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.

 

Nov 28, 2014 Tiger Kingdom, Botanical Gardens

Friday, November 28

Today we have hired a driver to take us north of ChiangMai for a few adventures.  We had Yae (or Yai?)again, the same driver who took us to Doi Suthep.  He is fun and good driver - actually uses his turn signal, which I think is even more rare here than in Houston! His English is pretty good and he is proud of his country and we covered a wide range of topics.

Our first stop was Tiger Kingdom, about a hour's drive.  We purchased tickets and waited a bit to get to see "our" tigers.  You could choose different sized cats and we chose the oldest group who were around 19 months old.  All four of us entered a large enclosed area that held four or five LARGE tigers. One or two were sleeping (they ARE cats, after all). There was a trainer for each group of tourists.  He reviewed that you should not approach cats from the front, not touch their heads or paws and pet them firmly not lightly, use no flash, etc.  As the tigers got up and moved the trainer moved us around and we only approached them when they were lying down.

What huge animals!  Their power was obvious and awesome!  We took photos as allowed, rather than paying their photographer to do so.  They say the animals are not drugged, but are raised from cubs. The only control the trainers had was a small stick about 18" long, and hand motions.  I was petting one and he rolled over on his back just like a cat to have his tummy rubbed!

We spent about 15 or 20 minutes with them, then left and walked around looking at the other tigers.  There were several cubs that were born in September and October in a nursery - very cute and rambunctious and chewing on everything, including each other!  We were impressed with the cleanliness and care shown.

After this experience we headed up the mountain to the Queen's Botanical Gardens.  The current Queen, who is in her early 80's now, did a lot for the country in conservation, beautification and preservation of forests and wildlife.  The Botanical Gardens consisted of outside gardens, and about a dozen green houses with plants from all around the world, including carnivorous plants, cacti, beautiful orchids, rain forest trees and plants, medicinal ones, and more. There wasn't much English on the signage, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.  Nice lake and pretty view as well.  There was also a small Natural Science Museum.

 Very unusual tree with waxy fruit that looks like half lemons dipped in wax. - we never did find out its name or where it comes from.

 many gorgeous orchids here and all over Thailand.

This water lily was blooming under water - note the tiny fish.

Banana Blossom and bananas below it.

Going down the mountain we stopped at Mae Sa Noi Waterfall for a brief walk.

Next stop was a tribal village - a government sponsored area which featured small villages for various tribal people, most of whom were demonstrating crafts and selling items.  We approached on a small one-lane dirt road and had to pass an elephant lumbering the other direction. We later saw several including this one who picked up his dinner on the way home!

There were people harvesting rice near the villages.

 We saw Hmong and Longneck Karens as well as a few other.  Some of the people were dressed up (for tourists) and some wore everyday clothes.  Many children playing here and there - the longneck little girls were already wearing the neck rings.  Our driver says the rings cause many problems as the ladies age and most die prematurely, but the tradition continues.

Most of the tribes came from Tibet or from Myanmar (Burma), some fleeing persecution and some just nomadic.  They have their own dialects, but many now can speak Thai as well.  The lady we are buying scarves from in the photo spoke English fairly well.

 We purchased a couple of woven scarves, which they said take about three days to complete and sell for $5-$20.  Some of the housing away from the craft area was pretty primitive, but they did have some electricity and we saw one woman carrying a crock pot!  And there was a small church (Catholic!) at the top of the village. I think I read that there are about 500 Catholics in ChiangMai Province, and there is a Cathedral in town.

We were back at the hotel by 5:00, in time to get cleaned up and ready for a taxi at 6:00 to go meet Chap and Mam at a small German restaurant that is one of their favorites.  The owner is German with a Thai wife who lived in Germany for a few years.  Beautiful buffet with roast pork, sauerbraten, worsts, sauer kraut, mashed potatoes and lots more.  Lovely salads and beautiful desserts! All done by the owner and his wife.  What a feast!

We took a taxi home as Chap, Mam and Mook headed home in the opposite direction.