Thailand

As promised, our Thailand trip...

After a day of travel, (which included touching 4 countries in 1 day) Matt and I finally arrived in Chiang Mai. Of course we fell into bed that evening but eagerly awoke the next morning to check out the city. With several cups of coffee (surprise, surprise) we mapped out a walking route to visit several Wats (Buddhist Temples) and welcomed any detours along the way.


The streets in Chiang Mai buzz with scooters, taxi's, tuk-tuk's, and pedestrians. I couldn't stop gawking at all colorful fabrics that were on display. I wanted to absorb everything! We had our Lonely Planet guide in hand and booked a couple of tours (which were fantastic) but we yearned to get off the beaten path. Several times Matt had to tug at the back of my shirt to get me to slow down and walk next to him instead of 5 steps ahead. I was practically running through Chiang Mai's walled city - I wanted to see it all. Each Wat that we visited was unique in its own sense of historical meaning and elaborate decor. You could spend hours in each one of them. A couple that we visited...

Wat Chiang Mun - the 1st Royal Temple in Chiang Mai built in 1296


Chedi Chang Lom - a 700 year old pagoda surrounded by statues of elephant heads.



Wat Phan Tao - originally built in 1846 as a royal palace not a monastery






While visiting another Wat we ended up talking to a woman from Chiang Mai that spoke great English so we asked her suggestion on "must see" places. She gave us some recommendations and also encouraged us to go to a little restaurant tucked off a side street for lunch. Pen's restaurant was hidden on the street by a mass of overgrown plants and small trees. After ducking through the foliage, the restaurant opened into two open air buildings with wicker chairs and small tables throughout. We each ordered a main dish, a salad to share, a plate of Thai sausage(recommended), and a beer. The food was delicious and cost a mere $3.20 total.

Now with a full belly and our first Thai beer, we were ready to venture on. Several hours later as we were crossing the street we heard someone yell out - I looked over and oddly enough it was her again! She asked where we had been and if we found the restaurant. We chatted with her for awhile and thanked her for the recommendations. Later that evening we went to the Saturday Market and met up with Sarah and Tim from FIS. The market is a long street that opens itself up to street entertainers, textile booths, street food vendors, etc. for about 1 mile. There seemed to be a pulse or flow to the street and evening. A great evening had by all!




Day 2 we had booked a cooking class at an organic farm about 1/2 hour drive north of the city. This turned out to be a fantastic day! For those of you that don't know me, I'm actually not the cook in our family although that table has turned these past couple of months. Anyway, Matt's a much better cook than I but if I do say so myself - I was smokin' that day in the kitchen! (and not b/c I was burning my food) There were about 10 of us in the class from all over the world - U.S., Spain, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and Iran. It was awesome! Our first stop was a trip to a local food market. I thoroughly enjoyed the sections that included grains, fruits and vegetables however, the meat area... I could have done without. You'll see what I mean if you look at all the pics from our trip. (warning - not suitable for children or those with a weak stomach) We cooked up 5 dishes each, 3 for lunch and 2 for dinner/desert. I think we ended up leaving with 4 doggie bags.







After our class we went back to our hotel for a couple minutes of down time (that's as long as I could sit still) and we headed back out to the Sunday Market and then the Night Bazaar (another market). Shopping, shopping and ummmm... shopping! Unbelievably, Matt managed to stick with me the whole time but he did stop for a quick 30 min. foot massage. Me? I just kept going. Many of the stalls sold similar items so it was a great bargaining tool. I kept thinking to myself that I needed my Aunt Martha to be with me - that girl knows how to negotiate a good price.




My favorite stall at the Night Bazaar was run by a lovely couple, Yuppa and her husband (sorry I can not remember his name). These two have been working at this market every day from 4pm-11pm for the last 15 years! She designs all of the items she sells and only uses local cotton. While Yuppa and I were talking and looking at all of her clothing, Matt sat with her husband on the curb and played games. I think we stayed there for over an hour that night. I say "that night" because I ran back there the next night with Sarah to buy more! :)

Ok - enough about shopping.

Our next day we booked a bike tour with Sarah and Tim. It ended up just being the 4 of us along with our guide, Jib (although it sounds like Chip when he told us his name). Jib was 29 and the proud father of a 1 month old, Jasmine. This was another spectacular day! Actually, every day in Thailand was spectacular. We visited Wats and heard the story of Buddha while we walked past murals of his life. We toured McKean Rehabilitation Center which was a former leprosy colony and today, it is a Christian community for the elder or disabled that have become abandoned or have no family to care for them. Jib took us to places and told us things that we could not have found on our own. We ended up biking about 50km that day and I came home with a better understanding and appreciation for all that I have. A journey that explored the areas of religion, illiteracy, poverty and optimism.






We were only in Chiang Mai for 4 days and I feel like I could have stayed for 4 weeks! Unfortunately, our flight and hotel in Koh Samui were already booked so we were on our way. In all honesty, the next week consisted of walks on the beach, swimming, reading, delicious meals and massages. We did manage to pry ourselves away from the beach on a couple of occasions and one of those was for a kayak tour of Ang Thong National Marine Park.



A great holiday and a wonderful distraction when you can't be with the rest of your family on Christmas.