Exploring Chiang Mai

And one more post for the road!
Katie and I are currently in the northern providence of Chiang Mai. It is much cooler in temperature, much cheaper in pricing, and a great place to truly experience Thai culture. Our first day here, we went Wat Hunting, which is basically just a backpacker way of saying we looked at pretty Buddhist temples all day.

The Chiang Mai tourist industry thrives off of trekking, so every guesthouse encourages their tourists to spend at least one night and two days exploring the wilderness of the Chiang Mai providence. The trekking trip includes several hours of hiking each day, which was absolutely amazing:

As you can see, the trekking trip usually includes about 8-10 tourist participants. Prior to hiking, we all got to ride elephants around a compound.

 On the trekking trip, we are served several home cooked, northern Thai meals. The food is much less spicy, but includes a ton of vegetables, which we both liked.

Our trekking group at our campsite

Sitting around the table (not to mention spending 48 hours together) was a great way to get to know our fellow trekkers. The majority of the participants were Europeans, but we met a friendly American couple, Brooke and Jason, who we bonded with. They actually came to Asia from Africa, where they work at Brooke's non-profit organization, SOUL.

We spent a very cold and uncomfortable night on wooden planks in a gigantic hut. It was probably the worst night of sleep we have had so far, but it definitely makes every single hostel bed since seem infinitely more comfortable!

The next day, we hiked for a few more hours and saw some beautiful waterfalls.

Clearly, no walk in the park!

To finish up the trekking trip, we rafted on bamboo boats.

We have a confession to make... Despite our undying love of all foods Thai...

We got sick of it...

And gave in to the calling of western food. Please don't judge us.

However, we found our regression short lived, and decided we wanted to know every single in and out of Thai food. That's right, friends and family... We cooked!

A market shopping trip and tour with our teacher, Meow (like the cat).

Breakfast #1: Stir Fried Basil Pumpkin

Breakfast #2: Pad Thai

Appetizers: Thai Spring Rolls and Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauces

Soup Course: Chicken in Coconut Cream and Tom Yum

No eyebrows were harmed in the making of these dishes

The Main Course: Stir Fried Yellow Curry Chicken, Green Curry, Massaman Curry, and Cashew Chicken

While making curry paste, avert your eyes to avoid flying chiles!

Dessert: Sticky Rice with Mango and Forbidden Rice Pudding

Yes, the food was delicious. Yes, we are very talented. And yes, we will cook for you upon our return. And that makes you very happy, doesn't it?

A fully certified Thai chef!



Second graduation in a row!



Well, tonight is our last night in Thailand and we are off to the night market to purchase gifts for all of you! Tomorrow, we leave for our slow boat trip through Laos. We are not sure when we will next have internet access, but we can guareentee we will have plenty more stories to share.

Love to all!