Tid Bits from Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is a beautiful city and I could easily spend more time here.  We only touched on a few of what the city and surrounding area has to offer. Like most big cities there are more options, more pollution, more energy, and seems to me, more Mosquitos.

We enjoyed another great guesthouse. Clean and simple with the most comfortable beds to date. This was our view.

Our walk along the moat which surrounded the old city where we stayed was very pretty.

We enjoyed time at waterfalls and city parks with gardens for a reprieve from the heat and the sight seeing.

Tuk Tuks were a fun way to travel and the drivers seemed happier than other taxi drivers.  Maybe it's all the gas fumes they suck back each day?

Looking young and whitening your skin is a big thing here among the Thai. You think you're buying sun screen and it is but with a whitening factor.  Same with just plain moisturizers. We have been told by some Thai people that it is hard for them to guess white people's age because we look older than we really are because of our tanned and lined skin.

Brad and I were walking early in the morning and watched the kids arrive for school at 7:30 am. We could hear band practise in the back ground.  School days are long here and it made me think of what I read in a travel book. Take all the pressure we put on our kids in North America about career,

education, a future spouse and multiple that by 10 and you are getting close to the pressure their Thai 

peer experiences.  They work multiple jobs  and long hours to support their family if they are poor and a huge emphasis is on making your parents proud knowing that one day your children will do the same for you.

We will always remember Chiang Mai as the place that we watched the 2014 Olympic gold medal hockey game that Canada kicked butt on, with 200 other Canadians at the UN Irish Pub.

I'm not big for shopping and when places are too crowded I am often ready to go home. So the night markets here have been a bit overwhelming but a definite "to do" and a great place for cheap good food.

It was like a maze with only one entrance and one exit and we were right in the middle. But the Saturday market really seemed to be where the locals came to do their shopping. The Sunday market after the hockey game was much quieter.

And if you get tired from shuffling through the crowds, wait in line and get a foot massage. And this was only one side of the street.

Time is flying by and we are nearing the end of our time in Thailand. We are still enjoying being all together and don't seem tired of each other yet.  Or so Anna promises us.

Good bye Chiang Mai.

Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School

Cooking schools are such a fun way to meet fellow travellers and learn tidbits of authentic cooking.

We didn't learn about Thai fine dining, but real food cooked by families throughout Thailand.

For many Thai people they:

1. Dream of owning a house with a beautiful garden.

2. Most Thai people grow up with their family all together and learn from their grandma. Cooking being a major part of that learning.  You will hear Thai's say you need to cook with "imagination and emotion". Which in essence means you learn by example then doing yourself, and you don't get exact measurements.

3. It is also important to be a good teacher and not just a good cook/chef as that is what helps keep the flavour and tradition alive. As one who loves layers of learning, I think that is a great life lesson.  Don't just be good at something but share it in a way that it gets passed on and others excel because of you.

We joined up with people from France, Australia, China and England to create the perfect group for a fun day of learning at a working family farm 25 minutes out of Chiang Mai. The setting was idyllic and our instructor Fon (spelling?) was chatty, high energy, and a great teacher with lots of info to share and a quick wit that was often focused on Brad's age.

The day started with a trip through the local market and talks about rice, noodles, and spices and  and something about pickled crabs, which I never quite understood.

Then up to the farm with a tour of the gardens fresh produce and herbs and their varied uses.

Cooking and otherwise.

Like these squash gourds that are drying out in the sun.  You boys can only imagine what Brad was convincing me these were for.

No matter how much you may know about cooking there is always a nugget or two to take away and so fun for Anna to have hands on cooking experience with major success!! 

The covered cooking facilities..

Our class!

Brad making a curry paste and trying to follow directions!

Fresh.... Yummy but quite the work out. That won't happen everyday!

Anna making her Pad Thai, and she is quite excited to repeat this recipe at home.

Love cooking outdoors!  Love eating what we are making! Fun seeing how spicy we can actually handle our food from one recipe to the next.

Time to eat!

Six dishes each and a recipe book to take home with us.

Bicycling in Chiang Mai

One of my most favourite outings to date has been our 5 hour bicycle tour through the countryside of southern Chiang Mai.

We left early morning and seeing the morning mist with sun over the Ping River was the first sight that transported me to a quieter place inside and out.

The locals working in their garden or along the road were so friendly. Waves, greetings of swatee ka or an attempt at hello/good morning were there for us.

The scenery went from lush to barren, from stunning homes to poor shacks.

The roads at times busy and then deserted and narrow.

