Today we just want to blog, process photos, relax and enjoy our condo and Chiang Mai. I sit on our balcony which overlooks the Shangri-La Hotel. The pool area has only a few visitors; so different than the first day we arrived when the pool was filled. The travel restrictions and concern over the Coronavirus may be taking a toll on hotel occupancy.

Tomorrow we fly to Hanoi, Vietnam. This morning our traveling companions are already at or on their way to US airports for the long flight. They are scheduled to arrive between 11 am and noon Saturday, while William and I are scheduled to arrive in Hanoi at 2:20pm.

​We probably will not post blogs on the Vietnam & Cambodia trip for a few weeks, as we will be in “vacation mode” with daily sightseeing over the next two weeks. But we will catch up as soon as we can.

​Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (Doi Suthep for short) is 15 kilometers outside of Chiang Mai, sitting on a mountain at 1,700 meters (5,575 feet). It’s considered a “must see” in Chiang Mai, so we must see it before we leave. There are a few ways to get there and back: rent a motorcycle (not gonna happen for us), take a songthew (red taxi trucks with benches in the back) or hire a real taxi. We opt for the real taxi, especially since the ride takes 45-50 minutes and is very winding. For 1,000 bhat ($32 US) Mr. Nan drives us to the Wat, remains there one and one-half hours while we explore and them drives us back. It is a bit of a luxury considering that the songthew’s charge 500 bhat, but watching the people in the songthew’s holding onto overhead rails to avoid sliding off the benches as they take the numerous curves we are certain we have chosen wisely.
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Mr. Nan drops us off and I pay the 50 bhat per person for the ticket to the Wat and the round-trip cable car ride. I am pleased to report that this is the updated cable car, not the one that had many accidents a few years ago. 🥴

​We first explore the platform and viewing areas outside of the cloister.. All of Chiang Mai should be able to be seen, but between today’s haze and pollution it is difficult to make out much of the city.

​We must have our legs and shoulders covered to enter the temple area of the Wat, so William puts on his recently acquired elephant pants over his shorts. What a fashionista!

The Golden Chedi is the center of attention, with many people walking around it in a pilgrimage. On each corner of the platform is an ornamental umbrella adorned with filigree decorations. The walls of the cloister are painted with the life of Buddha. It is an impressive Wat, and we understand why it is considered a “must see”.

​On returning to Chiang Mai we ask Mr. Nan to drop us off near one of the corners of the Old City. From there we walk to a restaurant he recommends for lunch. I try Khao Soi, the famous soup of Chiang Mai. It is made with curry paste, coconut milk, chicken stock, chicken and noodles all topped with crispy noodles, and it is delicious. William chooses the pork belly, which has a deep sauce and is also delicious. Usually we would take a tuk-tuk back from the Old City, but the temperature is pleasant and we both feel a walk will help digestion after our large meals.

​In the evening we want just a little bite to eat, so we head over to the nearby night market. William chooses some chicken wings, but the nearby seafood stall is calling to me. I pick out a small squid and the husband-wife duo running the stall promptly grill it up for me. I may have started something, because soon other people are placing orders and the small grill is filled with seafood.

After yesterday’s adventure we agree that we want a quiet day. There is a blog to write and many photographs to review and process. For lunch we decide on Rajdarbar, an Indian restaurant with good reviews just a 20 minute walk away. The food at this small restaurant does not disappoint us. Of course we eat too much!

​As we waddle back toward the condo I spot a place I want to try for a foot massage. They advertise 30 minute, 45 minute, one hour and two hour foot massages. I have never had a Thai foot massage, so 30 minutes sounds like a good option. A young woman perhaps 18 years old washes my feet then begins the massage. There are some moments of pleasure-pain, but mostly just enjoyment as she massages my feet and calves. The fee is 170 bhat ($5.50 US) and I take the 30 bhat I receive in change and hand it to the massage woman as a tip. She is so excited, almost like it is Christmas morning. That the equivalent of $1 US has such significant impact strikes me. Later I look up the minimum wage for Chiang Mai - it is 325 bhat per day, approximately $10.50 US. I wonder if she is making even minimum wage.

We booked a tour to Chiang Rai for today. Originally I wanted to do a private tour but the tour guides were all busy, so we chose the small group tour closest to what we wanted to see.

