Euros Ate My Dollars

Ah, Chiang Mai. After Bangkok, Thailand’s second largest city is like a breath of fresh air. Picture me sitting on the sunny patio of a cafe, drinking Thai iced tea, eating fresh mango, and writing in my journal, as I whimsically sigh “ah…Chiang Mai…,” and you’ve got a pretty good idea of how I spent my time in the city.

We took a train through the rice paddies and beautiful countryside of Northern Thailand, to arrive in Chiang Mai sometime last week. We became so enamored with the city we extended our stay multiple times. Ben has deemed it a Special Place, a hard-earned title in our book, alongside Chania and Charlottesville. The Thai are proud of this city, and consider it the cultural and culinary capital of the country. Which probably explains why we like it so much.

I’d love to delve into the usual account of our day-to-day adventures, but I think a detailed description of our many meals and market shopping would bore everyone except probably my mom (who, despite my many attempts to assure her otherwise, is steadily convinced this country is going to eat me alive). Plus, a street vendor selling bananas in coconut milk just passed and I must go chase him down. So we’ve decided to capture our week in Chiang Mai with photos. Please enjoy our first attempt at photojournalism while keeping in mind that we are not photographers and I am a delicate flower. So be nice.



This picture encapsulates our week more than anything else. We discovered this tiny cafe in the old town of Chiang Mai on day one, and have brunched there daily ever since. Mango with sticky rice (with a slight drizzle of coconut cream) is probably our favorite meal we’ve had on this trip. It’s that good. I won’t say that we ate it multiple times per day. But we did.



Chiang Mai is known for its handicrafts. Which is a weird word, but a fun one. Thanks to the concentration of hilltribes in the region (who come down from the hills to sell their beautiful wares) and the many outlets for young Thai designers to show off their skillz, the city has an incredible variety of impressive and quality handicrafts. It was hard to mind our budget.



One of those outlets is Sunday Walking Street, a market on the main thoroughfare of town that happens every Sunday evening. It’s fun: the street is jam-packed with locals and tourists and vendors selling all sorts of great stuff. Street musicians play ambient music (from ethnic hilltribe music to Bob Dylan covers) for your spare baht, and the air is filled with a char-grilled scent wafting from hundreds of woks and deep fryers. After six months abroad, Ben and I are market connoisseurs, and this is definitely the best we’ve seen.



The mountains north and west of the city not only provide beautiful scenery, but are home to the many ethnic hilltribes that have settled in Thailand. Also, they offer many opportunities for crazy tourists to pay to climb them. Like we did.



A moat defines the borders of the old town. Small parks and trees line the streets on either side.



Some people have decided they like to swim in the moat. Not for people equipped with only a Western immune system.



Ben learning about the many, many, many varieties of rice grown in the region at a local market.



Most people in Chiang Mai speak a little English. Sort of.



A street vendor whipping us up a fresh batch of pad thai on the spot.



The flora here is beautiful.



Large ex-pat population = strange restaurants. Thai. Mexican. Western. FOOD. Fish’n Chip shop, of course. I admit it! We ate here.



Golden chedi + pretty sky. Gotta have a wat shot.



Chiang Mai offers the best Thai food we’ve had so far. Lots of specialty restaurants for cheap!

That’s all for now! We’ll be getting into the down and dirty of our time in Chiang Mai soon, including details of our two-day trek into the jungle and that time I was pummeled by a tiny Thai woman.

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