it was 5am when I arrived to the train station in chiang mai. I didn't have a guest house or hostel room booked, so I had some instant coffee and waited for the sun to come out.
hiking buddies and our guide fluke
chiang mai train station
with the sun shining, I took a taxi to the "backpackers area", close to the pai gate of the city, and walked around asking for a room.
the old city of chiang mai is surrounded by a moab and it used to be surrounded by a wall of which only a little bit remains. for some reason, the idea of staying within the non-existing city walls made me feel better.
pai gate
walking around this area somehow made me feel like being home and safe. maybe it was seeing other backpackers looking for a place as well, or the street art ir the quietness at that time of the morning. after the busyness of bangkok and the nights in the train, chiang mai seemed so good.
after having slept in the train for two nights in a row, I was desperate for a shower and a meal. it was urgent, and I was lucky enough to get a single room, for less than $5. that shower was probably the most fantastic thing that happened to me in chiang mai and before the three hour nap That was about to happen, I needed some food.
the guest house was next to the somphet market, which I think only exists for the cooking classes to give travelers and thai market 101 class, but there, I found some rice porridge with thai ginger, crispy rice noodles, some veggies, pork meatballs (put on the side) and an uncooked egg. hello breakfast (instant coffee included).
my first day I chiang mai consisted of napping, eating, walking a little, napping some more and eating some more, and the last eating session was cooked by me!
making masaman curry paste
not bowing what to do with my afternoon (not much walking please), I signed up for a cooking class. thai food cooking class? sure! it was about 5 hours long and it included a trip to the somphet market (told you!). then we learned how to do a stir fry dish, some curry (making the paste included), spring rolls and some dessert. here are two of my masterpieces (both with tofu):
hot basil stir fry
panang curry
day two:
chiang mai is so much more relaxed than bangkok, and I needed relaxing time. for that reason, the second day in chiang mai still consisted of some lazyness with frequent coffee or ice cream stops, while still walking my ass off.
the day started at the warorot market, outside the old city, in chinatown. a friend had recommended I went there for breakfast, but everything was in chinese and nobody understood me (maybe I went to the wrong place?)
chinatown entrance
I ended up finding what I think were some little crepes filled with coconut creme, freshly made. I was way too hungry to take a picture.
after wandering for a bit, seeing some snakes and frogs on buckets, I decided to head towards the main temples and officially start the sightseeing. I had no idea where I was anymore, and eventually ran into wat bupparam, which was on my map!
wat bupparam
here are some more pictures of temples I visited:
wat chedi luang
main chedi at wat chedi luang
wat pan tao
the walls inside vihara laai kaham are covered with illustrated stories - wat phra singh
wat muenlarn (found this one randomly, not on my map!)
day three:
on my last day in chiang mai, I went hiking in the jungle, about one hour away from the city. I have failed you by not writing the names of many places where I've been (and writing this two weeks after being in chiang mai, I can tell you I didn't get any better at it).
anyway, I went to an "only walking" trek. this was emphasized many times, just to make sure that is what I wanted, because most trips include water rafting and an elephant ride. I wasn't interested in neither. (I think elephants are amazing, but I don't believe they are well treated and don't think their suffering is worth humans fantasy of riding an exotic animal in the jungle).
the trek was pretty steep but it was so beautiful and I met some great people!
it included a visit to a waterfall where we hung out and swam for an hour.
our guide fluke at the waterfall
we started somewhere back there in one of those hills
my stay in chiang mai was pretty amazing, full of color and resting and great new friends and amazing food. see you later kao soi soup (I'm probably spelling it wrong), you were my favorite thai food.
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