Chilling in Chiang Mai

After the hustle and bustle of BKK, Chiang Mai (pronounced Chiang "My") provided a nice change in pace. Our journey from BKK to Chiang Mai was made by overnight train where we booked in the air conditioned sleeper car. Up until the time to go to bed everything was pretty normal but when they made up the beds and I had to get myself settled into the upper bunk, that's when the fun began. If you don't like tight spots (I'm thinking dad here...) then this is definitely not for you. Moving from the south end of the bunk to the north end of the bunk also proved to be a challenge. At one point I was having a mini meltdown but overall I thought the whole experience was pretty funny. We arrived safe and sound in Chiang Mai at 7:30 AM, thirteen and a half hours after we left BKK.

Our accommodations at the 3 Sis Vacation Lodge were several notches above our guesthouse in BKK. It was well located in a quieter section of the city right next to Wat Chedi Luang. In Chiang Mai we basically walked to most of our destinations except for specific trips outside the city limits. I really enjoyed walking around even if it was consistently 30+ Celsius and very sunny. I think I've developed a greater appreciation for the heat, that I certainly didn't have before.

My favorite activity in Chiang Mai was the full-day cooking class we took at the Baan Thai Cookery School. WE were 6 students (Aaryn - US, Giannis - Cypress, Janwillem and Danielle - Netherlands and Janie and me - Canada) with our fabulous instructor Kim. Kim's English was exceptional, by Thailand standards, and she was always smiling and cracking jokes. Kim took us to the market where she purchased the ingredients for the day and explained to us about the various fruits, g\vegetables, nuts, herbs, etc. We prepared 6 different dishes throughout the day and never stopped eating. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed each other's company.

We took a one-day tour outside of Chiang Mai to visit an orchid farm to do bamboo rafting, ride elephants and visit the Karen long-neck and big-ears and Lisu hill tribes. the tour was a bit of a fiasco because of the 8 people on the tour, no one had paid the same amount or had the same activities included, yet we were all in the same truck... As an example, Janie and I didn't have the white water rafting included in our package so when it came time for the others to do it, we were just told to sit and wait. A similar situation happened with Angelique and Michael who had to pay extra money to visit the Karen tribe because it wasn't part of their package. The parts I enjoyed the most about the tour was the bamboo rafting and the elephant riding (thanks Jackie for this Christmas gift). Elephant riding is hard work even for the passengers because you have to follow the elephant's movements and go with his flow. It can be a bit scary going down hill but I thought it was similar to a ride at Disney World. Overall I enjoyed the day spent with Victoria and Wayne (daughter/father from Australia and UK), Angelique and Michael (France) and Tenille and Richard (Australia).

While in Chiang Mai we became regulars at a small restaurant in our neighborhood where we had lunch/supper most every afternoon. One of our favorite meals is Khaow Soi, which is a typical northern Thai dish made of yellow noodles with chicken in a coconut Curry sauce, mmmm.. mmmm.. good! We also indulged in some Thai massages more specifically foot massages. I don't think I could have handled the punishment handed out in a full body massage (they are rough!). All in all Chiang Mai was a pure delight.