Author: Sharon

We had a great time in Chiang Mai! This Nancy Chandler Map was an excellent resource that we can’t recommend enough! The Mango Lassi is also a “must try.”

We took the VIP Green Bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai. We paid extra to ride the VIP Bus but felt it was worth it to get larger seats, a drink, and a snack on the bus. Our tickets for the 3-hour-long trip were $9.00 each! The road was winding and a bit dusty. We were very impressed by the warm welcome we received at Nak Nakara Hotel when we rolled in a bit frazzled from the bus ride. Happily, we had time to rest awhile before we headed to the night market for dinner.

We ordered a Hot Pot! Once you order and pay 100 Thai Baht ($3.00 US) a steaming crock of broth is brought to the table. Here, Larry is waiting for the pot to boil😊!

Then we add the veggies, herbs, egg, fish, and noodles. It simmers for about 5 minutes and becomes a delicious soup!

Today we visited the White Temple. It’s difficult to describe and photos don’t quite do it justice! It’s kitschy AND stunning! The artist is perhaps Thailand’s version of Gaudi.

The same artist also designed Chaing Rai’s beautiful Clock Tower.

Back in town, we visited a more traditional temple with a very large Buddha.

We agree with those who told us that Chiang Rai is a smaller version of Chiang Mai–maybe Chiang Mai as it was a few years ago.

Tomorrow, we will contrast our visit to the White Temple with a tour of the Black Temple!

Our Thai cookery teacher Kong was also the driver of the van that picked us up at the hotel to transport us to the class. He was an excellent instructor and a pretty good driver too!

Our class was hands-on. First, Kong demonstrated the techniques in the classroom and then we each had our own station to prepare the dishes we selected at the beginning of class. We began by learning to make spring rolls.

Then took a trip to the market where Kong showed us various Thai fruits, herbs, and other ingredients. We didn’t imagine that there were so many varieties of eggplant!

Eggs and delicious fruits;

And grilled fishes!

Back in the classroom Chef Larry has organized the ingredients for his Pad Thai.

We made Yellow Curry and Panang Curry and both were fun and easy to prepare.

It was an international group as our fellow students were couples from China, the Philippines, England, and France.

We hope that we can recreate these dishes at home!

Tomorrow we take a three hour bus ride to our next stop–Chiang Rai.

We are making the most of our last couple of days in Chiang Mai before we head to Chiang Rai on Thursday.

We’ve taken advantage of the excellent value for massages here. Our favorite place is no-frills Fah Lanna near the night market. Larry is standing at the entrance feeling refreshed after our 2-hour treatment.

For 450 Baht ($14.27 US) we enjoyed a 1 hour Traditional Thai Massage and a 1 hour Reflexology Foot Massage! A treat!

Today was our last yoga class at Freedom Yoga. We highly recommend this studio for excellent instructors and challenging classes. Larry is outside the studio enjoying a post-yoga banana.

Just down the road from our hotel is a fun-to-explore paper-making studio. The young woman who works there is adorable and proud of her paper.

Friday, February 16 is the beginning of Chinese New Year. This street in the Chinatown section of Chiang Mai has already started decorating with Chinese lanterns.

Colorful carrots for sale at the street-side market today!

Another example of local street art. This somewhat creepy character is lurking behind the bushes. Well done though!

As much as we love the Thai food, sometimes we’re happy to find a sandwich and French Fries on the menu. We had a nice lunch at the Hinlay Curry House nearby.

Tomorrow we’ll try Thai cooking! We hope to learn some new menu ideas!

It’s Monday morning in Thailand and because of the time difference we’d have to jump out of bed and head for a local pub to watch the game. My Place Lounge opens its doors at 5:30 am as the kick-off is 6:30 am. Since we barely know who’s playing, we will miss the game this year!

Over the weekend we checked out some street art.

And found a restaurant version of a favorite Thai street food treat! This is Mango with Sticky Rice with the addition of a scoop of coconut ice cream from Cafe des Artists.  Very good but we still prefer the street food version.

We happened on this beautiful Buddha in the garden of a temple Saturday evening.

We discovered upscale MAYA mall that has opened since we were last here. It’s so posh that it made us think we were back in Hong Kong!

The flower arrangements around town both large,

And small, are lovely!

We have just a few days left in Chiang Mai. Enough time for another yoga class, a Thai massage, a cooking class, and a few more things on our list of things “to do” before we go!

Every first weekend in February, the Flower Festival is on in Chiang Mai. This is our third festival parade and it was just as colorful as we remembered from previous parades.

We can hardly imagine the number of flowers that are used in constructing floats like these–and there were many more!

This photo shows how closely the flowers are placed to make an image when constructing a float.

It isn’t a parade without marching bands! This one had a clever pirate theme!

There are also people representing various cultural groups dressed in traditional costumes.

So many attractive people dressed beautifully –many adorned with flowers. It’s a colorful spectacle!

Larry summoned a “Grab” car for a ride to Meena Rice-Based Cuisine Restaurant. Our Thai-born friend Tip recommended it highly and we are grateful for the recommendation!

The setting in the country-side is peaceful and in spite of the remote location, it is popular and very busy!

Larry’s herbal drink, butterfly-pea flower tea was pretty AND delicious!

