Saturday Walking Market again

Last Saturday (I know, a full week ago), we again went to the Saturday Walking Market. It is always interesting and we see new things each time. I got a knee-length caftan-style pullover for lounging in, very comfortable.

Lampshades made of decorated paper

We'd never noticed these patties before. The mac'n'cheese one on the left (red splotch) didn't look that great, though. We asked what was in them and they said potatoes and curry. So we got one of the curried ones and shared it. Quite tasty.

Here is the young man preparing the patties -- dipping them in eggs and then crumbs and deep-frying.

Dishes of tiny bird eggs; not sure what kind of birds!

Another first -- a Turkish kabab stand. The rotisserie had chicken which he sliced off in tiny slices. He had a chapati-like bread that he held up against the burner to char slightly. First he put salad on the bread, then the chicken, then three types of sauces. Delicious!

You can get small omelets in these leaf dishes, different flavors.

Palm flour sweets -- not that appealing for me, but they look interesting.

These are the noodles for Khao Soi, a northern Thai/Lanna specialty. Dan likes it a lot. There are regular noodles in the bottom topped with soup (choice of meats) and then topped with the crispy noodles.

This vendor had lovely clay pots, each with a different soup.

As I finished this post, I realized it is almost all food-related. More to come as I head off on my all-day cooking school.

Friday Catch-up

After the orgy of flower festival photos, it's time to play catch-up with some of the other pictures I've been taking.

Morning-after parade detritus

We tried a new (to us) restaurant near Smith Residence called the Doo Dee (not the best choice of names...). I had a delicious chicken shwarma with enough leftover for lunch the next day. Dan had a Burmese curry, very good but not photogenic. We've been back another time already!

One area that I walk by daily has been covered with a fence. Thursday morning the fence was open and I took this photo on my way to Tai Chi class. There were several men inside pulling down the walls.

Just under two hours later, they had gotten a lot done!

We've been wandering around the neighborhood and trying different places to eat. One night we ate in a place barely more than a street stall. We could see the cook making our meals. The next time we went by the place was packed with lots of Thai people, so we went on to another. (The first place had a sign in Thai, just called Restaurant. The second also was in Thai but the word "Food" was in English.) An interesting note to most of these places is that the food comes out when ready, not coordinated, so sometimes mine is first, sometimes Dan's.

We tried something different. The first is an omelet salad, which was very tasty. The second was a fried whole fish. Fortunately for easier eating, the chef had filleted and cut the fish into bite-sized pieces. It had a nice spicy sauce on the side.

This little girl was a daughter of the house. Her mother, the waitress, followed her around trying to feed her supper, but she was more interested in playing.

Another night Dan's meal came inside a clever wall of sliced tomatoes. I wonder how they did it! This was at Whole Earth on Sunday night.

A common sight below; it is winter in Chiang Mai and many dogs are wearing coats. Never mind that it is in the upper 80s... This one was "watching" the parade at the coffee shop.

Walking around our neighborhood, I saw these decorative statues on a household fence. All homes and commercial properties are gated.

Flower Festival Parade

After we left the park area, we crossed over to the south side of the moat. Next to IDI, our massage place, we got a small table on a raised platform at a coffee shop. We were ready to sit down and have a drink and it looked like the parade was coming by soon. We sat for quite a long time watching. There were huge gaps between groups/floats -- sometimes 5 minutes or more. They had come quite a long way from the river on the east side of the city.

The vanguard -- costumes from various areas

There were four or five bands all together and they were quite good players. (Not quite like the bands we sometimes hear in India...) No one had Sousaphones; they had to carry regular tubas!

One of several pairs in costume

The floats were covered in flowers, rivals to the Rose Bowl Parade.

Long-tailed dresses -- mermaids?

There were a number of vintage cars, including a few old VW Beetles. Notice the scooters around; they were regular traffic that got through the barriers (which were pretty limited).

Another band in "country" dress

About the time the vintage cars came, we got up and headed towards our hotel. We got to see the last few floats just before we left the main street.

Flower Festival, Part 4: Orchids

When we came to the orchid display, I was overwhelmed by the sight of so many gorgeous flowers. I'm not especially an orchid lover, but these were amazing. They ranged from smaller than a pinky fingernail to nearly plate-sized.

Tomorrow, the parade, the final part of the flower festival. I hope you aren't getting tired of these photos!!

Flower Festival, Part 3

As we walked along the exhibits, the succulents came next. Some were pretty amazing.

Toy train layout with succulents

House with bonsai growing through it

Another bonsai house

Another photo op

And another

Greenery arranged beautifully

Tomorrow we'll get into the orchids.