Thai cooking class. No coconut or kaffir lime is safe from me now!
In a place like Thailand, everything is an adventure even when you aren’t looking for one. I decided I was not willing to take my chances of overpaying for a taxi to the Don Muang Airport in Bangkok so I booked a shared minivan service for 170B. As the van approaches each pickup point, the driver slows down and starts yelling “EH-POAAT” to see who comes a-running. When he sees you, he stops. Reminds me of chasing the ice cream truck as a kid. Once the van was full, we found ourselves racing to the airport, weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off and blatant disregard for speed limits. It was a good half hour sitting on the verge of a heart attack, everyone in the van silent, trying to act natural but their wide eyes and furrowed brows giving away their fear.
Once inside the airport, I found the check-in desks and 3 long lines. I chose a line and waited my turn. The people behind to me were transporting some sort of seafood. It smelled like some refrigeration might have been helpful. Finally, as it was my turn to go next, the row of desks closed and everyone in the line up got shooed over to the other two lines. WTF!? THere was a lot of people behind me and naturally, they got to the next line up before me. Shit!!! And who comes up behind me? Stinky shrimp guy!! Awesome! I checked my bag and received my boarding pass. Gate 32 at 10:30am. It was 9am so I figured I would find the gate, then sort out some breakfast. All the way down to one end of the airport, I found it. The desk was set up for Nok Air flight to Chiang Mai and there was a small herd of nuns dressed entirely in crisp white. If you’re at all nervous about flying, flying with nuns helps. Super! Off to get some breakfast.
There is a fantastic bakery inside the terminal. After I was done taking pictures of the hilarious foods inside the 7-11, I went to peruse the many goodies at the bakery. I made my selections and headed back to the gate to wait. I was happily browsing Facebook and eating my spinach & cheese pastry when I suddenly realized I was alone. Where was everybody? Where did the nuns go? Where are the signs and the airline personnel? Shit! I packed up my goods and went to find one of those flight information boards. Seems they decided to change the flight to gate 78. WTF? That’s clear across the other side of the airport and they should be boarding soon. As it turns out, Gate 78 is in the basement of the airport and they had already started loading people onto a bus. Once on the bus, we were driven out into a field where we boarded a plane painted to look like a pink bird.
Inside the bright pink bird, the aircraft was brand-spankin’ new. It smelled like a leather store. I settled in with my word puzzles for the one hour flight. Shortly after the turbulent ascent out of Bangkok, the attendants come around and hand out little paper bags. There was a teeny tiny bun and a little cup of water. Better than nothing! Minutes later, they came back to tell me I had booked a “Premium Seat” which comes with a free coffee or tea. Oh, goodie – something to make that extra 400B worth it! I received the TINIEST paper cup, half filled with some instant coffee. Haha! Woo hoo!
The flight was a bit turbulent throughout and with the nifty concept lighting along the ceiling of the plane, I could see it twisting with each bump. And I don’t know if it’s because the plane was so new and it was maybe insulated better but I had a hard time hearing the roar of the engines and every now and again, the plane would dip nose down and I SWEAR it sounded like when things fall from the sky in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. I spent the hour watching the nuns. If they started praying, THEN I would panic.
So after skidding into the Chiang Mai airport on the rear wheels, I collected my bag and went to get a taxi. I hopped onto a songthaew instead and headed to the hostel inside the Old City. I am still making efforts to be more social so I booked a place that received a lot of positive reviews for being a good place to meet people. Of course, I booked a private room with A/C because it’s really fucking hot here. The room is clean….really clean! The a/c is quiet and the bathroom is this bizarre little room located on the balcony. The king size bed looks so damn inviting……..but it’s not. It’s the worst bed I’ve had the displeasure of sleeping on. Even in Bangkok, I woke up covered in ants and that was better than this. Holy shit!
There is an area just outside the walls of the Old City where there is a night bazaar. I thought I would check it out. The hippies at the hostel weren’t much help with directions so I loaded up google maps and took a screenshot. Off I went. For anyone who isn’t familiar, the Old City in Chiang Mai is contained within a large square, surrounded by a moat and the stunning ruins of a brick wall. The night bazaar is outside the wall and down a few blocks. Well….my map didn’t have all the street names, and a lot of the streets are missing signs. I got lost. Holy shit did I ever get lost! I finally decided to keep going left until I found the moat and sure enough, I did. *whew* And on top of that, there was a large gathering of people and food carts blocking the main road. This must be the Night Bazaar! Joy! I perused the goodies but it was crowded and my feet were getting really sore so I pressed on to find my way home. But the Bazaar is on the OTHER side of the moat. I didn’t cross the moat, did I? Pretty sure I didn’t cross the moat. So, how the hell did I get to the other side? My map was useless, the traffic was crazy and I was too cheap to pay for a tuk-tuk to fix my problem. I fought my way across the traffic to get across the moat, only to finally see something familiar……ON THE OTHER SIDE!!!! Dammit! I had never crossed the moat because that wasn’t the Night Bazaar. Jeebus! the familiar sight was a Mexican Food place. So went there. It was weird, but it didn’t suck and the margaritas were ok for $3. But I now understand why so many people are hopelessly in love with Chiang Mai. It is beautiful! Sadly, at this time, it is extremely smokey but it is still a wonderful place to be. There is something different around every corner, its quite clean and the alleys aren’t usually dark or creepy. It’s the perfect place to be lost!
The next day was one I was really looking forward to. The oh-so popular Sunday Night Market. I went early before the crowds and am glad I did because it gets mighty packed! I snacked and sampled my way through multiple city streets and temple grounds. It was really a great experience and a delicious way to see some of the temples. Sadly, I lost my favourite sunglasses and it got difficult to navigate after a bit so I left.
Heading back to my room, the crowd of hostel guests had gathered for the evening in the garden. I slowly strolled by and choked out a greeting in hopes maybe someone would invite me in. No dice. I scurried off to my room for another plan of attack. I decided on a cooking class. That was something I previously feared doing because I would have to talk to people. Now, it was going to happen!
Cooking class was a lot of fun. I did meet people and had a lot of laughs. There was so much food and it was all so good! Definitely a great day! The school picks everyone up and then drops them off after. I had noticed the place was really close to the hostel so I declined the ride back and opted to walk. Of course, I forgot what side of the friggin’ moat I was on and went several blocks in the wrong direction. Haha! But there was just so much to see!! I love being lost in Chiang Mai! There is nothing quite like it. In the evening, there was talk about going to a cabaret or something but I never heard anything from anyone so I spent the evening on a quiet patio planning my trip to Pai and then strolling about with an unusual Italian fellow I had met during dinner.
And that was Chiang Mai. I would have liked more time but with an itinerary as ambitious as mine, there is never enough time and I will say that about each place I visit.
Next up: Pai! Everyone loves Pai
