I couldn’t resist. In spirit of the recent Oscars, I wanted to emphasize my favorite city that I have visited so far in SE Asia (although right now I am in Hoi An, Vietnam, and it is catching up fast).
Chiang Mai is the second-largest city in Thailand after Bangkok, and is located about 600km north of the capital. Abbie and I took an overnight bus to get there, which was so much better than expected (however, I thought there was a snake-like bug in my chair for one second and then realized they had turned on the odd seat massagers – that was weird). After a perfect night’s sleep, we got off the bus ready to explore the city! Our first day was packed – tigers and exploring and cooking, oh my!
Before my trip, I wrote a list of must-do’s (so unnatural of me, right?) and seeing tigers at the Chiang Mai Tiger Park was number one. They have always been my favorite animals, and having the opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with them was one I was not going to pass up. The Tiger Park is extremely touristy, but unlike a zoo, visitors get to choose which size cat they would like to interact with, and how many. Trained from an early age, the tigers are calm and sleep most of the day, and there has never been an instance of biting or mauling (we checked). They cleverly make the baby tigers the most expensive to hang out with, and we opted to see the babies, the “mid-sized” (5 months old) and the big mommas. The babies were the most playful, and we had fun watching them rough-house and bounce around. The picture opportunities were perfect, and definitely one of my favorite parts of the whole experience – posing with the big cats, lying with them, high-fiving with them. It was just so amazing, and like the elephant expedition, I found myself smiling from ear-to-ear and excited the whole day.
Best high-five award
The next activity on the list was a cooking class! Abbie and I hadn’t even considered doing one until an elderly couple told us about the one they did in Chiang Mai and completely convinced us. My love for Thai food has multiplied exponentially since I arrived here, and I knew very little about the cuisine before, so this was the perfect way to understand the ingredients and unique cooking techniques. In a group of 8, we all sat cross-legged on the floor at a long, short table while our instructor began the course. She then led us to the local market, where she taught us about the different spices, vegetable extractions, meats, noodles, and curry pastes that are used in Thai cooking. Many of the ingredients are impossible to find in other countries, such as “elephant mushrooms” – long, slimy, brown mushrooms that resemble elephant ears, used in many stir-fry dishes. I won’t go into much more detail, as I am concocting a scrumptious post on food of the region and want to go into much more depth about the components and methods of the cuisine here. (so more to come!)
We were brought back to the house and kitchen, and spent around 3 hours cooking four different dishes! It was so much fun and I was definitely in my element. I chose to cook fried cashew nut with chicken, spring rolls, hot and sour prawn soup, and Chiang Mai noodle with chicken, which is the typical dish from the city, and my absolute favorite Thai food! Abbie and I have concurred that this was by far the best meal we have had so far, and we couldn’t believe that we were actually the ones to make it! I have always found that bike tours are an amazing way to experience a new city and culture, and now I am convinced that taking a cooking class is another unique, perfect way to learn so much more about a new destination.
Different curry pastes at the local market
Because the first day was so action-packed, we reserved the next couple of days for sightseeing and exploring the city of Chiang Mai. The Old Town is enclosed in 4 square, stone walls, giving it oddly somewhat of a European feel. That feeling is immediately expunged when you walk into Old Town among the endless ornate Buddhist temples within. We spent a whole afternoon walking inside and around the various temples, and each one brings you such peace and leaves you in awe of the distinctive religious culture of the region. Another attraction is the immense night market lining the walls of the city. Packed to the brim of tourists buying souvenirs, locals slurping on noodles at food stalls, and street performers, the night market is much more than shopping. We spent a few hours just taking everything in, walking with a street beer and trying local snacks such as dumplings, sweet corn, and spring rolls. The nightlife in Chiang Mai is a blast as well, as many young Westerners teach English there and backpackers make it a “must-stop city”. We met loads of people from all over the world and had a great time at the local bars!
The final day was reserved for the Doi Suthep Temple, a sacred sight for many Thai people, located in the hills surrounding Chiang Mai. The local tour agent convinced us of the trip in pitching “You haven’t been to Chiang Mai if you haven’t been to Doi Suthep”… gets me EVERY time. A van took us up the winding mountain to the “Temple on the Hill” and once inside, the atmosphere was immediately calmer, more serene, more peaceful. Wearing a shawl and long skirt, I purchased flowers and incense and walked three times around the temple for good luck and prosperity. After, I lit the incense and placed it below Buddha, bowed, then placed the flowers in the offertory, and bowed. This process had been explained to us by our tour guide, and it all felt very enchanting and soothing. Abbie and I wished for safe travels, especially that we would be traveling that night for 12 hours via mini-bus across the Thai-Laotian border
Another triumphant, meaningful day behind us, and we set off for our third country of the trip: Laos!
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