Christmas in Chiang Mai

In 2003, we first visited Thailand to spend Christmas with our friends Darryl and Kathleen, who were living in Bangkok. Over New Year's we all went to Chiang Mai. Now, 21 years later, we've been coming here in the winter since January of 2015. This is the first year we've come in December.

On Christmas morning, I headed to the Chiang Mai Gate Market to get fresh fruit, as I do most days. When I got to our lobby, I was pleased to see a small group of children opening presents, with several residents watching. I think they were all children of people who work here. They looked happy tearing into the packages.

In the late afternoon, we headed to our friend Barbara's place for a ride to Et's home. Et is my massage therapist and she loves to host a Christmas dinner for her regular customers. She lives in a suburb to the southeast of the city in a very nice house with her boyfriend Jesper, from Denmark.

Outdoor kitchen for frying

Indoor kitchen, making curries

Homemade spring rolls

Top to bottom: mixed vegetables, red curry with duck, panang curry with chicken, served with black rice (not shown). There was also a tofu dish especially for Barbara, who is a vegetarian.

Debra and David, the other guests

Dessert, Danish risalamande, made by Barbara (with lots of cream)

The dinner was wonderful, as was the company. A lovely way to finish off Christmas day. We shared a Grab (hire car) with David and Debra back to our place.

A Dinner Out

Last year we discovered a restaurant not far from us called Anniversary. Or so we thought. This year we went back and found out its name is actually Airniversary. No idea how that was made up!

Name proof on lovely plate

We were up one floor from the ground and there was this small area above us

Looking across the room from our seats

Dan's pork panning curry

One of my favorite dishes here is cashew chicken, usually with vegetables. The one here was beautiful, but far spicier than usual (if you can see small red pieces, they are dried red chili).

And since it' is Christmas Eve here, this picture is of the Christmas tree in the lobby of our building. There will be a potluck supper this evening for the residents.

Baan Kang Wat Craft Village

On Saturday morning, Barbara picked me up in her car and we headed out to Baan Kang Wat. This craft village is on the western edge of Chiang Mai, near the foot of our local mountain, Doi Suthep. The place was a rabbit warren of tiny lanes and buildings housing all kinds of crafts and a few cafes.

One of the first places we stopped was a book shop. There were some books for sale, but most of the items were hand-bound notebooks.

On the wall of the building

Display of notebooks with maps on the covers

A shop with beautiful baskets

An amphitheater in the center of the village

Horse (or giraffe?) made of found materials

Candles!

Elephants made of found materials

A little girl intent on painting a small dish

A pottery shop with no two pieces alike

Robots made of found materials

What an interesting place! We found a cafe to sit in the shade and have our lunch. It was very crowded by the time we left -- it was a Saturday and it's the height of the tourist season.

Week Three

We have now been her for just over two weeks. It seems longer, as we have settled into familiar routines. Dan's massage therapist, whom he has used for many years, is seeing him most mornings at 8:30. Pickleball is not happening as he is dealing with a painful hip. My massage person, Et, is back from a week away in the south, and I was happy to see her Wednesday and coming up again on Friday.

After the rain last Saturday, we had a few cloudy cool days. The pool, missing its daily dose of sun, got pretty chilled. I finally felt able to brave it last evening (Wednesday).

This photo was actually taken a few days before the cooler days. She had on a warm coat while I was following her in my sleeveless dress with a fan around my neck and sweat running down my face (yes, I got out my headband after that!). I guess it's all in what you are used to.

The clouds began to break up on Tuesday. A beautiful view with the mountains to the southwest.

I love walking through the market in the mornings. When I need to buy cucumbers or limes, I go through the part that sells lots of vegetables. 

Tiny eggplants and some kind of squash?

More eggplants of several types and something dark red, kind of like a flower

A snack vendor has this but I have no idea what it is; maybe I'll just have to get some and try it.

Rainy Day

It has been more humid lately and rain was forecast for Saturday. I made my usual early morning trek to the market for fruit. By the time I returned, I was quite drenched with sweat, even though it wasn't more than 75°F. 

In the midafternoon it began to rain very lightly. Being Saturday, we had planned for Dan to go to the Walking Street market and pick up some items for supper. But watching out our window this seemed less and less like a good idea. Well, I said, we have bread, peanut butter, bananas, jam, and plenty of fruit. We could manage a light supper without adding anything else, so we did.

Looking out our window to the lawn during the rain

Another view showing the street in front of our building. The pink house across the way has been there for several years with a For Sale sign in front. We've occasionally seen someone there, but it has been unoccupied ever since it was built (maybe 5 years ago). 

As the day progressed, the very light rain continued. I decided to go ahead and take my evening swim. The water was a bit cooler than usual since there had been no sun all day. The light rain landed on my head, not unpleasantly. I managed about 15 minutes before I got out. The moon is nearly full, but of course I couldn't see it. Today (Sunday) is still cloudy, but no rain so far.