A small group of us and Jasmine from England.

A highlight was an old leper colony with the McKean rehabilitation centre started by the American Presbyterian Church and still operating as a centre for those who have been affected by leprosy.

Not all homes are occupied anymore and the larger building was the original funeral home in the colony.

We stopped at a local bakery (home business). Clean but definitely no WCB standards here.

A highlight was stopping at a small elementary school of mostly hill tribe children.

If you can't afford school the Thai government will pay.

The little boys kept climbing and jumping all over Brad.  This one especially would not let go.

Off to lunch at an orphanage for the Hmong tribe children whose parents are too poor, dead or in prison.  The children have to be 3 years old and were all at school when we were there.

A simply delightful morning and now that the temperatures are climbing to 35 degrees, we are off to a pool.

Temples of Chiang Mai

In a city as large as Chiang Mai, you know you  are going to see a lot of temples (Wats).
They are all stunning in their detail and filled with symbolism.
The roof will have some form of snake covering it as a symbol of protection. The lotus flower which has three levels of life symbolize levels of enlightenment and much more that I won't go into.

The practise of Buddhism varies with each individual. You are not required to attend a temple as daily devotions occur in homes and businesses where small spirit houses are given prominence.
Thai temples are a jumble of strict orthodoxy and folk beliefs often mixing religious guidance with luck enhancing rituals.
If any trouble happens people turn to the temple beseeching the resident Buddha image (and they all have one large and many small statues).  Some temples host fortune tellers  and some go to monks trained in astrology for advice.
My favourite offering that people give to Buddha is the flower as it symbolizes that life is not permanent.

The Thai temple is the focal point of every community and you can see where the money goes, as even in poor outlying farming communities  where we biked, the temples all had amazing amounts of shine and grandeur.

I wasn't sure what I would feel as I entered these places of mediation and ritual. The architecture and history is amazing. We were imagining where North America and European cultures were at when Asia was building these structures and creating this art as far back as the 1300's. But it felt spiritually empty and did not permeate the tranquility I thought it would.

The monks work hard to be compassionate and selfless and we can learn from this chosen life of simplicity.  A monk has to learn and practice around 227 rules.  The nuns even more.
I see such a growing respect and practice of Buddhism or some principles of Buddhism in our society. Because of that I have looked and focused on the similarities with Christianity.  But in only focusing on a small point of similarity you forget the world of differences behind it. Origin and destiny have no common ground.  There is no god to worship in Buddhism, only a need to learn to have no self, and at the same time there is a carved consciousness of a debt within the people that they have to pay, so their good can out weigh the bad with absolutely no measure of what is good enough.

A thought I am left with, as we mix all our different thoughts  and beliefs  and religions is:
"When you mix falsehood with truth, you create a more destructive lie." This was a quote from "The Lotus and The Cross" by Ravi Zacharias, which was a fantastic read and one I would recommend to anyone who wonders what Buddha and Jesus might say to each other.
I read this along with other books about the Essence of Buddhism and have more thoughts that I won't bore this family memory journal with.  Have to say; it is fun to learn  and wonder and challenge your thinking and beliefs as you travel.

Truth does not eliminate respect.

Each entry is very ornate and the detail stunning.

A temple site on our trip.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

Sits atop a sacred mountain and has relics of Buddha buried inside.

Chanting prayers in the temple led by a head monk.

Every temple as a focal Buddha and then multiple other smaller ones.

Donation boxes everywhere and temples filled with bought prayers and gifts.

Anna at Wat Chedi Luang built in 1300's

Every temple sight has small buildings around and a special revered tree (can't remember name) that symbolizes the tree that Buddha was under when he received enlightenment.

The small boy was so cute as he kept checking with his grandmother if he was doing everything right..

Tigers of Chiang Mai

I did not think that getting up close to a nearly full grown tiger was something that I would ever do.

Anna, on the other hand,

 lover of all animals and especially anything small thought this would be an absolutely fantastic way to spend a morning.

Then I couldn't help but start thinking.

Safety being first and then wondering whether or not it was ethical.

Are the tigers sedated? Is this a gimmick? Is it right to have animals raised in captivity being put out there for our entertainment? But is this any different than a zoo?

Trip advisor has it at a four star rating, and #4 out of 20 for top things to do in Chiang Mai.

The web site guarantees no sedation and good treatment.

So lucky we made friends with Cha on the street corner.... who is giving us a "special deal" for a private taxi for the day and off we went.

