Arriving back in Bangkok, we regrouped the next day for the one hour flight north to Chiang Mai.  An enchanting city at the foothills of the mountains and often used as a base for the adventure seekers.  We were there for temple viewing, food, and shopping that included the night market locally known by Nimman (Nimmanhaemin). We stayed at the Meridian Hotel (knowing that we would be schlepping things back from our shopping).  At is a nice hotel with a fantastic breakfast served each morning.  Our room was comfortable and well priced. Within Chiang Mai is the old city where we found more temples.  We fell in love with the Lanna architecture, and Wat Phra Singh (วัดพระสิงห์วรมหาวิหาร) is a perfect example of that.  Completed in 1367, it is smaller compared to some of the large Wats in Bangkok, but orderly and charming.

For me, the most fascinating structure I saw was Wat Chedi Luang (วัดเจดีย์หลวง) and its immense stone chedi with elephant torsos sticking out the sides and once held the Emerald Buddha (now in Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok).  The partially crumbled chedi with vegetation growing out of the stone only adds to its exotic feel.

 

    

Eventually, breakfast wore off and lunch was required stat!  We strolled into town and had a delicious lunch at Hot Chili sitting in its hanging chairs.  When we got back home, I read some poor reviews from recent trips on Trip Advisor, but we found everything we ate great.  Total bill for two was about $8 U.S. including a beer.

With more sightseeing the next day, we went back to our room to relax and make dinner reservation for the following night at  the Dhara Dhevi Resort’s Chinese restaurant (the resort was under a different name when were there).

One of the main reasons for us going to Chiang Mai was shopping and the night market of Nimman satisfied that, along with great snacking.  Due to being higher in elevation and further north than Bangkok it cools enough at night to be comfortable (our trip was in Feb).  Walking around the bustling market, buying more fisherman pants, metal bells, and tapestries was a delight.  We were there for hours until our feet said no more.

Our second day continued the temple tour.  One of the temples was adjacent to a school and kids played next to ancient structures.  At home, ancient means a 1940s bungalow in Laguna.  The people in Thailand are kind, sweet, with almost an innocence.

The shy girl above was playing during what was likely recess and I said Sawadeekrap (Hello) and got the briefest of smiles.  She was so sweet.

More temples followed.  To us, it seemed that the Bangkok temples were more museum-like and less like working temples, but in Chiang Mai we saw monks on the grounds as well as cats.

      

After the temples, we took an open aired pickup truck (I think it was about 60 baht – roughly $3 U.S.) to the edge of town to shop and eat.  We found a small street that paralleled the river with shops including a nice shop with silk items.  My wife bought a beautiful pair of silk slippers and she thanked the woman with a “kob khun ka (thank you).  Women say “ka” afterwards and men say “krap”).  Lunch was on the river’s edge at a casual restaurant with a wooden deck and delightful.

Dinner was unforgettable.  One of the top meals we have ever had.  We went to the spectacular Dhara Dhevi which looks like a temple, complete with old structures, elegant walkways, and a small village with a stone walkway flanked by shops on either side.  At the end of the walkway we saw our destination for the evening: dinner at their Chinese restaurants (one of several including French and Thai).  We were two travelers walking back in time.

     

The romantic dinner was exceptional, and we lingered as long as we could, until the concierge told us our lantern was ready!  It wasn’t the time of year when lanterns by the thousands are released into the night sky, but I had arranged one for us.  We were led out into the warm evening to an open field and there our lantern awaited.  It was bigger than I thought but very light.  We lit it up, said a wish and let the bad thoughts of the previous year drift up into the darkness.  The moment was ethereal.

The next day we returned to Bangkok as our trip neared its end.  We stayed right in the heart of the city, among the high rises, at the Banyan Tree Hotel.  We entered our grand, club level room into a main sitting area, with a connecting bedroom, followed by the bathroom to the left.  Fresh fruit awaited as we entered with an accompanying menu describing the exotic fruits.  Dropping off our luggage, we headed out of room to go visit Jim Thompson.

Almost singlehandedly reviving the Thai silk industry by creating an international demand, American Jim Thompson started the Thai Silk Company building it into a global brand.  His life was legendary.  He was schooled in architecture, but had in interest in art.  With WWII going on in Europe, he joined the Army getting assigned to their Office of Strategic Services (the predecessor of the CIA) giving him an opportunity to go abroad.  During a stopover in Bangkok, he became enamored with the culture and country and made the decision to return and make permanent residence there.  His house is composed of six structures of which some were purchased by him and reassembled on his compound here.  It is amazing, and a must see.  Rooms are ornately decorated with a variety of art from mostly Asia and of exquisite taste.  Unfortunately, one day Jim Thompson went off for a walk into the jungle and was never seen again.  Mystery still shrouds his persona even today.

The gift shop is probably the nicest we have ever seen with well crafted silk items such as pillow cases, shirts, blouses, dresses, as well as other items.  We bought some pillow cases that adorn our house and went to the on-property restaurant for lunch.

Staying in the city, we had dinner two nights at the hotel as well as breakfast.  First night was at the Japanese restaurant Taihei high up in the hotel with views of the city, where we sat at a private tatami (there is a sushi bar to sit at as well).  Good food that included sushi, sashimi and we also had miso soup and tempura while sipping beer.

One unexpectedly fun thing we did was take a cooking class at the Blue Elephant.  

A legendary restaurant, they offer cooking classes that we recommend everyone take.  We met at the restaurant for a brief orientation and then headed to the street markets to learn about, and buy, some ingredients.

  We returned to the restaurant and went upstairs to first attend an instructional class where our chef explained what we were making and showed us how to make each dish.  Then, we walked over to the big kitchen area with work stations for each group of two and prepared our courses under the watchful eyes of the chefs.  When we were finished making our food, we were led to our private dining room and our food was brought to us for a truly wonderful meal, that included the restaurant’s own ice cream for dessert.  Spectacular!  

The next day started with the hotel breakfast downstairs from the lobby and was fantastic, but the Bangkok dinner highlight was atop the hotel at Vertigo and Moon bar.  Feeling like you are on the roof of the world, you have a 360 degree view of Bangkok with the soft, warm, night air making it very comfortable.  The food was very good, but the views were incredible.

It was a great last night!

After three weeks, we found it very hard to say goodbye to Thailand, and although we came for the culture and the food, we didn’t want to leave because of the people.

So instead of good-bye, it was “diew jer gan na krap” (see you later!)