Nov 27, 2014 Thanksgiving in Thailand

Thursday, November 27

Happy Thanksgiving!  Greg and Tom started with a half-day fishing trip with Jim and his friend Neil (both Brits).  They went to a private lake about 30 minutes away and had a ball, with each guy catching 8 or 9 big mekong catfish between 10 and 50 pounds each! Some took 20 minutes or more to land, and a few got away.

It was strictly catch and release, so no catfish for dinner tonight!

Beth and Sue took a red taxi  to  Wat Wat ChiangMan (Elephant Wat) which had many statues of elephants outside the chedi and beautiful murals inside the wat.

We wandered many small streets back to the hotel, stopping for a decadent dessert lunch at a small garden shop with gorgeous orchids.

 Sue found a lovely leather purse in a small shop with handmade clothing and purses. We passed many lovely homes, side by side with small shops and ramshackle homes.  No zoning laws here!
Also spotted a "laundramat" and these jackfruit.

Headed back to the hotel and relaxed a bit till Tom and Greg returned with their fish stories and great pictures.  We headed out to We' s for lunch but they had a sign posted that they were on holiday, so we went around the corner to Baan Na Na.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Massaman Curry, Fried Rice, and Beth decided to try a hamburger. Sue had a gorgeous tasty mango smoothie.  Bad decision for Beth as it was possibly the worst hamburger ever - the menu said 100% beef, but I seriously doubt it.  Kind of cross between gristly sausage and ??   The french fries were good, though!  I should have known better!

Tom and Sue stopped for a massage, Greg and I went back to the Melt Away bakery for apple pie and cheesecake.

Wednesday, November 26

This morning we have scheduled a cooking class with Tom Yum Cooking School, which we found on Trip Advisor.  Oun, the owner, picked us up at 9AM and we went directly to a market where he explained many of the spices, vegetables and fruits and purchased ingredients for our dishes. Among other things we learned about galanga (a type of ginger) and lemon grass, and kaffir lime leaves which are used for flavoring but are not usually eaten (that's why some of those soups had "odd" ingredients!)  Some of the ingredients were familiar (garlic, cilantro, onion) and some very different. He explained several types of peppers, some which are hot immediately and some that gradually get hotter, some mild and some sweet.

Banana Flower

Eggs, papaya and other fruits

There were 6 other students, a very personable and well-spoken couple from Singapore and four girls from Taiwan.  The school is part of Oun's home but is very clean and airy, with a room for dining, a room for prep and an outdoor room where everyone had a wok.  Very well organized, and Oun spoke English well enough to make jokes and kid people.

We each could choose from a limited menu of dishes which we wanted to learn to prepare; one stir-fry, one curry, one salad, one soup.

Beth with chicken with cashews

Greg made Pad Thai, Chicken in Coconut Milk Soup, Cucumber Salad, Green Curry and Sticky rice with Mango.  Beth made Cashew Nut with Chicken, Hot & Sour Prawn Soup (Pretty hot), Mixed Fruit salad with tamarind sauce, Khao Soi - a northern Thai noodle curry - and the sticky rice with Mango.   We ate what we cooked, so were VERY full by the end of class - I couldn't finish most things.

Sweet and sour prawn soup

Khao Soi, a northern Thailand noodle specialty

Oun took us back to the hotel about 2:30 and we rested and re-grouped.  Greg did a little spinning and water exercises at the gym on the roof.

We met Jim and Cheron at 6:00 and took a taxi to a Vietnamese restaurant they recommended.  Nice garden setting, with a few long-haired rabbits hopping around.  We ate lightly, since we were still full from cooking class, but enjoyed  fresh spring rolls in rice paper, fermented pork, salads.  No rice. Total about $20 for all 6 of us, which included beers and soda!

We decided to walk to the Silver Temple again since someone told us it was lit beautifully at night, but it was not lit tonight. Maybe on the weekend...

Tuesday, November 25

Here is a picture of our hotel, The Smith Residence.  It is 8 stories and we are on the 7th. There is a small pool and gym on the roof.

This morning we tried the new bakery that Cheron told us about called Melt Away.  Not a lot of pastries but tasty quiche with a little salad on the side.  Sue had Mushroom Broccoli and Greg and I had Bacon Omelet quiche.   Small shop with 3 or 4 tables only.  We complemented the chef and asked where she learned to cook western food - she said she was self-taught.  Her husband came out too and talked a bit.  They have limited items but they include a chocolate cake, carrot cake, cheese cake, apple pie and the quiches.