​At 6:50 am we are waiting in the lobby of our condo building for our 7-7:30 pickup. That gives William enough time to visit our small coffee shop for an Americano. Several vans arrive and depart then finally a guide comes in holding a sign with our name scrawled in blue. We join two people already in the van and the driver pulls out into the light traffic. He navigates through the streets of Chiang Mai, skirting along Wararot market and further north into the fruit market area until we stop at We Briza Hotel and eight people from China pile into the van. All are wearing face masks.

​Our guide is Tim. He explains things in English for us and then repeats everything in Chinese. Our first stop is at a hot springs, about an hour’s drive through heavy-duty road construction. Thailand does not have volcanos, but it does experience earthquakes and there is a correlation. We grab a tea and coffee from one of the many vendors and walk around the area, which has some bubbling fountains of hot water and some pools where people are soaking their feet.

​Then it is back in the van for another 1.5 hours. Out the window we see mostly farmland and small towns. Our first destination in Chiang Rai is Wat Rung Khun, the White Temple. The White Temple is the project of a local artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat, who has privately funded the project. The Ubosot is the main building, which is reached by walking over a bridge with outreached hands below... perhaps representing hell or perhaps symbolizing desires which must be foregone to reach happiness. No photos are allowed inside the Ubosot, which is the main temple.

​There are six or seven other buildings in the project and we walk around enjoying their beauty. The gold buildings contain the toilets. It’s told that Chalermchai Kositpipat did not make them white because they are not considered pure. Hanging in a tree near one of the gold buildings are face masks of Hollywood characters. I don’t know why.

​Lunch is next at a local buffet-style restaurant just five minutes away and is included in the price of the tour. There’s a variety of mostly carb-based entrees, as might be expected. However, they do have a decent assortment of fresh local fruit, a highlight for me.
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The Wat Rong Sues Ten, or the Blue Temple is our next stop. The Wat is still under construction, however the main temple was completed in 2016. The interior is an amazing blue containing a large white Buddha. Other sculptures on the grounds are mostly in blue.

​Tim suggests that one of the highlights of the Blue Temple is the home made coconut ice creams sold by the vendors. I stop by a stall that has a sign containing a variety of flavors. But it seems that the Thai woman mis-understands my request and the next thing I know I have a small waffle cup of coconut ice cream. Well, for 20 bhat (70¢ US) I accept it - thinking about my Cousin Randy who always teases his wife that he’s going to get a coconut ice cream cone so that she won’t try to share. I try the ice cream and it really doesn’t have much of a coconut flavor - soon I realize the waffle cup is empty.

Our last “temple” isn’t one at all. Baan Dam Museum, or the Black House Museum is the studio/home of the artist Thawan Duchanee, who died a few years ago. There are about 35 structures in the Lanna style of architecture as well as a few odd white orb-like buildings. The artist was fond of crocodile skins, antlers, buffalo horns and animal skins. He also collected drums and other musical instruments.

​Some of the more risqué things we see are the statues in front of the gift shop and the signs designating the men’s and women’s side of the toilets. We won’t include them here in the blog, but if you are easily offended beware - they are in our photo site.

Around 6 pm we grab a tuk-tuk to Tha Phae Gate of the Old City. We’re going to give the Sunday Market a second try. Outside the gate are some buskers(street performers) with a fire show. There’s also an entrepreneurial man selling face masks. With the Coronavirus concern I am guessing he will do a good business, even though well over half of the crowd is already masked.

​The road leading from the gate through the Old City is closed to traffic and is now lined with stalls selling goods. There are also street musicians and food vendors. We pop into a restaurant for dinner and when we emerge there are throngs of people in the street. We try making our way through the crowd for a couple of blocks and then try a side street.

The side street winds through an area of hostels, coffee shops and small businesses not willing to pay the higher rents of the main Old City thoroughfares. We come across an eatery with grills out front and a long line of people. There are only a few tables inside, which are packed, and they are doing a fantastic carry-out business. The grilled food looks great - too bad we are already full!

​After a tuk-tuk takes us back to the condo we sit on the balcony for an hour or so enjoying the 72 degree temperature and the sight of the illuminated buildings spread out before us.

Today is Chinese New Year. As we eat breakfast we hear drums banging and an occasional faint cheer of a crowd. After we finish the drumming continues so I grab a camera. As I go out the front door of the condo building I hear firecrackers and a small crowd cheering. It turns out that the Shangri-La hotel next door had a dragon dance - I arrive just after the finale. Drat! It is still fun to see the drummers and dragon performers as they unwind themselves.

