Day 1 – April 23
After a 45 minute boat ride from the Pimalai Resort to the mainland of Krabi, we hopped in a car for an hour to the airport, followed by a 2 hour flight to Chiang Mai, ending with a 20 minute drive to our AirBnb. The owner, Lee, picked us up around 10pm at no charge which was extremely nice of him. At a very attractive price of $39, we will be staying in a private room of his house for the next 5 nights. Lee is from England, his wife is from South Africa, they met in Nepal, live in Chiang Mai and now have a 3 month old son. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet his wife, Bianca, because she was back home showing off her new baby. Lee was a bachelor again for a few weeks and he seemed pretty excited about it. Who wouldn’t be? Their house was awesome. Made from teakwood, it was referred to as a “Nature Escape” on AirBnB.
Day 2 – April 24
Our AirBnB room is about 15 minutes outside of Chiang Mai’s Old City so we decided to just hang around this small little town for the morning and afternoon. We walked about 7 minutes to Baan Keng Wak, which was basically a Sunday morning Farmers Market. There were various local products being sold such as coffee, food, organic soaps, pottery, etc. It’s always neat to see how different yet similar certain things are from what we are used to.
We then grabbed some coffee and breakfast at Bhukitta, which was a short 3 minute walk away from the Farmers Market. I got a mango smoothie because in this heat, that’s all I’m craving. Something healthy yet refreshing. It’s a win-win.
The rest of the morning we chilled in our room with the air conditioning blasting. When I think of Northern towns, I think cooler but not here in Thailand. It’s about 110 degrees. I could easily crack an egg on the ground and fry it in less than a minute, guaranteed. Or if you prefer scramble, I can do that too. Around lunch time, we grabbed a bite to eat down the street at 49 Garden Bistro. They served us yellow and purple rice, which made me automatically think of the Lakers and how I can’t believe Kobe Bryant is officially retired (random side thought, I know). For 20 years, I enjoyed watching him perform magic on the court. The team will never be the same without him, neither will the city of LA.
Later that night, we decided to rent a motorbike to make getting around easier since we are somewhat removed from all the action. We’ve rented bikes in other cities but this would definitely be our biggest challenge to date. To test how comfortable Vinny is, we rode into town – in the dark, during rush hour traffic – to experience the infamous Sunday Walking Street Market. What an electric, energetic, vibrant concept. The entire area is shut down to cars. Only people are allowed to walk around, on foot. You can purchase anything from purses and clothing to jewelry and paintings to “good price for you foot massages”. There are also endless street food vendors selling anything your little heart can imagine from the typical chicken and veggies to crickets and grasshoppers. We weren’t daring enough to taste the insects but we did enjoy everything we ate (pretty simple, non exotic items), which came to a whopping total of 170 THB or $4.83.
We started with chicken skewers…
Followed by Pad Thai and fried rice…
Then sticky rice and mango (a new favorite of mine!)…
Ending with waffles and Nutella…
Such a cool market. Very touristy but there were surprisingly a good amount of locals as well. I would say it was close to 50/50. With live music playing from bar to bar, local merchants convinced they have the cheapest price for you and food carts testing your adventurous level from boring to extreme, this is a place that wakes up all five of your senses at once.
Day 3 – April 25
We started our morning off fairly early with some breakfast in the Old city at The Blue Diamond Cafe and then walked a few minutes to the main office of Thai Farm Cooking School at 8:15am. This will be our third international cooking class we’ve done together. The first was in Florence, Italy the second was in Udaipur, India and now Chiang Mai, Thailand. I don’t think you can find better food than Italian, Indian and Thai in my opinion so that’s why I have so much interest in learning how to make some of my favorite dishes from scratch. Let’s see if I remember any of this in a few months though. Thai Farm Cooking School has an organic farm about 17 kilometers outside the city where they grow all of their own vegetables, fruits, spices, etc. There were 10 of us total in a group including a couple from Germany, a couple from Norway, a couple from Canada, a solo young man from Canada and a solo young woman from California (ironically from LA, works for Live Nation and was out here in Asia managing Madonna’s “Rebel Tour”. It’s sure is a small world after all).
Our tour started off with a visit to a local market where they buy a lot of their products that they don’t necessarily grow on their own. This place had everything including a not so welcoming smell to it. I think the combination of fruits, vegetables, meats, sauces, chips, rice, dead bugs, etc. didn’t necessarily leave the atmosphere as fresh as roses. Plus, we saw a handful of cockroaches hanging out in some of the plastic bags. Business as usual though I’m sure. Although I wouldn’t necessary come here for my own groceries it sure was fascinating to witness firsthand. There definitely wasn’t a shortage of items to buy.
