Banana Pancakes

Chiangmai Thai House
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By Christina

After our experience on the overnight trains in India, I was really looking forward to the overnight train ride from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. I figured it really couldn’t get any worse than the dirty, cramped quarters of an Indian train. Well, I was partially wrong and partially right. The train itself was pretty darn clean, with pristine bedding and fresh smelling toilets, and the bogey (coach) was less crowded than any Indian train I have ever been on, with large chairs and lots of room to move around. The food (of course) was great. So it was with a contented stomach and an empty bladder (in contrast, and even at the risk of an UTI, I rarely use a toilet on Indian trains), that I laid down my head on the fluffy pillow for a night’s rest.

Wat Pra Singh
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That was when the fun began. Never, ever, have I bounced around so much on a train, or anywhere, for that matter. It was like riding a roller coaster on your back and without a safety restraint. I was rolling around all over the place and bouncing around like crazy. Adding to the experience was the racket from the brakes and rails which was, quite simply, ear shattering, even with the ole ear plugs in. Several times I was convinced that we had crashed into large boulders lining the tracks, and prepared to spring from my berth for a quick escape. But, I was wrong; the train was just doing its thing, chugging along the ancient tracks. Sleep eluded me this night.

Novice monks
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Luckily, we had a wonderful guest house awaiting us in Chiang Mai: the Chiang Mai Thai House. With large, clean rooms, an excellent WiFi connection, a super friendly staff, a Starbucks two blocks away, and a beautiful swimming pool, we were very happy campers, despite the sleep deprivation. Best of all, however, were the absolutely fantastic banana pancakes served up in the restaurant. Being true blooded Americans, we had grown tired of the wimpy, crepe-like discs passed off as pancakes in restaurants and cafes the world over. We wanted hearty, plump, butter-filled delights. We took a chance and ordered banana pancakes, and when the ultra fluffy, golden brown treats arrived at our table, we were pleasantly surprised and very pleased with ourselves. We ended up ordering pancakes (plain, strawberry, banana, you name it) at every meal we ate at Chiang Mai Thai Guesthouse.

Sunset on the river
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After two triple-shot lattes (okay, in my excitement at being at a Starbucks, I went a little overboard) the next morning, Dan and I were buzzing like bees in a hive and just really, really, wanted to take a look around (in reading that last sentence, picture the two of us jumping around like monkeys with the kids looking at us askance). The kids were less than enthusiastic, however, and declined the invitation to visit, ta-da(!) another wat. We explained that this was the best wat in town, built in the 14^th century, and really a must-see. They demurred, deciding they would rather stay home and do school work(!) than visit another temple. So, Dan and I enjoyed a quick visit by ourselves (mindful of the incident in Portugal involving the English family, the kids received detailed instructions on locking their door and what to do in the event of a fire). The wat was big and beautiful, but I am not sure what all the fuss was about. Nevertheless, it was nice to enjoy some time alone with Dan, strolling in the garden and checking out the novice monks in the area.

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The kids did manage to rouse themselves from the guest house to visit the nearby wat containing the jade Buddhas. This probably had something to do with the fact that it was located halfway to the Mexican restaurant where we were headed for lunch. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed the numerous jade Buddhas in different colors of jade as well as the enormous chunks of jade rocks lying inside the temple. (Note: jade comes from Burma, and Burma is close by, so the Thais have a ready supply of the most beautiful stones around, for a price of course). As at many of the wats we have visited, we had the opportunity to make a wish by rubbing the Buddha’s belly and ringing the traditional bell (the louder, the better) for good luck.

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Deprived of Mexican food for seven months, yet wary of trying to replicate something we love in a foreign land, we decided to risk it, and headed to Miguel’s Fresh Mex for lunch. We were in luck. Miguel, an expat from San Diego, cooks the real deal. We ate ourselves silly and Abby truly thought she would be ill after pigging out on a bean and cheese burrito plus an enormous plate of beans and rice. The food was great and all of us were glad to have a little taste of home to carry us through these last two months on the road.

Grayson getting lucky
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A trip to Chiang Mai would not be complete without a visit to its famous night market. Although the wares are not all that different from the offerings on Khao San Road in Bangkok, there was something just a bit less tacky about the place. We had a good look around, but (shock!) did not buy anything. We know the Chiang Rai night market is in our future….so we can engage in some retail therapy there.

Our guest house graciously assisted us with planning a trek into the Thai hinterland. We’re not sure how the kids will do with lots of hiking under hot and humid conditions, but hey, it’s something one has to do in this part of the world.