Another Restaurant

Thursday evening we decided to go to the restaurant named Faces, which is just behind the Chiang Mai Gate Market. We ate there several years ago but last year it was closed up. They have reopened a part of their location while renovations are ongoing in the part we went to before. It is very nice, but much more expensive than our usual places, so it will be a once-in-a-while treat. The servers were very attentive.

Walking along the road in front of the market is very different in the evening than in the morning, my usual time in the area. Instead of a row of fruit and vegetable vendors, there is a huge variety of takeout food available.

One of many stalls

Sushi

Interior of Faces

Statue in restaurant

Pad see ew with chicken and vegetables

Panang curry served in a nice dish

On our walk home, Dan was pleased to see this woman. She makes a spicy cucumber salad that he loves. He had come by here several times looking for her, but hadn't found her. We watched her chop up cucumbers with lots of other things, using a huge mortar and pestle (like the one in the background here). When she saw me standing there, she went behind and pulled out a stool for me to sit on. So kind!

Traveler's Arms

One of our favorite places to eat is a sports bar cum hostel inside the Old City. It's just under a half mile walk. Last evening we went for the first time this year. There are three TVs with different sports showing -- this time it was rugby, football (soccer) and tennis. (The third TV was to the left of the bar.)

The view to the back from our table, bar on left

Prawn spring rolls to start, honey for dipping

My favorite, chicken cashew with lots of good veggies

Dan had pad see ew, wide noodles with pork and veggies

Morning Market

I go to the Chiang Mai Gate market almost every morning. I like to go by 8:00, before the heat builds up. It's been more humid than usual, so I get hotter than I like 🥵

Here is my bounty from today (Saturday):

Mangos, avocado, limes, pineapple, papaya

The mangos, pineapple and avocado are from my regular fruit vendor. She didn't have cut papaya today, so I got it from another stall. And the limes I get from a vegetable vendor. (Today I left my dark glasses there and she came running after me with them; must be more careful!)

My walking route takes me along the main road just south of the moat surrounding the old city. There is a sidewalk, but it's not always easy to stay on it. I took these on my way back to our room today.

In front of the pharmacy I use as needed

Just a bit further along

In front of a dental clinic

Near the former ฿20 store that closed last year

So you see why we end up walking on the street quite a bit. And once we are off the main road, we don't have sidewalks.

Back in Chiang Mai

 Hello from Thailand! Yes, we are back again, this time arriving in December rather than January. We had a good trip, leaving the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Our daughter and son-in-law spent the holiday with us, then took us to a hotel near O'Hare on their way to flying home. On Sunday morning we headed to the airport. Our shuttle driver said traffic was absolutely terrible; large numbers of people flying home after Thanksgiving. It was slow, but we arrived at our terminal in plenty of time. We were pleased to see that the gate to our flight was right inside the lounge, so we didn't have far to go.

Our tickets from Seoul to Chiang Mai were separate from our Chicago to Seoul ones (long story involving flights on Korean Air points). So we were happily surprised when the check-in clerk said they could connect the flights and check our bags on through. That meant we didn't have to pick them up for our overnight in Seoul. That made me a little nervous, as airports are notorious for misplacing luggage, especially if there is a long (or a short) connection. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt Incheon, right near the airport and had a good night's sleep.

On the shuttle from the airpot I sat with a nice man from London. He was here on business, had just arrived and was only staying the one day, flying back the next evening. Hard to imagine!

Sunset from our room on the 12th floor

Airport view from hotel; much closer than it seemed by highway

Our flight got into Chiang Mai about 11:00 PM local time (11:00 AM EST). We were very happy to see our suitcases come out right away. We grabbed a taxi and were at Smith Suites, our home-away-from-home, shortly after midnight. We only unpacked a few necessaries and fell into bed. We both slept well, surprised to wake up to sunlight. We are 23° further south than home in northern Indiana, so it is light a good bit earlier.

In the morning, Dan walked down to Kom Market to get some breakfast. He came back with waffles and bananas and milk for our tea.

Dan brought up our two bins from the storage area, then headed out to change money (better rate than ATM), rent a motorbike, and pick up some groceries at Kasem, which caters especially to foreigners. I walked to the Chiang Mai Gate Market to get fruit (mango, papaya, pineapple, oranges). It was much later than my usual outing and it was quite hot (nearly 90°F). I was pretty wiped out and definitely needed a rest in front of the fan. Then I was able to finish all the unpacking.

We are a little disappointed in our room. We wanted the lawn side, as we had last year, as it is facing north and much more comfortable. We got that, but this room has the kitchenette right inside the door, opposite the bathroom. We have more cupboard space than before but it is not arranged very conveniently. Oh, well, we will manage. I think we have to move at the end of the month to a room on the other side of the building.

My regular fruit vendor

Our first dinner out was at the Guitar Bar, not far from us. It was nice to be recognized by the owner and his daughter. She is now 21 and waiting tables. We used to see her sitting at a table doing her homework, so I guess we've been going there for quite a while.

Dan's panang curry with chicken

My pineapple rice