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Published: March 23rd 2006
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So Chiang Mai was quite a chillin' spot. Nothing too special... well, there were a LOT of wats, and a cool moat around the old part of town, and a really neat night market. We had fun... finally found some people to hang out with who were actually around our age... it was greaaat. Rachel and Melissa were from B.C., and Erin was from Calgary.. same same people from the boat. RAD.
So after day one, we met up with Melissa and Rachel, and went on a fruitless quest to find a guitar. Ended up in the "day market", which was not half as cool as any of the other crazy markets we'd been to. Very smelly. Tried that dried sesame fish snack, though! Sare's foot was quite a drag... literally... so we went back to the guesthouse, had some greeeeat food for dinner, Sarah had that phone interview... and then went to celebrate St. Paddys day... at the Reggae Bar. So very cool. Evan joined the band for a few songs on drums... that was rad. Just couldn't resist the urge to jammm... Then there a cart of fried insects came by... Sarah ate a grasshopper. Tasty! Crunchy! A
little strange, not gonna lie... a culinary adventure, perhaps?
So, seeing as Sarah couldn't really do too much exploring, we decided to just chiilllll for the day... we moved into the same guesthouse as our friends... "Nice Place 2", which didn't have hot water or toilet paper (thailand is so developed... but where is the toilet paper! we had toilet paper in laoooo for goodness sakes!). But anyways, the rooms were a little sub-par, but it had a COLD POOL! wickkkkked!!! and lawn chairs! how classic! so we spent the day svimmink, and relaxin' in the sun! Went out later to this insanely great western-style buffet... Evan was in a state of bliss - unlimitied beef, and a do-it-yourself grill... and there was some awesome garlic bread. Defenitely worth the $4 it cost...yum!
Eventually, we found the "Disabled Centre"... Sarah rented some annoying crutches, which made walking around a lot easier/faster. We met up with some Australian dudes and hung out for a while. When we got back, our friends had come home from cooking class... they made us looooads of great food! So much curry... thai curry is amazing! It was all so nice. Later, we all
sarah and the crutches... oh gout!!!
the disabled centre rented me these. sweeeeet. explored the never-ending nightmarket! So much stuff for sale... all a bit more expensive then anywhere else we've been though! Where have all the 2 dollar t-shirts gone!? Lots of nice art, wooden carvings, and trinkets. There was actually a McDonalds on the night market street... how could we resist an ice cream? yumm... soo great!
The next day, SAres foot was a bit better, so we basically did a walking tour of Chiang Mai, stopping at every cool Wat we saw... There are some reallly amazing Wats here! Our favourite was Wat Chang Man. Quite ancient... 700 years old. Wow! And there are these great big elephants carved into the side of the chedi in the complex. Wow! We loved it! Some old man who was hanging out there tried to give us a lot of photo tips, lining us up "1, 2, 3", at every angle he thought was great for photos... so very funny! Of course, he wanted money at the end.. so funny it was worth it, though!
That night, there was a big festival on in Chiang Mai... a whole cluster of streets were turned into a market area... SOOOO many people!!! INSANITY!!!! but
the street food was absolutely amazing... quail eegs, omelets in banana leaves, fried meat on sticks, shrimp balls... you know!!
On Monday, instead of doing a three day trek as planned (lack of walking abilities quashed that plan), Sarah took a cooking class at the Pad Tai Cookery School, and Evan went on a one-day "trekkkk". The cooking class was amazing... it was on a farm in a sort of half-outdoor kitchen... we started with a market tour, and learnt about thai ingredients and how they work together, where to find them, etc. Then We cooked! About a zillion meals... on these great woks. So great... the intsrtuctors were so nice, and they made cooking easy! We all ate so much that day... best part was defenitely the Tom Yam soup... or perhaps the flaming wok! Awesome... Evan's trek wasn't exactly the "trek" he had hoped for... not a trek at all really... more like driiive to various sites near chiang mai, beginning with an elephant ride through a recently slash-and-burnt forest...how scenic. Then a stop at a watefall... The bamboo rafting at the end was pretty fun, though. The trek stopped at a "karen Village"... these hilltribe villages
here have become mostly just tourist attractions. We don't like it. Somewhat like visiting a zoo with people in it and stands for souvenirs to be sold. Not cool. Kind of exploitive? Not a fan. Anyways... that was our last day in Chiang Maiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Off to Sukothai!!!!
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(MOM) KP
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Yummy!
Sarah, I can't wait for you to demonstrate some of your new culinary talents! I will however pass on the grasshoppers. Good luck with your next bus trip to Sukhothai!