Author: Sharon

And we’re back in Atlanta! Our route took us from Chiang Mai Airport to Incheon Airport in Seoul, South Korea (4 hours flight time). From Seoul direct to Atlanta was another 12 hours. We landed around 8:30 a.m. today!

Incheon Airport in Seoul is slick and ultra-modern. In this photo the women in light blue are Korean Airlines flight attendants – they are really first-class.

Chiang Mai has a Smoky Season caused by farmers burning fields and brush to get ready for a new season of crops. The day we left the blue skies of previous days were replaced with a smoky haze. It was a good day to leave the city.

We had many fun and positive experiences during our extended stay. We like it there so much that we plan to return again one day.

It was crisp and chilly when we arrived in Atlanta but the blooming daffodils are a hopeful sign that spring is coming soon.

We already have a spring travel plan in the works…Easter in Poland! Thank you for following along!

Sharon and Larry

We have just one more day in Chiang Mai so we plan to make the most of it.

Larry went to the Smile Boutique Dental Clinic to get fitted for a tooth whitening kit. The clinic was ultra-modern and staffed by two dentists – a wife and husband team – graduates of LSU (Louisiana State University) Dental School.

It took two appointments – the first for impressions and the second to fit and deliver the bleaching trays.

The dentist, Dr. Amornporncharoen wanted this photo of Larry for her Facebook page!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WnurFKzVkooxA3ac7

Before each appointment, the assistant brought a bottle of water on a tray and took Larry’s blood pressure.

The entire experience was professional, positive and less expensive than doing it in Atlanta. Be on the lookout for Larry’s bright smile!

One day last week, we returned to a restaurant called Meena’s Rice Based Cuisine and had a good lunch in a lovely setting. The refreshing coconut nectar drink had a delicious sweet and smoky flavor.

There are street food stalls all over the city and we heard about one stand in particular. The owner is known by her trademark hat – she’s The Cowboy Hat Lady. Her signature dish is Khao Kha Muu – Thai-style stewed pork leg! The tender pork is served over rice with pickled vegetables on the side.

Another fun and funky food adventure was dinner at a small restaurant called Samurai Kitchen. It’s Japanese-style tapas! Each small plate is 59 Baht ($2.00). With 5 plates and 2 Chang beers, we spent $13.00.

We’ve talked to many travelers our age and older from the U.S. -especially those escaping frigid temps. People from Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Georgia, and California. Many are here for extended stays of one to three months.

One 70-ish woman named Amy from Michigan told us about her Kambo cleanse. For the procedure, several holes were burned into the skin on her upper arm. Here are scars:

After the skin is burned, a poison scraped from a Giant Monkey Tree Frog is placed into the open wounds. This causes intense and immediate vomiting and diarrhea which can last up to 4 hours. The purpose of a Kambo cleanse is to remove toxins from the body. Amy joked and said that after the cleanse she felt stronger, had more friends, and whiter teeth.

This is not something that we’re interested in experiencing! 😊

We’ve just had our last Thai massage of the trip and tomorrow we’ll take one more yoga class. Then, we’ll be working to stuff our belongings back into our luggage. Tuesday evening (Tuesday morning Atlanta-time) we will head to the airport for a late night flight.

Our one month stay was just about right in length. We’re looking forward to getting back to Georgia to see family and friends but will miss the warm weather and laid-back vibe here in ole Chiang Mai.

Cheers!

One final event in three-day-long Lunar New Year Celebration is a beauty pageant. We stumbled on the festivities on the way back from dinner and managed to get a prime seat with a good view of the stage.

The pageant began with thirteen contestants – shown below.

The contestants were getting their pre-show instructions in the photo below and one can hardly imagine how jittery their nerves must have been.

There were seven judges from local businesses. In the first phase of the competition, each young woman modeled her evening gown. Each dress was unique and quite beautiful.

A highlight of the event was performances by children in between each phase of the competition. This talented young boy sang. He had an amazing stage presence.

Perhaps every pageant has a talent component and this one was no exception. Most contestants performed various versions of a graceful dance in a lovely, colorful and flowing costume. Then each woman was asked a question to respond to. While we didn’t understand the banter, it was clear which answers audience-members liked as they clapped enthusiastically – more for some than others. The field of contestants was eventually narrowed to five and the winner revealed.