He said he is just happy when he has work.
We were happy he was willing to make stops along the way and find us a great local place for lunch.

( and yes, it was cheaper and way more convenient then our other options.... We googled....)

Tiger Kingdom was professional and efficient. There was information on raising, breeding, training and caring for the tigers for us.  I have no idea what they would do if a tiger got aggressive as each trainer only had a stick. I guess that is why part of entry cost covers insurance.

Our trainer said that each trainer / team of trainers is assigned to a litter when they are born.

They do all the training from birth and move up with the tiger until they are too old to ensure consistent obedience.

At 3 when they are full grown they go to breeding and are sold to zoos, but only zoos in Thailand.

Anna had a permanent grin on her face and spent time with the babies (2-3 months old) and quite playful. Then we jumped right up to the largest litter, 19 months old and nearly full grown.

Brad was hesitant at first but seemed to get down right cocky!

All in all, it was a definite highlight.  Everyone will have to decide on the ethics of this type of adventure but we were glad we did it.

When else could you ever get this close to a tiger? There is something very unique in it that is hard to describe.

We read that this species of tiger is rare with only about 270 still in the wild.  These are bread in captivity and could never  survive in the wild. So I am glad there is work done both to preserve them in the wild and here.

I know this is the only environment I ever hope to meet up with one!!!

Now Anna... Off to some temples!

Boats, planes and automobiles....

So our time on the islands is coming to an end.... Until we sneak back in for our sailing trip in March.
Is it our humanness that when we have to let go of something we like it and want it even more?
I have been excited to get more "cultural" but now that it's ending, I want to walk the beach over and over again and am sad to leave that unique blue of the water that cries out to be painted.

The winds picked up again on our last day and Brad thought it would be fun to go on a hike to a waterfall close by.  Of course we waited till late morning so we could catch the full heat that Thailand has to offer.
Well the sun and heat has dried up the waterfall and Brad was able to climb right  to where it would be strongest only to dip his toe into a shallow pool. His only company being a floating dead lizard.
We did work up an appetite and enjoyed chilling in a pub that serves up some great reggae music and marijuana smoke along with yummy food.

Early morning start back along the roller coast road, to the ferry and to the prettiest airport you ever did see on the island of Koh Samui.  I felt like I was in disneyland with its streets, flowers, cleanliness, water features, tram for passengers to get to their gates where each area has comfy seating, free food and drinks...   The transition from beaches to the big city of Chiang Mai (population 1,000,000) has just been made easier.
Good bye Koh Phangan.  Chiang Mai here we come.  And thank you Brad for paying extra so our trip takes six hours not 36 via train....

Brad the conqueror and best dad ever!

Did you ever wonder where those coconut shells went after you had your drink.

Well we found a couple of final resting places on our hike to the falls.

Couldn't resist one more picture of Anna doing her thing!

View of our amazing beach.

Quick bite at 7 am before getting on the morning ferry.

Great lounge spots all throughout the airport.

Food in Thailand...

I can't believe I haven't written about food yet as it is one of the things we love.

Which on a side note, I realize again that who you are at home will probably be who you are while you travel. You never really loose yourself. We maybe stretch and push ourselves, we might try something new but I don't think we go opposite of our basic self.  Yes? No?

So we love food at home and are enjoying it immensely here.  Each place makes pad thai a little differently and I love them all. Pad Thai is bigger for the tourists than the locals as they prefer rice to noodles.  Papaya salad is simply yummy! And the curries (red, green, panang, massaman, khaw soi....) Comfort food with a kick!

All the food in the markets are local and the fruit sweet and delicious.  We found one fruit that is new to us.  Mangkoot (I keep getting corrected on the pronunciation) and it is slippery with a tart yet sweet flavour close to a lychee nut/orange.....

So glad we don't have allergies or are picky eaters.  We may not have tried the crocodile on the menu but we don't complain that there is not whole wheat to be found or gluten free or low fat.....

Like I said, the food is fresh.
I didn't post the gutting/cleaning phase of this process.....











We also love the bang for your buck here when it comes to food.  $1 - $2 will  get you an amazing bowel of curry or papaya salad from the street vendor, or pay a bit more in a casual restaurant.

Sadly, the wine is expensive and not very good.

So from food found out of the town at a roadside restaurant where the menu is only in Thai and what you get is a surprise, to yummy treats served by street vendors outside of temples.  The food is fresh, cheap, delicious and we haven't gotten sick yet!

We are off to a cooking school soon, because like I said, you stay mostly yourself, even when you travel!