10 days in Chiang Mai, Thailand/Holy Hell we have spent a lot of Money – Part 1

To start this entry off, I will tell you that we decided on the terribly horrendous idea of traveling from LA to Taipei to Bangkok to Chiang Mai–or rather: car to plane to bus to bus to plane to taxi to bus.  (More than 50 hours of straight traveling-this I do not reccomend).  We left the friendly American confines to head to Taoyuan, Taiwan (a city I formally lived in during a brief foray of English teaching in 2004). We stayed for little more than 6 hours, enough time to A.) realize I could reenter the country (a very long story indeed) B.) drink milk tea and eat tea eggs, (eggs hardboiled in loads of fresh tea), my favorite Taiwanese specialities C.) Have a lunch date with my Taiwanese BFF Kattie, (pronounced “Katie”), and catch up.  Then, alas, we headed back to the airport with ideas of returning to Taiwan dancing in our heads like sugarplums.  Another 20 hours later and we landed in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the 2nd largest city in the country.

Chiang Mai is located in the Northeast of Thailand and is surrounded by lush jungle and hills.  We headed to Chiang Mai straight away (rather than a brief stint in Bangkok) in order to visit with my old college buddies Sarah (different then the other Sarahs previously mentioned) her husband, Brian, and their daughter Audrey.  Sarah was born and raised there so she proved to be a very capable guide.

She first whisked us of to her favorite temple Wat Umong, which is one of the oldest temples in Chiang Mai.  It also differs from most temples as it is chock full of weird underground pathways (spoooky).  Sarah also introduced us to the Sunday market of the city, which is far larger in scope and more centrally located than the regular night market.  The sunday market is located at the The Phae gate, and surrounding area.  This area boasts tons of offerings for the common traveler from cheap eats to fish spas (more on that later)-which is why this is exactly where we decided to take up residence after leaving Sarah and her family.

Chiang Mai is the place many backpackers head to in order to embetter themselves, and we were no different.  We first attempted to do so through culinary.  Many of the countries best cooking schools are located here, and offer very reasonable classes for about $35US a day.  We opted for an all day class through “Taste of Heaven”,  for an all vegetarian class.  Best of all, because we were the first to register for the class, it was our duty to pick the menu.  We chose 9 dishes including spring rolls, mussamen curry, lard nar, and of course our favorite, tom kha soup.  Our instructor, Nan, was very patient, and was extremely symapthetic in offering up numerous replacement ingredients for those that would be difficult for us to obtain in the US.  After class, we got to enjoy our 9 course dinner,and surprise! it was delicious–of course I would be amiss not to mention that we have never had a bad meal in Chiang Mai. In fact, Rylan has discovered his new favorite dish (sorry hot dog, you have been replaced) it is called khao soi, and consists of curried, tender chicken with soft and hard egg noodles in coconut milk.  Rylan probably ate it 7 of the 10 days, but I guess if you can’t get it anywhere else you might as well get it while you can.

For drinks, the locals imbibe on Tiger, Chang, Leo, and Singha beer (all lagers, for you beer geeks).  They are available in regular size and 40oz for about $3 US.  The far and away best of the bunch is Singha.  Our evenings were spent (Singha in hand) perusing the night markets, and cooling off from the interminable 100F heat of the day in our favorite bar Pinte’s Blues Pub.  I know that it is shocking that a pair of Chicagoans found solace in a Blues Pub (sarcasm, of course)–but it wasn’t merely the bar’s music that secured its appeal.  The Blues Pub is plastered wall to wall with old stock photos of Blues greats( a la Howlin Wolf and Bessie Smith) ,the owner is this kind of cool, yet tough old guy (“Tui”), and the the patrons all seem a bit more down to earth.  It serves as an oasis among the noisy soccer bars, gogo clubs, and hostess bars (prostitutes).

Another fundamental aspect of our stay in Chiang Mai, can be summed up in one of my favorite words (not cheese, the other one) “Textiles.”  We visited Studio Naenna, for a tour of a small operating natural dye, and traditional backweaving art center.  All of the dye materials are collected and grown from their own land, (including the most complicated of natural dyes, indigo).  Indigenous jungle tribes have been combining these techniques with astounding embroidery skill to produce the most beautiful textiles I have ever seen (sorry Hungary).  I have spent hours browsing these wares and would have spent most of our trip’s budget on them if Rylan hadn’t stopped me (You probably would have too, even if you didn’t study Fiber and Material Studies in college).  Ultimately though Rylan grew tired of “fabric stuff” and was ready for something a little more manly: Thai Boxing.

Thai Boxing is brutal, and I was afraid that my pacifist tendencies might hinder my enjoyment of this sport.  I was wrong (so Rylan, was able to do his “I was right dance”).  Thai boxing is a sport with loads of ceremony.  There is dancing, posing, praying, bowing, and even a special band that beats in time with the fighters.  Then it is all action for 5 rounds or until somebody gets knocked out.  Before I knew it I was jumping up an down cheering just like the locals.  My only regret is that we never learned how to bet on the fights.  Oh well, next time.  And there can always be a next time–unless of course you are a Fish Spa.

Fish Spa is a big new trend sweeping Thailand, which is at once the most horrifying and fascinating thing I have ever done.  Basically you stick your feet into an aquarium filled with hundreds of small fish-who then suck and eat all of your dead skin.  They swarm your feet in some kind of freaky “National Geographic” manner, squirming between toes, and across every surface.  Its extremely ticklish, but supposedly their labors are supposed to lead to better circulation and smoother skin.  I think next time, I will take my chances with a loofah–but I am glad I did it, and though I would never do it again-I highly reccomend it, if for nothing else then to later walk by the Fish Spa and see the faces of fellow tourists as they first dip their ankles into the water.  I think I will leave you with that nice mental image, but don’t worry there is more from Chiang Mai to come.