The new Miss Chinatown is Miss Passorn Bussadee. Her prize was 50,000 Baht ($1599.25)!

The event was well-organized and well-attended. Even though we didn’t understand all of the ins – and – outs of the competition, it was a very enjoyable evening.

Meandering through the variety of markets is entertaining. Whether it’s clothing, baubles, or a snack, there is much to explore and the prices are great!

These stands sell clothing designed and made by people from the Hill tribe region of Thailand.

There are fabric shops galore!

And this stall sells tasty watermelon and/or mango smoothies.

Larry likes these pancake-wrapped treats. Some filled with coconut cream and others wrap around a small hot dog with a ribbon of mayonnaise in the center.

The flower market sells bundles of all types a flowers. We bought the vase for $1.00 and the rose bouquet for $1.40.

The huge and overwhelming Warorot Market (also called Kad Luang) is a maze of stuff. The view from above shows a small portion of the market.

There is a stall selling wooden spoons,

ceramics,

plus nuts, teas, produce, fish, cosmetics, clothing, spices, dried fruits, paper lanterns, and much more.

For a serious or even casual shopper, it’s all quite impressive!

Chiang Mai has a large Chinese market area and it’s all set up for New Year Celebrations. Tonight it’s jam-packed with locals and tourists. Giant people-powered dragons wind their way through the crowds collecting coins for good luck.

Children are dressed in adorable outfits and getting their photos taken by proud parents (and at least a couple of admiring tourists). Many people wear red, festive clothes to celebrate,

This is yet another opportunity to try inexpensive, delicious street food. A large serving of Pad Thai cost $2.00 and Larry’s Thai Sausage on a Stick was 62 cents. The roasted squid was a bit more expensive at $3.00. There is so much variety!

Late this afternoon we went to Wat Suan Dok for a Monk Chat

…Boon, our host is a 24-year old Monk who has been training since he was 12-years old. He grew up in Myanmar but moved to Chiang Mai to study. The Monk Chats are designed to help interested tourists learn more about Buddhism and to help the Monks learn and practice English. We were in a group with people from Nepal, the Philippines, and Canada. We all learned a lot and had an interesting conversation! Boon did an excellent job of answering our questions.

This is an evening view of the Wat Suan Dok.

Daytime temps are rising into the mid-nineties and the humidity is very low at about 26 Percent. Our hand-washed clothes dry very quickly outside.

We’re looking forward to more New Year Celebrations on the actual day, Tuesday, February 5th! Hoping for fireworks over the Ping River!

The first weekend in February every year Chiang Mai hosts its Flower Festival.

Friday evening is the kick-off to the weekend-long celebration with an opening ceremony, a street market, a flower arranging contest and many more floral activities!

The costumes, music and dancing at the Opening Ceremony held in a large city park were quite spectacular.

Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. the Flower Festival Parade begins on the Nawarat Bridge.

A large yellow gorilla made of yellow chrysanthemums was quite impressive.

As was this float.

The costumes that represent various regions and cultures of Thailand are beautiful.

And, it wouldn’t be a parade without (many) marching bands!

There will be many more events around the city this weekend. We’ll be on the lookout for those and other activities as the Chinese New Year Celebrations are beginning. The city is buzzing!

Yoga classes begin at 10:00 so we’re out and about right after breakfast. The studio, Freedom Yoga is a 20 minute walk from where we stay.

For groceries, we can walk to the Rimping Grocery Store very much like a grocery store in the U.S. If we buy at least $30.00 worth they will deliver groceries to our apartment.

We found a newly-opened laundromat. For 40 Thai baht ( $1.28 ) we can wash a load and dry clothes for the same amount. Laundry detergent is available in small packets for 10 baht ( 32 cents ). It’s cheap and convenient!

In spite of conveniences like shiny laundromats and modern grocery stores we still see scenes around town like this one where a load of flattened cardboard is balanced on a bicycle.

I can hardly resist checking in at the bakery next door to see the perfectly curated pastries.

And at the end of the day, the sun looks like a brilliant orange ball as it sets just after 6:00 p.m.

We’re far from home but thinking about family and friends near and far! ❤️