Next up, we ate. And ate. And ate. For five hours straight. Our teacher’s name was Garten. She instantly won me over. Her personality was so peppy, so funny, so cheesy, so energetic, so witty. One could say she my was Thai twin separated at birth. Hahaha, just kidding. She was incredible though. Really made today what it was. A marathon of eating and laughing nonstop. She would come up with these different sayings for us to remember things by. One of the best ones was when she said “My name is Garnet. This is a granite counter. I am adding a pinch of garlic. Then topping it with some garnish”. Then she would repeat over and over again “Garnet, granite, garlic, garnish”. I think you had to be there but the whole group was in tears from laughter. Another catchy saying was when we were adding a bunch of sauces and ingredients to make the stir fry dish, she would line them up and with the most bubbly voice go “one pinch of this, two pinches of this, two pinches of this, one pinch of this” and then repeat with an even higher voice and shake her hips to the sound of “one, two, two, one”, “one, two, two, one”. The last thing I will reminisce on is when she would make some of the dishes and then add the garnish for decoration at the end. She would put on some parsley and say “this just cost you 20 THB” and then she would add a few chopped chili’s and say “this just cost you 40 THB” and then should we top it with a flower and say “this just cost you 60 THB”. So a dish that was originally 80 THB is now 200 THB because it looks pretty. She was basically making fun of her own kind. Again, you probably had to be there but everything she did she turned into a show. Amazing.
We all had our own individual stove tops, cutting boards, utensils, knives, ingredients, etc.
This chef can cook for me anytime he wants…
Okay, here is what we made today. We had choices, which is always much appreciated with my picky eating habits. I will first show you the before photo with all the ingredients and then the after photo, which is my A for Effort attempt at cooking. Not perfect yet not horrible. I’ll pat myself on the back.
Tom Yum Soup (other option was Coconut Milk Soup)…
Your choice of green, yellow or red curry – chicken or vegetarian (I chose green with chicken, Vinny chose red with chicken)…
Your choice of stir fry – cashew nuts, sweet & sour or basil – chicken or vegetarian (I chose chicken with cashew nuts, Vinny chose chicken with basil)…
Pad Thai (other option were spring rolls)…
For dessert we did mango with sticky rice (other option was bananas in coconut milk)…
Everything was ridiculously tasty. I am so impressed with myself and Vinny that we were able to whip up such a delicious Thai meal. Of course Garten was paving the way for us but still. This cooking experience is definitely up there with Shashi’s from Udaipur. Different but equally as memorable. Shashi’s was more of a group effort where this we made everything on our own. Shashi’s story was heartfelt and inspiring where Garten was straight out of an SNL episode. Pure entertainment.
Once we got back to the city, we rode our motorbike to Ristr8to for some coffee. Between all the food we consumed today and being outside in the heat cooking over a burning stove, a little pick me up was much needed. When I inputed the location into Maps.Me it said it would take 4 minutes so we figured why not. It’s close and well rated. However, that 4 minutes slowly turned into 24 minutes thanks to traffic. Annoying at the time but once we got there we quickly forgot about it. What an adorable, hipster like place this was. Everything was written on a chalkboard in funky lettering. And they were very proud baristas behind the counter willing to make you whatever you wanted. It still wasn’t fully up to his standards but the cappuccino Vinny got was the best he’s had in the last 3+ months. Reminded me of a place that would be in Portland, Oregon for some reason.
No need for dinner tonight since our belly’s are filled with happiness from our cooking class still and our abs are sore from laughing continuously. It sure was a wonderful day. I highly recommend Thai Farm Cooking School and I highly recommend requesting Garten as your teacher. She just might be my new favorite person on this planet (besides you, of course).
Day 4 – April 26
How can anything beat yesterday? Fantastic food and endless entertainment all while learning new tricks in the kitchen. However, we are certainly going to try. Today we are paying to volunteer (such a funny concept) at Patara Elephant Farm, which is a hands-on experience learning how to take care of an elephant on a daily basis the way its owner would. This is a opportunity to give back and to help these incredible animals, not treat them like circus entertainers, I promise. A lot of the elephants are currently going through rehab or have recently given birth and Patara is rescuing them from being poached in the jungles. We did the “Elephant Day Care” program which was from 1pm-6pm and about $108 per person (this was Vinny’s birthday gift to me and it sure was a great one). When we first arrived at the farm, about an hour or so outside the city, we were greeted by 3 mamma elephants and their 3 babies. Oh my peanut. There is absolutely nothing in this world sweeter than seeing a baby elephant snuggle up to their mother. And they are such happy animals (or at least here they are). I got to hug a baby (although I did more of the hugging) and it just melted my heart. After the photo, she tried playing with me but I thought she was trying to tackle me so I ran. I guess their playful approach is a little different than ours.