My Rice Berry Herbal Drink was less pretty, but equally tasty.

Our beautifully presented lunch was a treat!

Minced spicy pork with egg and multi-colored rice:

Fried fish with cockle curry:

It was a 10-minute walk back to the main road and on the way, we I couldn’t resist stopping by some cute boutiques selling local crafts.

Our next stop once we got another “Grab” ride was further down the road to the sparkling Maiiam Contemporary Art Museum.

We enjoyed seeing works by contemporary Thai artists. For the next several days there is a special exhibition titled “The Poetic Language of Flowers.”

Coincidentally, we’ll see more flowers as tomorrow morning at 9:00 the Flower Festival Parade begins. We plan to be there for the flower-decked floats and the marching bands–an event that we’re looking forward to!

We took a Grab car (Southeast Asia version of Uber or Lyft) to the northern suburbs of Chiang Mai to visit a recommended restaurant called Chez Khao Soi. The lovely restaurant owner Samalaa does it all…prepares the food, waits on tables, washes the dishes, and shops for ingredients!

This was our first experience trying this special soup. Khao Soi is a Burmese-influenced dish served widely in northern Thailand and Laos. It’s made with egg noodles, coconut milk, curry soup base, and ours topped with a chicken leg. In preparation for our lunch, she brought out the condiments. Left to right–very spicy chili paste, pickled cabbage, red onion and lime. The dish below holds crispy fried noodles. These are all optional.

The kind owner took our photo right before we ate our lunch.

We loved this tasty dish and appreciate the hospitality of chef Samalaa.

We learned that her several small dogs were there to protect us from……..snakes! Yikes! The location on the bank of the Ping River makes it vulnerable to unwelcome pesky visitors. Happily, we didn’t see any.

While in the neighborhood, we visited the Monfai Cultural Center. It’s a “living museum” of reclaimed homes representing 5 regions of Thailand with textile and lifestyle displays. It’s in a very tranquil setting.

We love the idea of floating flowers in vessels of water. We see this everywhere.

We’re happy here and have added two more days to our Chiang Mai itinerary!

The weather has been quite warm but it’s just the kind of climate orchids love. We see these everywhere!

Over the weekend we visited the Lanna Folklife Museum to learn more about the Lanna culture. We especially enjoyed seeing the beautiful textiles.

The major weekend events are the Saturday Walking Street Market and the Sunday Walking Street Market–both evening events. Streets are closed to traffic and lined with clothing, souvenir, and street food stalls. Neither event is recommended to those who want to avoid crowds–it’s a sea of people from everywhere you can imagine jammed together in search of street food and souvenir bargains. Quite colorful!

We like trying different concoctions–these guys are making an omelet with tofu and pad Thai inside. More delicious than it sounds!

We’re careful what we eat watching closely to see how the food is prepared and following locals eating at the popular stands.

This is a view of Chiang Mai on the road that leads to Freedom Yoga, the studio I’ve discovered here for yoga classes. The city can be a little gritty around the edges but still with lots of charm!

Lots of upscale coffee shops, juice bars, and cafes have popped up since we were here 5 years ago. The Hinlay Curry House, a favorite next to our hotel was basically an outdoor restaurant covered by a large tent. Now, the owners have enclosed the space and added a bakery and coffee shop. Really nicely done!

Chiang Mai offers surprises around every corner! Still lots to discover here!

Our room at the Sakorn Residence Hotel costs us 1550 Thai Baht per night. In US dollars that’s $49.46! It includes a nice breakfast that begins with lots of fruit, coffee, juice, AND dessert (aerial view.)

Then, there is a choice of eggs, cereal, or rice and veggies with a fried egg on top. Larry’s pick today.

After breakfast, we trekked across town for a 10:00 yoga class. It’s a 1.5 hour class and a bit more intense than we’re accustomed to. The classes are upstairs in an old building. Many of the participants are also visitors and the classes are taught in English.

A photo with our teacher!

I spotted a blooming lotus flower today as we walked through the temple complex.

The pool area is very nice and breakfast is served in the open area behind the pool. The temperature is a warm 90 degrees today but mornings are lovely and even a bit chilly.

It’s almost the weekend for us and we are looking forward to the Saturday and Sunday markets!

Namaste!

We enjoyed our stay in Hong King but have a list of things we didn’t get to this trip. Here’s what we’ll save for next time:

• Eat an egg tart.
• Ride the tall escalator.
• Hike Dragon’s Back to Shek O.
• Ferry to Lamma Island.

The Hong Kong Airport is sleek and we easily made it in time for our Air Asia flight, direct to Chang Mai.

This is our third time in Chiang Mai and we’d forgotten how gritty and chaotic it feels initially.

Once we settle in, we remember why we like it here so much. Our hotel is near Wat Ket Temple so it’s pleasant to walk through the complex each time we venture out.

I found a yoga studio that I like about 15 minutes away and I went to a great class this morning. I hope to attend a every day or so. Classes cost 250 Thai Baht or about $8.00 US.

Night time in Chiang Mai is very colorful. The temples are lighted and lovely!

We’ve been to the grocery store for water and snacks, dropped off laundry, and now Larry is on his way for a haircut. We’re settling in!