Why Chiang Mai?

By Shelly


Whenever we see an extended weekend on the Thai calendar, we can't wait to figure out where we want to go that might be a bit more of a distance.  So when Buddhist Lent came up on July 15 and gave us a four day weekend, it was pretty much understood that we would be traveling up into Northern Thailand to Chiang Mai.  We ended up flying there to give us more exploration time.  I ended up needing the short travel more than I knew since I took off that Wednesday and Thursday with the Flu.  Looked like we'd be taking it a bit easier there than we anticipated!

On Friday, we decided to do something both of us swore up and down (up until that week) that we would never do - drive a motorbike in Thailand.  It made the most sense as a way to explore Mae Sa Valley since driving the loop was supposed to take about 3 hours, and traffic was almost non existent once you get out of Chiang Mai.  It probably wasn't the smartest decision given that neither of us had ever driven a motorbike before, but I think living in Thailand has made both of us even more adventurous (I mean, look at the food we try!).  The first 15 minutes of us driving on the shoulder while Matt got comfortable had me in hysterics.  I could not stop laughing.  In his eyes, it was one of the most nerve wracking times in his life.  Then it started raining, so we had to pull over at a gas station and buy the only ponchos they had available - really pretty pink colored GIANT ponchos.  It's a good thing Matt is already comfortable wearing pink shirts AND pulls them off well!  :) 

We got into Mae Sa and first stopped at the Mae Sa Waterfalls, which were really brown, but still beautiful.  After some light hiking, we continued our way past elephant camps and orchid farms to discover the most amazing, breathtaking views! 

The Food

Khao Soy

Before we made our way up to Northern Thailand, we received many recommendations for the food, most notably, Khao Soy.  Looking in our Thailand Lonely Planet book, there were a few different recommendations for this Northern Thailand dish.  I think that they give good recommendations in there, but I also think they don’t give enough credit to the many other small street restaurants that have just as good if not better food typically than a place they recommend.  And for half the price!  So since this was a famous dish up north, we decided to try our luck with one of those smaller restaurants not in the book.  And let me tell you we were not disappointed!!!

 We both ordered Khao Soy Kai (with chicken) and awaited this uber incredible dish.  First, they brought us a stack of 3 containers.  Upon checking the contents, one had quartered raw shallots; another had this spicy kimchi-esque cabbage (I liked this whereas I do not like Kimchi) and the third contained some other additive (I clearly didn’t use it since my memory is lacking).  Just as we finished opening the containers, our Khao soy was delivered to us.  We each had a large drumstick with thin, flat egg noodles, and green parsley in a delicious smelling orange curry broth topped with crunchy, curly wonton strips.  I added a good amount of shallots and a bit of cabbage to mine.  The first bite.  Oh. My. Gosh.  AROI!!!!  This stuff was GOOD!  It was slightly sweeter than I anticipated, a little creamy and the wonton strips crunched with perfection.  We will be taking a cooking class in Chiang Mai when we go back in October and I am quite determined to learn how to make this incredible dish.  If you are lucky enough, maybe you will get to try it at some point. :)

Tianzi Tea House

After having Khao Soy twice, Matt wanted to try out a restaurant he found in Lonely Planet that bragged of having the most delicious vegetarian organic food in Chiang Mai.  I have to admit that I was slightly skeptical but wanted to give it a try.  The setting of the restaurant was really unique, and we decided to sit outside where they had low long tables with lounges basically to lay on our sides as we were eating.
Looking at the menu, I knew I would have a hard time (and yet not so hard of time) deciding what I wanted.  We ended up getting buckwheat bread with hummus (bread was okay, hummus was MMM!!!), steamed spinach with wasabi (YUM), GINGER and real brown rice (I almost died when I saw this), buckwheat pasta in the shape of gnocchi with sugar snap peas, CLOVES of garlic, and mushrooms (blech – here ya go Matt) covered in tomato sauce.  AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!  I am sorry to say that I did not get any pictures because it was all devoured too quickly.  Wow.  That was some food experience.  I am salivating like crazy just writing about it.  AHHH!!!! SOOO GOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  If you are ever in Chiang Mai, you HAVE to go to this place.  You HAVE to.  No questions.  I will try to replicate these dishes as well. 

Jerusalem Falafel

Greek salad with lettuce, feta, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, and grilled seasoned chicken.  Garlic pita bread.  Ground beef meatloaf-esque thing with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. Sigh.... :)

We wrapped up our trip in a way that was a bit of a surprise to both of us.  Planning on leaving late Sunday night so we could have Monday to prep for school on Tuesday, I relied on the planning part (aka, Matt) to let me know when our flight was.  Well, after a nice Thai massage in old city, Matt decided that he should try to check us in for our flight.  It was 8pm at this point.  We walked into the nearest internet cafe to do this, and upon checking our flight, Matt's eyes widened with a slight unbelieving smile on his face and said "uh oh."  Our flight had left 37 minutes prior.  BIG uh oh.  We ended up staying another night in Chiang Mai, and leaving at 5:30am to make sure we got on the first bus back to Bangkok.  That was a very long mistake.  But always an adventure :)



I'm actually strangling Matt