Everyone was paired up with their own elephant which gave us a chance to really connect with them on a more personal level. Mine was Potu, a 7 year old female who was born at Patara and my mahout (elephant keeper/rainer) was Ross. Potu was so loving, so gentle and so adorable. She kept wanting to give me big, tight hugs with her trunk. I mean seriously? This is an elephant we are talking about. Not a dog, not a cat, not a person. An elephant. And she wants to hug me? Am I dreaming?
We learned how to properly approach them, how to detect certain temperaments and how to communicate through different spoken commands (all in Thai)…
How to feed them with bananas still in the peel and massively thick bamboo sticks. Their tongues were so slimy yet so soft. Whose mouth is bigger you think?
How to bath them. Front, back, top, bottom. We scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed…
And then they bathed us…
How to ride them bareback on their neck (not on their back)…
My heart literally smiled from valve to valve every minute I got to spend with Potu today. I genuinely didn’t want to leave her side. If I can fall in love with an elephant the minute she hugs me, I can only imagine how I will be once I have my own children. Sorry Mom, you’ll have to wait just a little longer for that to happen though.
We’ve been having so much Thai food recently (rightfully so since we are in Thailand after all) so we decided to switch it up and go for our favorite alternative, Italian at Italics in the Old City. Cool atmosphere with lights hanging down, chic wall decorations and very artsy silverware and dishware. Bon appetito!
Day 5 – April 27
Our last full day in Chiang Mai. We rode our motorbike into the Old City and had breakfast at Hideout Cafe. I got a bagel and cream cheese for the first time in months. Oh how I’ve missed them. Such a simple food concept yet so fulfilling. And of course, I got a mango smoothie as well. My goal is to have at least one each day while I’m in Thailand.
Next we went to Talat Waroto, which is Chiang Mai’s central market. Clothes, toiletries, shoes, food, produce, jewelry, hats. You name it, it’s here. So much stuff, everywhere. It’s a bit overwhelming.
Next we went temple hopping. I had to use the restroom at one point and they made me put on some random sandals before entering. Ewwwww. My feet have to touch the feet of a strangers? Well not technically but kind of. How unsanitary is this idea? But I have to respect it since I’m in their country not mine.
First up was Wat Chedi Luang (built in 1441)…
Vinny calls this the “Netflix Buddha” because he is laying down (with all do respect, of course)…
And this the “had too much popcorn while watching Netflix Buddha” (again, with all do respect)…
It is so brutally hot right now (even with our amazingly awesome umbrellas shielding us from the ever so strong sun) so we ventured into the nearest 7-11 (which was right across the street as there is one on every single corner) for some ice cold water and a much needed air conditioning break. Who would have ever thought a 7-11 would be this enjoyable? Once my face changed colors from a red velvet cake to vanilla frosting, I knew I was back to normal temperature. Okay, on we go.
The second temple on our list was Wat Pan Tao, a short walk from Wat Chedi Luang…
Then we rode our bikes to Wat Phra Singh, which is Chiang Mai’s most revered temple…
One thing we learned was that it’s disrespectful to point your feet at Buddha so when most people sit down on the ground, they usually sit on their feet. A little uncomfortable at first but after a few minutes, you get the hang of it.
Three temples were enough for us. We like to appreciate what we are seeing and sometimes it becomes tedious if you visit too many in a short period of time. It’s all about balance. Quality over quantity. Since we wanted to escape the heat somehow but didn’t want to drive back to our AirBnB quite yet, we came up with the perfect solution – get a traditional Thai massage. Duh. What a genius idea. We went to Fah Lanna and basically got our butts kicked by the local masseuses (hence Vinny’s face in the photo below). Wow, they use every body part they can on you including their knuckles, their elbows, their knees and their feet. Definitely not relaxing but I feel brand new now. It’s one of those “hurt’s so good” feelings. And for one hour, it cost $5.50 each. Yes, please. Sign me up daily if I was staying longer. I also got a much needed pedicure for $8. Not the best one I’ve ever had but my feet look somewhat approachable again. Much better.
Our last supper was spent at Dash. Delicious food, affordable prices, romantic setting.
We are so sad to be leaving Chiang Mai in the morning. Between the endless array of restaurant options, the funky coffee culture, the brewing beer labs and the extensive, unique nature filled experiences, both inside and outside the Old City, this is a place we felt we could definitely do at least a few more nights in. But all good things have to end eventually. Boo hoo. And we loved our AirBnB but if we had to do it over again, we would most likely stay closer to the action. It wasn’t painfully far away but still a trek anytime we wanted to go anywhere. Oh well, you live and you learn.
Tomorrow we fly to Bangkok, which is known locally as Krung Thep, the “City of Angels”. That’s odd, I thought I was from the City of Angels? East meets West. Bring it on.
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