Chiang Mai

We left for Chiang Mai on Tuesday. The train left at 10:00pm and we fell quickly asleep. It arrived at noon the next day and even though the train had been packed when we left, only a few backpackers were straggling around the station when we got off. We were met by the usual tout "welcoming committee”, loaded with pamphlets and brochures and accompanied by free transport minibuses. We took them up on their offer to go to Ben Guest House, as it rang a bell. Since it was the rainy season, and Chiang Mai was known for trekking among the hill tribal areas, the city was nearly devoid of tourists. Ben Guest House was empty, although eight Belgians had gone trekking and left their bags there. The rooms were nice and clean with fan, shower and hot water for the low season price of 120 baht (it was usually 150 baht). The guesthouses in Chiang Mai were all pretty cheap, as they tried to get you to go trekking with their guide.

The location was great for us – quiet and convenient (just east of the Mae Ping River, a 10-minute walk to the night market and Tha Phae Road) and they had great food.

Although Chiang Mai was the second biggest city in Thailand, it seemed fairly quiet and very livable. We only had 4 or 5 days, as flights to Mandalay (connecting through Yangon) ran only twice a week (Sunday and Thursday), so we decided to relax, explore the city and do a cooking course. We’d kind of ruled out trekking as it would have been too rushed.

The information center in town was pretty good – they gave us a map and pointed us to the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School (just inside the eastern gate (Tha Phae) of the walled city). A British/Thai couple named Somphon and Elizabeth Nabnian runs the school. We talked to Elizabeth but she seemed a little cold and business-like for a family-run operation - I guess they churned through lots of customers. We went back through the gate to another school’s office (next to Daret’s Restaurant) but the school was opening later that month. We went back and signed up for a 1 day course (700 Baht – 1,400 Baht and 2000 Baht for 1, 2 and 3 day courses) for Thursday, September 25th. The course included an excellent cookbook (written by the Nabnian’s) that details Thai cuisine’s main ingredients and their Western substitutes, as well as a dozen or so recipes.

On our way back down Tha Phae Road, we were looking for plane ticket agents, when we practically stumbled into the Arinda Travel Agency in the Tapae Inn (they rented out a small space in the doorway of the hotel). An older man had us sit down, and we woke up this little tiny guy with extreme bed head and the most tired look on his face who was sleeping at the desk. It turned out they didn’t sell plane tickets, so we asked about trekking for the hell of it. The little guy showed us a book plastered with recommendations from travelers accompanies by some great photos (lots of shops had these). On every page, there were 2 or 3 highlighted words – “Map”. We read further and it was a guide everybody was raving about – one guy had done 5 treks with him! We asked the little guy “who’s map??” and the response was a huge, smiling “yeah, that’s me”. Five minutes later, we put down a deposit for a 2-day trek with Map (1,000 Baht per person total)!