Saturday, November 29

Spent the AM reading, catching up on emails and news, etc.  Then we walked to a cafe called Good Morning Chiang Mai.  It is also a guesthouse but the cafe is in a small courtyard.  Many guesthouses have such cafes, though this one seemed especially nice.  Shortby good menu and a little trio played  - 2 guitars and percussionist, singing old American tunes - Jim Croce, James Taylor type songs. Beth had ginger pancakes while Sue and Greg had fruit-stuffed pancakes and Tom had fried rice.

On the walk back we stopped again at the Baan Phor Liang Meun's terra cotta garden.  There is a shop across the soi (alley) that sells beautiful terra cotta and the enclosed garden holds mostly rejects or broken pieces that weathering and greenery has made beautiful.

We relaxed most of the day till around 6:00 when we took a red taxi to an area called the Night Bazaar which is full of shops, restaurants, hotels, etc. that come alive every evening.  Mam suggested we get a photo taken in Thai costumes, so we met her and Chap and Mook there.  It took an hour or so for them to dress us all, do hair and makeup etc.  Fun watching the transformations :)  They took nearly 60 photos and will deliver to our hotel tomorrow.

Afterwards, Chap took us to Le Spice, an Indian restaurant where we all enjoyed wonderful dinners with tasty naan.  

We walked by this "Fish Spa" on the way - you sit with your legs in the fish tank and little fishies nibble away the dead skin.....also saw a snail place where they put snails on your face!  We passed!

We flagged a red taxi with a woman driver - kind of rare - and were back to the hotel around 10:30 or so.  A late night crowd we are not, as most are early risers 5:30-6:00 or so.....


Sunday, November 30

Relaxed for a bit and then Tom and Sue set off on a long power walk.  Greg and I opted for the market again, taking time to people watch and sample a few things.  Bought a kilo of beautiful tangerines (12-15) for 40 baht, about $1.25 and some little coconut pancake-type things.

Many Thais eat out often and if you go for market food, you can easily get meals like Pad Thai or Rice Soup for a dollar or less.    People usually shop twice a day, so the market will be bustling from 6AM till about 9 or 10, then many shops close, to reopen again in late afternoon.  Some places have stools where you can sit to eat, some have tables to display things and some just set up on the ground under an umbrella.  On advice from Mam, we opt to not get anything unless we see it being freshly cooked, or fresh produce that we can peel.

We decided to take a taxi to Wat Umong, an old wat that was set up originally as a place for monks to meditate and study. Originally called the "temple of 11 clumps of bamboo".  When built, in the 1700's, it was in a forested area outside the city.  The city has since enveloped it but the grounds are quite extensive and you wouldn't know you were in the city.  Instead of one or two large wat structures, this was built as a series of tunnels with small shrines off the tunnels.  Very cool.

We explored the tunnels (no shoes allowed), and then walked the grounds.  There is a small lake with many fish and pigeons at one end and this being the Thai's one day off a week, there were several families enjoying the day.  At the other end of the grounds were monk's residences and buildings.  There was also a small museum but all in Thai so we didn't learn much.

Lots of chickens and colorful roosters around the grounds, as well as signs with wise sayings like
"Time unused is the longest time."

Our taxi driver waited for us, so we were back home in time for a late lunch.  Walked to a small place called Mr. Kai's that we had heard had good Thai food.  Only 8 tables and for the first time we had to wait a few minutes for a table to clear.  We had 2 thai dishes, 2 rice, a beer and a pepsi for about $6.

Back to the hotel, where Greg worked out a bit and we hung out with Tom and Sue until about 5:00 when we set out for the Sunday market.  Lots of folks out and we wound our way through for several blocks.  Street musicians, a small stage with young performers, all types of food and crafts.  We went for a hot waffle - we had peanut butter while Sue had banana with raisins. Each day at 6 PM there are speakers that play the Thailand National Anthem.  Everyone stops what they are doing while it plays.

We tried two restaurants which were both closed and ended up at La Petite ChiangMai, a tiny nearby spot that is trying to be a bit upscale with nice tablecloths and orchids.  Food was good but we paid a little for the ambience :)

The photos from yesterday's session arrived and we had some laughs checking them out.