​It is a beautiful, sunny day. We decide to return to The River Market, this time to enjoy a late lunch. The 20 minute walk is pleasant and the traffic is not as intense as on a weekday. I was expecting that the restaurant would be busy, but it is quite the opposite. Only six tables are occupied. We have a fantastic lunch sitting in the shade of their pavilion-style building watching the river flow by. The staff is attentive, but seems willing to allow is to sit all afternoon if we want.

We take it easy for a couple of days. On Thursday we tuk-tuk into the Old City in the afternoon to spend the Chiang Mai Historical Center and Lanna Folk Life Museum.

When we are done we walk to Wat Chiang Man, the oldest temple in the city dating back to 1296. In the Wat is Chang Lom Chedi or Elephant Chedi which sits on a square base supporting a second level of grey stone that is surrounded by 16 elephants that seem to emerge from it. On top sits the gilded upper part of the chedi.

​After the Wat the tuk-tuk we take back to the condo must be 40 years old - what it lacks in speed is made up by the daring of it’s driver.

​On Friday afternoon we tuk-tuk to Wararot Market, the bustling center of Chinatown. Tomorrow is Chinese New Year and I’m sure it will be packed with people. Today it is just busy with a combination of locals and tourists. We walk through the market observing the stalls filled with merchandise. There’s some scary looking mannequins and stores filled to the brim with yarn in between all the clothing and housewares.

Oh, and the food vendors! With this much meat on a stick we just have to try a little - William has chicken and I have pork. Mmmm. No, no, we do not partake of “dare foods”, such as the fried beetles or worms. As we are leaving William sees one of his favorite signs - No public littering, pissing or pooping!

​We haven’t been to a wat in almost 24 hours, so it seems a requirement that we make our way to Wat Upakhut. Unfortunately it is undergoing extensive renovations. Next on our trek is Masjid Hidayatul Islam Banhaw, which is a Chinese mosque with modern Islamic architecture. We can see much of the mosque from our balcony - actually a better view than what we have from it’s base.
 
After a late lunch we return to the condo. William chills out in front of the TV while I head up to the 16th floor and plunge into the chilly pool. Both feel very good.

Today we have booked a late afternoon cooking lesson.
 
In the morning I go up to the pool area thinking I’ll get wet for a while then read while I dry off. I dip my toes in the water - oh my - this pool is cold! Instead of plunging in I sit on the edge of the pool and dangle my legs for a while. One of the 14 lounge chairs opens up so I grab it and spend the rest of my time reading on my tablet, which is what most people are doing.

​We want a little lunch so we walk to Butter is Better Diner & Bakery. It’s a cute place with a 1950’s decor and American menu. I go for the Kentucky BBQ sandwich and William has a pastrami sandwich. We treat ourselves and share a soft, gooey chocolate chip cookie for dessert.
 
The driver for Grandma’s Cooking School pulls up to the door of the condo at 3:45 pm. We are joining six Canadians who are family/friends - it should be fun. We’re driven to the outskirts of Chiang Mai to the organic farm and cooking school.

​Our chef-instructor has us don straw hats and we are led to the garden area. There she show us some of the main vegetables, spices and fruits used in Thai cooking. Turmeric is a surprise for us, we didn’t realize it is rootlike - somewhat similar to ginger in appearance.

Back from the garden we are given sheets of paper to select some of the foods we will make today. Each person prepares their own meal, and we will eat it in stages. We start by preparing the curry paste. I have selected Penang curry (with peanuts), while William chooses a red curry. The assistants lay out the proper ingredients at each of our cooking stations then we’re chopping and muddling like crazy. The curry paste is set aside and ingredients appear for our soups. The chef provides some instructions then the eight of us are chopping and firing up the individual gas burners at our stations. Once the soups are done we move to the dining table and enjoy our efforts while joking with one another. While we have fun the assistants clean up and bring out the ingredients for Pad Thai.

​Again the chef demonstrates how to make the dish. The only variation in the recipe is the protein- shrimp, chicken or pork (or vegetarian). We chop away then fire up our woks. It is amazing how fast this dish is made - once all the ingredients are prepared. We all enjoy eating our creations, but I am getting full with two courses to go!

