Category: Chiang Mai, Thailand 2023

It was a day of contrasts! This morning we made a 35 minute trek along a busy street to check out Chiang Mai Central Festival Mall, which opened in 2013.  It’s huge and very upscale with five levels of restaurants and shops.  On the lower level there is a very modern grocery store (called TOPS) next to stalls selling Thai Street Food.

While at the Mall, we bought some small household items and had a lunch of Ramen Noodles and a Bento Box with Grilled Chicken at a Japanese Restaurant.

Later in the day, we visited Wat Ket.  According to temple information, construction on the temple began in 1428 and the chedi or pagoda contains a relic of the Buddha.

The last couple of days we’ve watched workers build an elaborate scaffolding structure made of bamboo poles.  It’s fascinating to see them work as they use short strands of rope to tie together poles; constructing the “rungs” as they go.  The workers are shoeless, clinging to the hot concrete structure with their bare feet.  We can’t decide if they are prepping for a repair or for cleaning but we are anxious to watch the progress.

We went inside one of the temples in the complex;  a wonderfully peaceful space.  It’s not visible in the photo below, but the red halo behind the head of the Buddha is actually a series of multicolored, neon, glittering lights!

Exploring the temple complex is like a treasure hunt…there is something interesting to wonder about around every corner.  On previous visits, the lotus flowers were always beautiful but this time, they’ve been replaced with pink plastic flowers (though I see in this photo that one real lotus flower is peeking through – hooray!!)  The lovely yellow blossoms are real and add a nice contrast to the lotuses (real and unreal.)

This pile of stone conceals some nearly hidden treasures!

By contrast, not far from the Wat is a restaurant called “Fried Pork”- as one can imagine, it’s not gourmet but the Bossa Nova music is good and the small plates of rice, pork, vegetables and egg omelets make for a pleasant light meal.

After dinner walked back to the apartment through Wat Ket and now, the scaffolding looks like it’s nearly complete – an amazing feat of ingenuity!  We are very anxious to see what happens next!  Stay tuned!

 

We wore our new red shirts to join the festivities!

Overnight, the city was transformed!  Streets were blocked; stages were erected; and food stands, just for these festivities were set up.  It was a busy scene!

Streets are lined with stalls that offer a wonderland of foods to explore. To be safe, we try to chose things that are cooked while we wait.  Most things cost between $1.00 and $3.00 so we can sample many small servings for very little money!

Small coconut pancakes – best eaten hot.

And, we are fascinated by these crispy “tacos” filled with marshmallow cream and topped with either grated coconut or carrot.  They are creative AND delicious!

We were lucky enough to encounter Nian, the Lunar New Year Dragon.  The legend says that he can be driven away by red colors, bright lights, and firecrackers. Lucky for us, there was plenty of red, noise and lights!

As we walked back to our apartment, we saw fireworks and admired the colorful lights of the restaurants that line the Ping River.  We feel happy to have had an opportunity to participate in a festive evening in Chiang Mai!

It’s Chinese New Year Weekend in Asia bringing in the Year of the Rabbit! New Years Day is Sunday, January 22, but the celebrations are already beginning.  Shops are selling red t-shirts, lanterns, and banners.  The holiday emphasizes fresh starts and renewal of prosperity, health and happiness.

We’ve been around town today – here checking out one of the MANY local produce markets.

We were fascinated by this barista, demonstrating the art of making the perfect cup of coffee.

Along the way, we found the perfect spot for Pad Thai – the owner greeted us and told us that Pad Thai is her specialty dish.  At the table beside us we met a Thai woman with a British accent who went to college in Chicago!  She helped us navigate the menu and told us a bit about her life.  The Pad Thai was  delicious with just the right amount of spice.

Lime, bean sprouts, and lemongrass were a nice addition.

It’s always pleasant to spend some quiet moments at the nearby temple.  Today there was a nice breeze and small temple bells made the most delicate ding-ding-dings.

Below is a photo of one of the buildings in the complex.

We’re spending our days wandering around town discovering new places and revisiting places that we’ve enjoyed in the past.  We purchased red t-shirts for the New Year and hope we can stay awake long enough to enjoy the fireworks tomorrow evening.🎆

Today our goal was to find some kitchen supplies – things like dish towels, a coffee mug, a measuring cup, clothes pins and a couple of drinking glasses.  Shopping in the Old Town is chaotic and it’s always interesting to see what’s available.  From our apartment, it’s a short walk to the bridge that takes us to the Old Town.

