stayed for a little longer than planned as it allowed us to take two amazing classes and also rest our bodies after so many night buses. We are finding that the hardest part of traveling is truly the traveling itself!
