Highlight Reel: Thailand, Part 3

After my time in the jungle of Koh Chang, I made my way to the city of Chiang Mai for the lantern festival (Loy Lathrong).

I stayed in a hostel outside of the Old City. I quickly met two Americans from Tahoe, Matt and Renee. We ventured to the Anusarn night market, which was right near the hostel. Night markets were my favorite part of Thailand, and this one was no exception. We indulged in the local food and cheap fruit smoothies (which we added rum to, thanks Matt) and listened to live music - mostly covers to American songs. Renee tried the fish pedicure and despite yelling “I hate it, I hate it” the whole time, I think she actually enjoyed the results. After some rum and Chang beers, we decided (me, reluctantly) to try the fried bugs at one stand. Cricket, worms and grasshopper were all on the menu - I had to draw the line at scorpion. Crunchy and salty, that’s about all I can say for them... but I’m glad I tried it!

Over the next few days, I said goodbye to the crazy kids from Tahoe and explored the city. It was less chaotic than Bangkok but definitely still questionable when it came to traffic regulations. The night of the lantern festival, I made my way down to the river and watched from the street as thousands of lanterns went into the sky and baskets with candles floated down the river. It was such a cool thing to watch - if you ever make your way to Chiang Mai for it, don’t bother buying a ticket where they charge you for lanterns and booze and who knows what else... just grab a Chang and head down to the streets with the public. It was perfect.

Before I left Koh Chang, a fellow traveler recommended an elephant sanctuary outside of Chiang Mai. She was deeply dedicated to animals and did a lot of research about local “sanctuaries” (so many of them claim to be, but they are not - for example, NEVER go to one where you can ride elephants). I really enjoyed my half day excursion to see elephants and feed them bananas. They were really incredible to see so close up, and despite their tough backgrounds, seemed to be thriving. The staff was very friendly and fed us pad Thai before we headed back to the city.

Another highlight of Chiang Mai was the all day cooking class I took with a group of strangers. A songthaew (red pickup trucks used as taxis) picked me up at my hostel. I hopped in the bed of the truck where other people were waiting and we got to know each other on the way to the food market. We were from all over the world - Spain, Italy, the UK, the Philippines, the States - and were all quick friends because of our passions for travel and food! Our guide took us around the market to show us local produce, then we hopped back in the songthaew to go to the site where we’d cook for the day.

We each selected one of each category- seven dishes in total - and were taught by a local chef to make these delicious meals. We’d cook, then eat, then cook again. We all enjoyed Thai tea and spring rolls, and I made dishes including vegetable soup, stir fried chicken with cashews, mussaman curry (we made our own paste too!), papaya salad and mango sticky rice. I was in an absolute food coma afterwards and it was WELL worth it.

On the topic of food in Chiang Mai, make sure you try Khao Soi. It’s a northern Thai dish and it’s DELICIOUS (to the point where I think I ate it too much?). I tried a few places - not everyone makes it the exact same way - and the absolute best I had was at Dash Restaurant in the Old City. It’s pricier than street vendors but has the best texture and coconut ratio in my opinion. 

I really liked Chiang Mai - it was cheap, friendly and fun. I visited temples, walked the Old City, and saw a lady boy (drag) show and it was awesome. I ended up coming back for a few days after my next adventure because I had to fly out from the local airport to Vietnam, per my visa requirements. I would highly recommend it! 

Stay tuned for my adventure to Pai...