Tom and Chap went to play golf early this morning, so Sue, Greg and I decided to go to the Airport Mall to see what it was like.  Took a red cab and got there before it opened, but starbucks was open so we sat at their outside table and read the paper, took photos and chatted till 11:00.

  The mall was similar to American ones, though McDonalds and Aunt Annie's pretzels were the only stores we recognized.  Some very nice, upscale stores, department stores, boutiques, electronics (many phone stores)and kiosks.  On the first floor there was a grocery store and a huge market with all sorts of fruits, vegetables, hot dishes, candies, etc. Like a cleaned up version of the street markets. Also a huge fish tank.  The mall is 5 stories and had quite a few Christmas decorations, none religious of course - Snoopy was very popular!

When we got back to the hotel Tom had returned.  Greg and I decided to go down a nearby street that has many silver shops and I found a beautiful ring at Pond Silver Town that I plan to wear as a wedding band, and another at Thong Yon Silver.

 We were in the vicinity, so went to the Silver Wat - Wat Srisuphan.  Instead of gold, it is decorated all in silver - some real silver and some a mix.  There is actually a gold temple and the silver wat is an ordination hall next door - no women allowed according to Lanna belief.  There is a silver workshop nearby where the art is practiced as well as taught and we watched some craftsmen.   They also offer meditation classes.

Greg noted the bamboo scaffolding used at construction sites and also many lightweight bamboo ladders.

For dinner we took a red taxi to the Gallery, along the Ping river.  Very nice atmosphere and lights on the river.  Looks great at night but is muddy like the Mississippi in daylight.  Good Thai food.

 Nearly every light had a live gecko inside. One of these got into our bedroom one night and for such a small creature they make a big sound!

 We walked back to the hotel, partially through the Night Bazaar - a nightly market along several blocks. This is more clothing, luggage, jewelry, etc. with some food here and there. Probably more for tourists.

Monday, 11/24

This morning Chap, Tom and Greg set off early for the Myanmar (Burma) border where Chap has to renew his visa.  They leave about 6:15 and it is fairly foggy for a while.  They travel through mountains and valleys, leeche orchards, corn, a tobacco field and others.  Some of the fields have scarecrows or scraps of fabric to deter birds.  There is not a lot of wildlife in Thailand though efforts are being made to conserve what little is left.  Chap says most of it has been eaten! They stop for pie and coffee.

Near Chiang Rai they stopped to see the White Temple.  Beautiful, amazing.  There is some slight damage from a recent earth quake.

They arrive at MaeSai on the border, about 10:30. Very busy area with a lot of coming and going.  Chap finds that the rules have changed and he will have to go to immigration back in ChiangMai. 

He does find a gem dealer that he knows and purchases a few stones before they head back to ChiangMai.  Thailand is about the size of Texas but has 66 million people, so there is not a lot of totally undeveloped land and there is some development along ½-2/3 of the highway. Small houses and local businesses.

They stop for lunch and have shrimp fried rice and coconut cream pie made from fresh coconut – yum! And head back to Chap’s shop where Beth and Sue have spent part of the day. 

Mam sent a Taxi for us this morning about 10:00.  We visited a bit with Mam and Mook and then went to a famous wood carving shop, followed by a visit to a wonderful coffee shop with pastries.  Then Sue and I wondered around the shops in the area and managed to find a few “treasures” J.   Mam took us to lunch at a  lovely nearby café and after a little more shopping, Chap, Greg and Tom arrived and took us all back to the hotel.

For dinner tonight we decided to try a French restaurant the Jim & Cheron recommended called La Fourchette.  This was very elegant and by far the most expensive meal we’ve had.  But it was delicious.  Beth had Duck a l’orange, Tom Beef Stroganoff, and Greg and Sue had chicken with mushrooms.  They brought us little appetizers (Russian salad and radishes), as well as delicious breads.  We shared Crepes Suzette and Cherries Jubilee for desert and they brought us each a tiny serving of ice cream as well.  About $75 for the four of us.  By contrast, six of us went to a Vietnamese restaurant later in the week for a total bill of $20.00.