Chiang Mai - unique experiences

Thai trains run on time!!! Time to board...
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Well we made it to Chiang Mai early on Sunday morning - first a recap of the train trip. We had a private cabin and our bunks were actually quite comfortable, however the noise of the train was not overly condusive to sleep - the "overnight special rapid express" was not overly modern nor fast! We BYO'd a large Chang beer and Mike bought some Thai snacks - which were all made with dried prawn flavours and a little weird. The staff on the train were very nice though, including a Thai man who spoke no English but helped put the bunk together and also ran after us when Mike left his toothbrush container in the cabin. A worthwile experience overall.

Word carving made from a single piece of wood and centuries old.
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We were picked up at the train station by our guesthouse host who was holding a sign with my name (even spelt correctly!) so we could avoid dealing with those pesky tuk tuk drivers who were at the exit of the train station.

The staff at the Ben Guesthouse were very lovely but the place was a little old and dingy so we only paid for one night (places are much cheaper in Chiang Mai anyway). The place is also outside what is referred to as the "old city" which for tourists is quite convenient to stay near, so we were keen to find something closer and brighter. Just to describe the old city of Chiang Mai - it is surrounded by a moat with access only by a few bridges.

Relaxing in the surronds of the museum garden.
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Walked into the city, disappointed to find not much open (considering we had everything at our fingertips in Bangkok!), started to get narky with each other and then found a nice outdoor garden restaurant for breakfast that ajoined a guesthouse/ bed and breakfast. Enquired about a room while there and this is the room we are currently at.

I contacted another Thai friend, Jonjin, who Jenny in Perth had put me in contact with. Jonjin was fantastic and drove to pick us up that afternoon in her air conditioned car (respite from the heat fantastic!) and she took us to the most amazing and unique house/museum/gallery called Ban Roi An Phan Yang. This places has a massive display of century old woodcarvings (basically one large piece of wood with the most intricate pictures and shapes carved into them), some of which took 4 years to make. It was also effectively a tour of the house the owner of the business lived in - very extravagent and decked out with old and beautiful things. A thai host showed us around, and luckily we had Jonjin to translate everything for us. The woodcarvings even included a small section of erotica which the host found absolutely hilarious showing us! We were given such special treatment there (not many foreigners visit as it is hard to access or not well known about) - we were given different fruits to try and crysanthinum tea as refreshments and also coconut milk crisps complimentary. Overall a most unique experience - even Jonjin had not been showed all of the areas of the house before.

Banana and choc crepe - FANTASTIC
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We were dropped back at the guesthouse going via a craft village markets, and had a rest before heading to the "weekend" market (there are so many different markets here) which is special as two of the main streets are closed off and become a buzz with stalls of all sorts. Tourists and locals alike were there, and there was so many amazing food stalls and assortment of delicacies to try - the Thais really love their food and it is a big part of everyday life. It was the most amazing market and definitely Mike and my favourite that we have seen to date. We tried a lot of new things - Mike had a Chiang Mai sausage and crab sausage (had read about), and sticky rice with coconut milk and mango, and I had "ancient" style icecream block on a stick which was cross between icecream and sorbet. Favourite of the night would have been the crepe lady - we watched as she made so many and then motioned to us what filling we would like - banana and chocolate! So basic, fresh and fantastic.

Crepe destroying machine (Mike helped too!)
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So day 2 in Chiang Mai (today 24 Sept) - we woke to the alarm as we were moving guesthouses and the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery school was picking us up at 9am.... All went to plan - took a tuk tuk to the Bamboo Den B&B and checked in, time for Thai omellete for breakfast, and our pick up in the back of a truck which is identical to the taxis around here (there is no other public transport).

The cooking class was all day and was great fun! Our two Thai hosts were very funny and nice, and we met two other Aussie girls (also from Melbourne!) and couple of Poms. We first were taken to the markets for a tour and explanation of local produce. Cockroaches were rife but apparently tolerated as Monday is the day they use the repellent so they all run crazy?!? Also of note MIke was the only boy in the group, and he was a goodie two shoes and helped carry all the goods purchased! Tried banana and sweet potato fritters while there, then we went back to "school" to sit in "class" and watch the host/teacher make and explain each dish (there were 6 all up) and then we would go to our individual workstations and prepare our own, then sit down together and eat. We did this 4 times as there were a couple of dishes eaten at the same time. The six dishes were chicken and coconut soup, noodles with pork and thick gravy, red curry fish, stir fry veg (delicious local mushroom!), pappaya salad and sticky rice, and steamed banana cake (YUM!). Very full we thanked our hosts and were ferried back to the guesthouse in the truck/taxi again.

Mike in front of the Iron Bridge - Access to the "Old City" of Chiang Mai. Thia people dont like bridges (reason unknown).
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A long blog I know but so many things to report in our first two days in Chiang Mai! Tonight we plan to go to a different night bazaar opened nightly.