Part II: Chiang Mai

As promised, I will relay the second leg of my holiday travels, that be it: Chiang Mai. After four days on Koh Chang, Abi and I parted ways in Bangkok and I took an overnight bus up to Chiang Mai, the largest city in the North and second largest city in Thailand. I was immediately taken by the historic charm of the area. It had a different vibe than any other place I’d visited in Thailand. I spent the first day wandering the streets of the city, drinking REAL coffee (this country loves instant coffee – the real stuff is hard to come by), perusing used English bookstores, and exploring the myriad of wats (temples) around town. That evening, I indulged in a particularly delicious plate of pad thai followed by the ever popular Thai dessert, sticky rice and mango.

The following day, a few fellow teachers I met at orientation arrived and we walked and talked and dined together. Emily, one of said teachers, and I signed up for a Thai cooking class on an organic farm. Chiang Mai is known for its cooking classes (I think because it’s a hot tourist destination and they know tourists will be willing to pay big bucks to cook “authentic” Thai food). I was initially hesitant because I thought it might just be another tourist trap, but this particular course was really great.

There were seven of us total – 2 Americans, 3 Aussies, and 2 Denmark(ians? Danes?). Our instructor took us to a local market on the outskirts on town where we learned about the various types of rice, curry pastes, sweeteners, and plethora of produce. We continued on, arriving at the farm late morning. Our instructor gave us a list of dishes from which each student could choose six. Six – sounds a bit ambitious, no? Well, it turns out that, while we were in fact cooking, the majority of the mise en place (washing, peeling, chopping, etc.) was already done for us. And we didn’t really learn much theory or technique. It was still fun, though, and I did pick up a few things along the way. My meal consisted of: green curry with tofu (with a curry paste made from scratch, mind you, using the heaviest mortal and pestle of my life), chicken and coconut milk soup, stir-fried tofu with cashews and veggies, spring rolls, and mango with sticky rice. We were also expected to consume all this food – a feat I could not accomplish.

I spent the remainder of the week checking out more wats, shopping (Chiang Mai is known for its handicrafts), reveling in the availability of Western cuisine, and ringing in the New Year with my fellow teachers. I departed Chiang Mai around 5:30 p.m. Friday, and three bus rides later (including one excruciatingly long 13 hour ride), I walked through the front door of my apartment around 2:00 p.m. Saturday.

Although I already find myself missing toast for breakfast and the anonymity of the city, it’s good to be back in the quiet and beautiful Khaowong, where every night I can see just about every star in the sky.

P.S. I've posted pics from Koh Chang and Chiang Mai: http://picasaweb.google.com/keemrich