Day 3: We Arrai in Chiang Mai

Spoiler alert: We escaped Bangkok. That travel agent was not a fraud. We left Lamphu Tree and the feces canal early Tuesday morning and flew north to Chiang Mai, "The Jewel of the North" (a name I just made up). 

A quick aside: the airports have weird food here. There are mainstays, like McDonald's and Starbucks, but with a Thai twist. Here are some examples

Dried durian chips

Seaweed Pringles!

McPorridge from McDonald's!

Dried fish!

Enough of that. Did you come here for airport blogging? No! On to Chiang Mai. 

Chiang Mai is legit great. The air is cleaner, the streets are less crowded, and the canals are less fecal. 

We are staying in the Old City, which warrants a comment, because it is cool. The old city is a square area surrounded by a moat and a wall (the wall has since fallen into disrepair, but it's still there). 

The wall. 

The Moat. 

 

This moat-and-wall setup used to keep out invading Laotians, Khymers, Andals, and White Walkers; now it is just pretty, as everyone knows White Walkers are not real...

Our hotel here is called 3sis, which is kind of a spicy name. It's much nicer than Lamphu Tree, and the employees actually speak English! 

We had a great lunch in the Old City at a place called Huen Phen. 

Then we booked some adventures (we are on the way to one right now but I'll keep you in suspense as to which [it involves elephants]). 

We then napped. And in the evening we had a great cooking class! It was led by this cool chick named Miw. The tour started with a trip to a less slummy market, which still had some choice selections. 

That's Miw

Pink eggs

A pig head. 

A crab. 

Then Miw took us to her home and taught us how to make eight different things. 

I even made an spring roll. 

It was a lovely time. Thanks Miw!

Some of the cookers were from Montreal, but they didn't know my Canadian sister, Alyssa. 

This post wasn't that funny, I guess. But it was more of a wholesome day. No bloody johns or slums or tuktuk abductions. Maybe the next post will be funnier. Hasta la vista, baby!