For our first school break of the year Tyler and I uncharacteristically veered away from the beaches and headed for the hills, first landing in the mountains surrounding, then in the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. As word-of-mouth reviews go, Chiang Mai was scoring off the charts, and the promise of cool, fresh mountain air was something our haze-huffing hurting lungs were looking for.
We spent the first couple of days outside the city in a very quiet, very green villa at the base of the mountains. Although the cool mist rolled around and it drizzled the entire time, we were happier than Ned Flanders on a fog-walk. Books were read (for an entertaining read check out The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair), naps were taken and misadventures were found on the ol' two-wheelers. Tyler and I have a knack for biting off more than we can chew about an hour before nightfall...As if the bicycle breakdown and good samaritan curbside service wasn't an indication that we should cut our tour short, we continued the wobbly ride to a roadside resty. After having an amazing Thai basil and chili ridden claypot and beer (which only later added to the comedy of errors), we struck off on our way home...but which way was home? Despite the impressive display of fireflies doing their best to light the way, rice paddies and jungle tend to all look the same after dark.
After spending a couple days in the mountains we headed back into the city where we continued to chill out, which is so incredibly easy to do in Chiang Mai. Again we were loving the drizzle and took the opportunity to buy a sweater (yay!), wandering the old part of the city, popping into temples and cafes. At night we perused the night markets, which were amazing! Yes, for the most part, they were selling merchandise that could be found in any S.E Asian market, but the beautiful thing was no one was yelling at you, no one was touching you, and we could actually fain interest without being immediately asked "You want, how much?" We were more than happy to spend the evenings strolling, getting refitted for tailored clothing, ducking in for a massage er two and watching Muay Thai of varying degrees and quality in venues of equal of lesser quality; From 14 year old Thai boys choreographing a fight in a Ladyboy Bar, to a scrappy Westerner getting chirped by the Thai cabbies in a makeshift ring behind a food-court. Entertainment is always easy to come by in Thailand.
I will say that although everything I had heard about Chiang Mai had met and exceeded expectations, I was, with increasing frustration searching for amazing Thai food and coming up short (I'm sure it's everywhere in Chiang Mai, we just weren't hitting the right spots.) So we made it ourselves; We spent an afternoon and evening grinding our own curry pastes, wielding cleavers and working the woks at a great cooking class. The best Pad Thai, coconut sticky rice, tom yam soup, spring rolls and green curry I ate all week came from our own efforts, which was almost worth the wait. If you want a recipe, let me know!
When on the last day we woke up and saw the sun shining, we headed straight for the pool and did not move until it was time to head for the airport. Although sunscreen would have been a responsible choice, we left Chiang Mai super relaxed and ready to head back to KL.
We weren't in KL a week before a crew hit the road to the food-famous island of Penang. Although great food is usually at the forefront of our missions, it was Oktoberfest that drew us in this particular weekend. Having never been to an Oktoberfest (in Germany or otherwise) we thought it was essential that we throw together some sort of German look...and intuition is rarely wrong. Admittedly, there was a split-second of self-doubt when we realized no one else had dressed up, it quickly dissipated as the steins and bratwurst started flowing and the dosey-doe-ing and arm wrestling got a bit out of hand. Overall, a solid, solid night...Followed by an expected lazy, lazy day at the beach. Happy Birthday Bridgey!
And finally, I am so happy to announce, that on the last day of the month, Tyler and I eloped!
Kidding....but it was another great Halloween filled with ghouls, goblins, witches (good and evil) and this random couple that fell out of the sixties ;)
We spent the first couple of days outside the city in a very quiet, very green villa at the base of the mountains. Although the cool mist rolled around and it drizzled the entire time, we were happier than Ned Flanders on a fog-walk. Books were read (for an entertaining read check out The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair), naps were taken and misadventures were found on the ol' two-wheelers. Tyler and I have a knack for biting off more than we can chew about an hour before nightfall...As if the bicycle breakdown and good samaritan curbside service wasn't an indication that we should cut our tour short, we continued the wobbly ride to a roadside resty. After having an amazing Thai basil and chili ridden claypot and beer (which only later added to the comedy of errors), we struck off on our way home...but which way was home? Despite the impressive display of fireflies doing their best to light the way, rice paddies and jungle tend to all look the same after dark.
After spending a couple days in the mountains we headed back into the city where we continued to chill out, which is so incredibly easy to do in Chiang Mai. Again we were loving the drizzle and took the opportunity to buy a sweater (yay!), wandering the old part of the city, popping into temples and cafes. At night we perused the night markets, which were amazing! Yes, for the most part, they were selling merchandise that could be found in any S.E Asian market, but the beautiful thing was no one was yelling at you, no one was touching you, and we could actually fain interest without being immediately asked "You want, how much?" We were more than happy to spend the evenings strolling, getting refitted for tailored clothing, ducking in for a massage er two and watching Muay Thai of varying degrees and quality in venues of equal of lesser quality; From 14 year old Thai boys choreographing a fight in a Ladyboy Bar, to a scrappy Westerner getting chirped by the Thai cabbies in a makeshift ring behind a food-court. Entertainment is always easy to come by in Thailand.
I will say that although everything I had heard about Chiang Mai had met and exceeded expectations, I was, with increasing frustration searching for amazing Thai food and coming up short (I'm sure it's everywhere in Chiang Mai, we just weren't hitting the right spots.) So we made it ourselves; We spent an afternoon and evening grinding our own curry pastes, wielding cleavers and working the woks at a great cooking class. The best Pad Thai, coconut sticky rice, tom yam soup, spring rolls and green curry I ate all week came from our own efforts, which was almost worth the wait. If you want a recipe, let me know!
When on the last day we woke up and saw the sun shining, we headed straight for the pool and did not move until it was time to head for the airport. Although sunscreen would have been a responsible choice, we left Chiang Mai super relaxed and ready to head back to KL.
We weren't in KL a week before a crew hit the road to the food-famous island of Penang. Although great food is usually at the forefront of our missions, it was Oktoberfest that drew us in this particular weekend. Having never been to an Oktoberfest (in Germany or otherwise) we thought it was essential that we throw together some sort of German look...and intuition is rarely wrong. Admittedly, there was a split-second of self-doubt when we realized no one else had dressed up, it quickly dissipated as the steins and bratwurst started flowing and the dosey-doe-ing and arm wrestling got a bit out of hand. Overall, a solid, solid night...Followed by an expected lazy, lazy day at the beach. Happy Birthday Bridgey!
And finally, I am so happy to announce, that on the last day of the month, Tyler and I eloped! Kidding....but it was another great Halloween filled with ghouls, goblins, witches (good and evil) and this random couple that fell out of the sixties ;)
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