Chiang Mai - April 25th-27th

An early morning arrival to Chiang Mai brought the typical crowd and questions, but this time we met the self-titled ‘Momma Honey’ from the Royal Guesthouse who took us to our place to stay. Hundreds of steps and seven floors later, we found ourselves moved in to our room. A good strong fan, clean room and facilities for $5 per night made the workout to get up there worth it. A refreshing dip in the pool followed by a quick shower and we were ready to hit the town. We walked along Chiang Mai’s old town that is surrounded by tall stone walls and moats. With no particular agenda we wandered the city and enjoyed seeing daily life in Thailand. Chiang Mai has markets everywhere - outdoors, street-side, undercover, inside, rooftop markets markets and markets! It brought Ben great joy to run into a mobile shaved-ice cart. Five baht (17 cents) for a cup full with two flavors, yes! A walk through Chinatown was uneventful, but we did find fresh-made Thai style macaroons that were a hit. A bowl of local favorite kay soi was sadly a disappointment but we remained optimistic. We bought what we thought was going to be a sauage on a stick, but ended up being rice-stuffed sausage on a stick. We almost felt like they were playing a trick on us. Lots of walking and too much food was day one’s theme in Chiang Mai.

Day two: we rented a motorbike, set our bearings, and headed towards the hills. A large temple set atop the city was the first destination. Steep steps outlined by handrails in the design of a continuous dragon’s tail led the way up and up. A golden temple with a surrounding view of the city was our prize once at the apex. Various fruit trees, ringing bells, and Buddhas made up the overall grounds. Back down and down the steps we hopped on the moto and continued up the hill where we rode by the Royal winter home of the King and Queen of Thailand. Since we weren’t invited in for supper or a game of cards we rode back down the hill and into town. We stopped by a large shopping mall where there was something for everyone - even a Sizzler! We opted to pass on the salad bar for the local food court that was set up outside. We enjoyed a cup of fresh coconut ice cream as walked around and ate everything else with our eyes.

We took an evening stroll through the popular Night Bazaar nearby and enjoyed an array of Thai food - pad thai, banana and honey rotti, mango with sticky rice, Thai ice tea, and Thai multiple-colored dessert which consisted mung bean, sweet kidney beans, water chesnuts, tapioca and coconut milk.

Day two: We rented a motorbike, set our bearings, and headed towards the hills. A large temple set atop the city was the first destination. Steep steps outlined by handrails in the design of a continuous dragon’s tail led the way up and up. A golden temple with a surrounding view of the city was our prize once at the apex. Various fruit trees, ringing bells, and Buddhas made up the overall grounds. Back down and down the steps we hopped on the moto and continued up the hill where we rode by the Royal winter home of the King and Queen of Thailand. Since we weren’t invited in for supper or a game of cards we rode back down the hill and into town. We stopped by a large shopping mall where there was something for everyone - even a Sizzler! We opted to pass on the salad bar for the local food court that was set up outside. We enjoyed a cup of fresh coconut ice cream as walked around and ate everything else with our eyes. That evening, we enjoyed the Chiang Mai City Gate Market, Saturday’s most popular market. For dinner, we enjoyed a delicious bowl of thai noodle soup with chicken and pork at a street stall next to the city gate. We walked around the market for the rest of the evening, enjoying all the different colors of products offered and of course, the selection of desserts (mango with sticky rice, fresh coconut juice with young coconut meat, three-colored dessert, etc.)!!!

Day three: We took it easy on our third day in Chiang Mai. We enjoyed brunch at our favorite Chiang Mai restaurant where our palates were satisfied by savory panang curry and spicy tom yum kung soup! We rented a moto for another day and rode it all through and around the city. We rode as long as we could along the river and up through the hills once again. Butts and backs sore from hours on the bike, we indulged ourselves with an hour-long Thai body massage - heavenly and only for $4! In the evening, we spent over three hours walking through the very crowded Sunday street market in the middle of old town. It was definitely overwhelming! Plenty of food, paintings, hand crafts, clothes, foot and body massages, and Thai souvenirs were offered on the 2-km stretch.