The flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai left the gate 5 minutes early and arrived 10 minutes early. Such a change from AC, which was the worst on time airline in N. America last year (by a wide margin), with only 60% of their flights arriving on time!
I got a taxi at the airport for a few dollars and when I arrived at my hotel right at 3pm my room was ready! Love when that happens. Unpacked and decided to wander around the Old Town area, where my hotel, The Inside House, is located. There are massages shops every few feet here, so I stopped and had a half hour foot massage for $5.50. I booked the hotel direct online, which gives me 16 pieces of laundry over my 4 nights, daily breakfast and afternoon tea, a gift (I chose an elephant tote bag) and 1 dinner (which I had last night). Before dinner last night I went to the Night Bazaar, but I didn’t stay long because it was crowded and didn’t have anything different than what I saw at Chatuchak.
Today I had booked a cooking class at MammaNoi and it was amazing. Everyone got picked up in a songthaew, which was cool. Then we went to the food market and had a small tour before heading to the cooking school. It was very impressive, which a large organic herb and fruit garden and nice ceramic pieces placed strategically around the property. We got to choose 3 dishes to make, I chose pad thai, Tom yum soup and Khao Soi. Since we made everything ourselves we were able to adjust the spice (I made my dishes mild). At the end of the class we were each given a cookbook with the recipes before being dropped off at our hotel.
Next I visited 2 gorgeous temples in Old Town and a ceramic shop, where I bought some really nice pieces, which they are shipping home for me.
Tomorrow I have a driver/guide to take me to an ethical (no riding or bathing and no show) elephant sanctuary and to Lanna to see a famous temple, visit a local village and a small market. It’s an early start (8am), but since I have been waking up at 4am that shouldn’t be an issue! I don’t usually get jetlag, but the 12 hour time difference is really messing with my circadian rhythms.
Night Bazaar
This is the best pad Thai I’ve ever had