Chilling in Chiang Mai

July 7, 2011

We take our seats at breakfast, and  I couldn't  help but notice how it didn't feel like we are in the middle of a city. The bed and breakfast is closed from the street, a hopping bar strip usually, and it's like your in the middle of a  jungle hideaway. Tropical plants line the paths between suites- coconuts, bananas, and other fruit grow everywhere. It is helpful that we had a pool too.

We head towards the old town a little closer to lunch, and Andrea and I are already starving. Half the group go ahead while Andrea's parents join us for lunch at Mike's burgers. They made a good burger but still fairly average but combined with the tasty fries- much needed energy for the day ahead.

After lunch, we went through the old city wall and visited a few of the temples. I have to admit there is only so many Buddha statues one can see before they get kind of jaded about the whole thing, just like all the Virgin Marys in Mexico. That's when I saw a creepy fiberglass monk that looked realistic and seem to follow you with it's hollow stare.

As we exited this temple, we were again greeted by someone who conveniently had a Canadian friend and oh by the way, you should go to my buddy's tour agency to book your tour for the next day. We made it as if we would go there, and he immediately got on his phone as we  left. As soon as he saw we were not headed in the direction of his buddy's, he crossed the street in attempt to get us back on track. We said we'd go tomorrow much to his chagrin. Obviously, he would have gotten a finder's fee for sending the business to his friend.

Later, we headed over to the Riverside bar, a favorite hangout of locals and tourists for some food and brews. It was packed by the time we left, and by then Alex and Kate were arriving but we didn't have the energy for a night on the town.

July 8, 2011

The next day, we went in a van up the mountain to Doi Ithanon temple, and big landmark in Chang Mai- a golden dome-like structure. This is the first temple that I had seen where they have a tram lift that ascends to it. The view of Chiang Mai was worth the price of admission and the temple itself was nice too (see jaded).

At this point, i could make a corny joke about Jade factories but that's where we went- it was across the street. We were shown a cheesy 5 minute video about Jade manufacturing that was straight out of the 80s. Subsequently, we took a tour where artisans were at work. A lot of this work was very detailed, and took weeks to finish. This of course came into play in the pricing, you could own a jade chess set for mere thousands of dollars (U.S.- not Thai Baht). Needless to say I did not purchase anything but some of the adults purchased less complex pieces.

At night, Andrea and I decided to have a cheap dinner at the night bazaar, and then take in a movie at the French Consulate. On paper, it sounded good, it was an old French romance film according to the ad. I forget how experimental Alain Resnais's films were, having never seen a full one myself. As soon as Andrea started to play with her hair, I knew I had lost her. Don't get me wrong there were times when I was looking at my watch, just seeing her bored made things worse. Then kids in the back started snoring. In the end, we watched the whole thing, and agreed it wasn't really our cup of tea but it had some good moments and artistic merit. And it was only 30 baht (about a dollar).

 We ended the night how we started, at the night bazaar.

Next time... "The Final Days in Thailand"...