The Old Town is a tangle of streets with shops selling anything one could imagine.  Shirts, shoes, fabrics, zippers, jewelry, tiny coconut pancakes, and so much more.

This industrious man has set up his shoe repair shop is right on the street.

We took a break from our shopping excursion to stop by the Barefoot Cafe for a refreshing drink – shown here in this advertisement.

We were successful with our shopping excursion and found almost everything that we needed.  The temperatures are warm in the afternoon so a good time to stay inside to read or work on projects.  Below is a view of the spacious living room with Larry working on his Wordle for the day.

So many things take place outside – even dinner preparation.

Nearly every day and many evenings, we walk through the Wat Ket Karam, a Buddhist Temple nearby.  It’s a peaceful space and especially beautiful at night.  We’re rested from the travel and ready for more adventure tomorrow!

We arrived at our hotel in Chiang Mai around midnight on Monday, January 16.  The routing for this trip was an exhausting challenge for us.  We had a few delayed flights and near-miss connections so we feel grateful to be in Chiang Mai on Tuesday as planned.  We opted for breakfast at the hotel which is a pretty good value for coffee, fresh fruit, juice and cereal or fried rice topped with an egg – all for $5.00 each.  The breakfast is in a pleasant, sheltered outdoor space but most mornings we’ll have breakfast in our room.

The weather was cool this morning but the afternoon temps are quite warm.

We’re staying at the Sakorn Residence Hotel in a one bedroom no-frills but very comfortable apartment.  This is a view of the complex – it’s our 5th time staying here.  The Sakorn is a family-owned place and the staff has stayed the same over the years.  We especially like the location across the Ping River from the Old Town.  We are paying 28,000 Thai Baht for our one-month stay.  That’s $847. 00 or about $28 U.S. Dollars per night.  We’ll pay an additional $45.00 per month for cleaning (2 times a week) and a minimal fee for water and electricity.

This morning, we walked from the hotel to buy provisions for our one-month stay.  On our way to the Rimping Supermarket we met two couples from Saskatchewan, Canada who are staying at our same hotel for one month and who were also on their way to the Rimping for provisions.  We look forward to comparing notes with them on restaurants, activities and all.

The Rimping Supermarket is very modern and it has many familiar brands plus local specialties-it’s fun to shop there.

If you buy at least $35.00 worth of groceries at the Rimping,  they will deliver your groceries directly to your hotel room!  A real plus!  It’s not safe to drink the local water here so having a bulk quantity of water plus other heavier-to-carry items delivered is great.

We are reacquainting ourselves with the neighborhood and still have some shopping to do at the local fruit stand.  We’re resting up.  It’s been a long journey and we’re happy we can settle in for awhile.

 

 

 

 

Our first visit to Thailand was in 2011!  For previous trips, we traveled south to the beaches (see Phuket (C) on the map below), to the capital city of Bangkok (A) and to Chiang Mai (B).  We liked Chiang Mai so much on our first trip, that we kept extending our stay!  Since 2011, we’ve traveled to Chiang Mai (plus other cities in Southeast Asia) 3 additional times.  This trip will be our 5th visit and we’ll be spending one month – only in Chiang Mai.

We’ve timed our trip to take advantage of warmer temperatures, Chinese New Year (January 22) and the Chiang Mai Flower Festival in early February.

It will take a couple of days of travel before we arrive.  The route is Atlanta to Seattle  (6 hour flight time) where we’ll have an overnight layover.  The next segment will be Seattle to Seoul, South Korea (13 hour flight time), and then Seoul to Chiang Mai (6 hour flight time).  Is it worth the trip time?  We think so!

We love the welcoming people, delicious foods, colorful flowers, fresh fruits, buzzy street markets, peaceful temples, relaxed pace, and more!  The weather is warm and almost everything takes place outside. It’s always an adventure and fun to return to a place that we feel like we know.

We’ll try to post an update with photos every few days.  If you’d like to follow along,  be sure to check back.

มีความสุขมากๆนะ (Wishing you Happiness!)