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Published: January 18th 2012
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Wat Phra Singh
One of the couple hundred beautiful temples in Chiang Mai As our time in Chiang Mai dwindled down we signed up for the foot massage course I mentioned in the last blog. The course is based on reflexology which basically links every part of your body with some part of the foot. I’ve heard a lot about foot reflexology, but never had the opportunity to experience it or see it at work – our class changed that.
The massage class teaches you how to give a 30-40 minute foot massage (15-20 minutes per foot). It goes through a methodical process that I’m sure is based upon years of knowledge passed down for generations. It starts by warming up the foot and then essentially goes from the top of the foot down to the heel and achilles area, and includes a small massage of the lower leg. Along with learning the technique you are able to learn some about the organs that are affected by the certain parts of the foot. Our instructor showed us first, and then Amy and I were able to practice what we were taught on each other. Overall the class took about four hours. We were given an instruction book with pictures, which was essential because
Monks
Morning meditation the 50+ different techniques and the order of them would be impossible to master in four hours. I must say, that a Thai foot massage based on reflexology is very enjoyable and far different than just a regular foot massage. You seem to have a renewed sense of alignment and feel lighter on your feet after the massage.
The reflexology portion of the massage really shined at one point while I was practicing on Amy’s foot. Applying pressure at the joint where your toe meets your ball of your foot is one of the parts of the massage sequence. All went well until I pushed near Amy’s pinky toe area. As I started to push on this she immediately indicated that it hurt. The area I was pushing on correlates with the Trapezius, which interestingly is an area where Amy’s back perpetually bothers her. I could apply a lot of pressure to the other areas of her foot and toes, but not to that area, where I had to back off probably 90 percent.
The following day both Amy and I attempted to go through the entire foot massage cycle with each other. With an open book (and
Clock Tower
This is one main landmark to help orient yourself while walking around Chiang Rai. Amy following along with her book) I started the massage. It took me about one hour to complete the 30-40 minute massage. I think the time discrepancy is for two reasons. First, because I do not know the routine there is a delay between each part of the massage. Second, I was concentrating on technique more than time and since I was learning a new technique it took a while to get it right. Then it was Amy’s turn to massage my foot – which took one hour and ten minutes. I guess that means Amy got the short straw with only a one hour massage – I was not complaining! We’ll have to continue to practice so that we can memorize the sequence and get the massage closer to 30 minutes.
In Chiang Mai there is literally hundreds of Wats – I think I heard there are about 300. It is sad to admit that after seeing a Wat on nearly every corner/street you become somewhat numb to their beauty. Many of them have the exact same architectural features, each stunning, but after so many they almost blend into the background. The last morning in Chiang Mai I
Hot Pot
The contraption that cooked our dinners at the market. went to Wat Phra Singh, which holds morning Buddhist rituals including meditation and chanting with dozens of monks. It is a great place to see the monks dressed in their orange robes and starting their morning. Many of the monks that I saw appeared rather young, only a few looked to be older than I.
After eleven days in Chiang Mai it was time to move on, so we headed northeast to Chiang Rai. We are slowly making our way to Laos and Chiang Rai is about halfway between Chiang Mai and Laos. It is a smaller town that has more indigenous hilltribe people than any other area of Thailand we have been to so far. Chiang Rai also has the least tourists of the three cities we have been too, but it still has a relatively high number of tourists compared to Central America and India.
As with Bangkok and Chiang Mai, the night market is a great place to see local and indigenous hilltribe people as well as their wares. Chiang Rai’s night market was unique in two respects, both of which made the market much more enjoyable than Bangkok or Chiang Mai. First, the quantity
Dinner
Out of the hot pot - refill this small bowl a few times. of people is at a manageable level. There are a lot of people, but you are not crammed in like sardines, which was a welcome change from the other locations. Second, and probably my favorite part about Chiang Rai is the food court with the “hot-pots” (I believe it is called Jim Jum). I took a few pictures and attached them to the blog so that you get an idea of what the hot pot is all about. Essentially you get a clay pot filled with delicious broth; the pot is then placed over another clay structure that has a bed of coals in it. You get some vegetables and noodles (meat if you like) and cook them in the hot pot contraption. You are in control of how you want things cooked and how you want the ratio of broth to vegetables/meat. After it is cooked to your preference you scoop the soup into a small bowl and you eat with a spoon and chop sticks. In accordance with Thai tradition, this is a communal way of eating. We would often see tables of six or more people with a few hot pots going. This is all done in
Middle of Salapao
The black sesame and sweetend squash in the back and taro paste with ginkgo in the front an open air cafeteria type setting with a stage and live music. The food and ambiance make for quite a wonderful time. Also worth note, these hot pots are really inexpensive – somewhere between $2-3 depending upon if you want meat and if so what kind.
One other new food item we have enjoyed the past few days in Chiang Rai is Salapao (aka Siapao in other parts of the world). We have seen Salapao in other parts of Thailand but Chiang Rai brought us our first taste of them. Salapao are steamed buns with some sort of flavor in the middle (sweet and salty filling options are available). I’m not sure that “bun” is the proper way to describe them, but that is how they are typically described. While trying them it seemed to me that they were made using rice flour, which gives them a much different texture than what I consider a “bun.” A quick search for a recipe confirmed my hunch that they are indeed made from rice flour.
One particular artist at the Chiang Rai night market deserves being mentioned. He carves wood out of large slabs of trees. But this isn’t just
Wood Carvings
Absolutely amazing - the large one there is probably six feet tall - see detail in other photos carving, the pieces he is working on are rather large and the detail that is in each carving is absolutely amazing! I would venture to say that it is the most impressive piece of art I have ever seen. I took some photos, that of course do not do justice, but you can get an idea of the detail by looking at it closely. Some of the parts of the carvings (like the antlers) are probably a 1 millimeter in diameter - it really is remarkable how they are not broken. The most expensive piece we saw was $15,000 and the cheapest was $3,000 (US dollars that is). Check out the photos!
For our last night in Chiang Rai we decided that we would head to the local market to pick up something to add to our hot pot. We ended up finding some nice mushrooms that we thought would make a great addition. They turned out wonderful and I would venture to say it was the best hot pot we had, a great way to end our last night in Thailand!
Tomorrow we head to Laos. As I understand we will go to Chiang Khong on the
Wood Carving
Check out all the antlers - they are probably 1mm in diameter! This whole piece is probably 2X3 feet and hangs on the wall. I think it was $3,300. Thailand side of the Mekong River and then take a boat across the river to Houayxai, which will be our entrance into Laos. The following day we will take a “slow boat” down the Mekong for two days until we reach Luang Prabang (this city seems to have about 5 different ways to spell it). From what I have read the boat is not that comfortable, but the views and the experience are well worth the trip. It should be a great adventure!
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