The last two courses we prepare are the curry and our dessert of mango sticky rice. My chicken Penang curry is perfect - I only add one of the three dynamite chili’s provided on my ingredients tray.

​We are now equipped with skills and recipes for making Thai dishes, though I don’t think that we’ll be appearing on Iron Chef Thailand anytime soon.

We have a slow start to the day then work on photos and online chores. A little after noon we grab a tuk-tuk and have the driver take us to Maya shopping mall. We don’t really need anything, but the mall is located in the upscale shopping area of Chiang Mai and it’s always fun to check out the stores. The driver skirts along the outside of the Old City walls, creatively creating adding lanes through the traffic. 15-20 minutes and 200 bhat ($6.60 US) later he delivers to the modern mall.
 
As we walk through the mall we find many internationally branded stores. From Sweden’s H & M to France’s LaCoste to American Tourister Luggage. We even find an Auntie Anne’s pretzel stand.

​Having seen enough William pulls out his phone and searches “cigar stores near me”. La Casa del Habanos is only a 10 minute walk. This is the same international chain that we found in Santiago, Chile. When we arrive William is taken into to humidor to choose a cigar from a pretty wide selection of cubans. There is also an abundance of single-malt scotches behind the bar/cash register and although it is in the “forbidden 2-5 pm” range, the saleswoman quickly asks if we would like something to drink. William lights his cigar as we settle in to watch the rerun of the Packers-49ers football game playing on the TV. Liquor and tobacco are heavily taxed In Thailand, so William opts not not purchase any additional products to take back to the condo.

We’re a little bit hungry and find TomTemToh, a very, very local place two blocks away. This is a no-frills establishment. The grills out front are made from 55 gallon oil drums. The seating is under umbrellas or a tin roof, and the tables are basic wooden structures.  But at 3:30 in the afternoon it is filled with mostly locals - a very good sign about the food quality. We find a table toward the back and a server provides an eight page laminated book filled with selections in Thai and English, but very few pictures. We pick chicken wings and deep fried pork with a side of rice for our snack. The food comes 15 minutes later with some sauces on the side and is very good. Watching the other dishes being delivered to nearby tables everything looks very good and very fresh. With two soft drinks the bill comes to less than $8! We would definitely return if we are again in the area.

In the evening we walk down to the Anusan Night Market for dinner. The energy of the market is just picking up at 7pm. We choose one of the permanent restaurants displaying fresh seafood. I have a dish of sautéed squid (calamari) which is tasty and William has a pork dish that turns out to be a little on the spicy side for him. But some cold Chang beer and some of my white rice helps take off the edge.

​It’s been a relaxing, easy day.

I set the alarm for 6:20AM to allow enough time to brew some coffee and tea and be ready for the kickoff of the Packers - 49ers Football team. William connects our laptop via an HDMI cable and I log in to Comcast so we can watch the game on Fox 32 Chicago. Too bad the Packers had such a terrible game. Maybe next year?

​We relax after the game and discuss options for the day. We focus in on returning to the Old City and exploring it starting on the western side at Wat Phra Singh, known as the Gold Temple.

​Then we turn east along Ratchadamnoen Road. We encounter wat after wat. This feels similar to the number of churches in Cuenca, Ecuador and number of mosques in Istanbul. If we walk a couple of blocks without a wat, all we need to do is to look up and we see the tops of stupa’s or temples a block to the north or south. An example is that we see the top of what looks like a rock formation peeking around treetops along our walk. I look down an ally that appears to open to an open space. We walk through the ally and find Wat Chedi Luang, built in the late 1300’s, a massive pagoda on the top of a tall rock formation.

​Once we are wat’d out we stop at a restaurant for some Pad Thai. It’s between the hours of 2-5 pm and after William orders a small Chang beer I notice a sign saying it is against Thai law to sell alcohol during those hours. Our waiter returns with my Diet Coke and what he laughingly calls a cappuccino for William. Sure enough, it’s a beer in a tall take-away coffee cup.

In doing Google searches for restaurants we noticed an Irish pub a few blocks away. Since we’ve tried Irish pub’s in some major (and minor) cities on every continent except Antarctica, we want to give it a try. It turns out it is located within the Anusan Night Market. We walk through the market, observing the various eateries and products for sale. We will definitely be back.
 
The Irish pub is about average for the international pubs we’ve encountered. The food is decent and William is able to enjoy a pint of Kilkenny for 240 bhat ($8 US).