Five Days in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Phillip and I spent five days in Thailand, in our favorite city of Chiang Mai. I did not make a post there because typing while sitting on the bed was just too uncomfortable! We loved our hotel, Cheeva Dee, with its friendly staff, huge modern bathroom, and made-to-order breakfasts, but there was no desk in our room. I waited until moving on to our next hotel to make this Chiang Mai post. We had flown from Malaysia to Thailand on May 20th, with our first order of business to have Thai food. We walked to a nearby small restaurant (all restaurants are nearby in Chiang Mai!) where I had a northern Thai specialty, Khao Soi. It is curry noodle soup and delicious. Phillip had pad Thai. 

Our hotel was within the walls of the Old City, so during our first full day, we walked the Old City perimeter, 1.6 km for each of the four walls around the enclosed square (total: about 4 miles). 

The ancient brick walls are no longer continuous around the Old City, but the streets and moat still define it as a specific area. 

We stopped at a small market area where I bought some fresh jackfruit from a fruit vendor. 

One of the main gates was home to many, many pigeons. People were taking pictures with the pigeons, but yuck! Pigeon poop! 

On Friday, the 22nd, we had a half-day e-bike country-side tour. I figured we wouldn’t pedal much with an e-bike, so we’d be fine. Well, pedaling was involved and I didn’t fully appreciate the effect of a bicycle seat for 35 km. Although most of the rice fields had just been harvested, our guide took us past some lovely spots. Our first stop was at a wat (temple).

He said that this temple was the location for a movie scene a few years ago, so now people are showing up in traditional costumes to make Instagram posts from here. No costume for us, but he did take our picture there.

We did get tired and sore by the end of our ride. Phillip and I both were using more battery than pedal during the last five km. 

the e-bike that I rode

The following day, we waited until the evening before we went out because we were sore from the bike ride. We walked to the Saturday Market and had Chiang Mai sausage for dinner, purchased with rice from a street vendor. Phillip’s sister-in-law, Miriam, made this for us at the ranch one year. It is delicious, but spicy from the Thai peppers.

I saw grilled corn and could not resist. 30 baht is less than $1 and this was coated with coconut milk when grilled. Wonderful!

A major street was closed to traffic for the Saturday Market and the vendors set up in the roadway. Over a km of vendors and crowds of people.

Although Miriam teaches us to cook Thai dishes whenever she visits, Phillip and I took a Thai cooking class on Sunday. A van picked us up and drove outside of the city to an organic farm where they had cooking stations under a large, covered area for us to use.

One of the dishes that I made was chicken with holy basil. Holy basil is spicier than Thai basil. 

Phillip made chicken with cashews. 

We also made curry dishes, and we pounded the seasonings to make the different curry pastes for our dishes, no food processors!

On Monday, we flew from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, changed planes, and flew on to Danang, Vietnam. We had plenty of time to catch the second plane in Bangkok, so the travel day was easier than I had anticipated. We have four nights here in Danang with activities planned.