Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Thailand: Chiang Mai- Happy Anniversary

Happy 11-year Anniversary to Us!
(On this particular day, way back in August!)

We woke up early and enjoyed a nice and slow breakfast at the villa, while the front desk organized a flat rate taxi to DMK Airport, for our journey to continue on to Chiang Mai. For a flat rate of 500 baht, our journey took about 45-minutes, and it was insane how much traffic (and traffic jam) that there was for 0830 on a Saturday morning. We still made it in plenty of time to explore DMK Airport (it is super nice!), and I was surprised at the medications that you can just buy over the counter here. We enjoyed a seamless flight on AirAsia, though having to sit apart due to booking error.

Taxi to the Wing Bed Hotel to be our home fin Chiang Mai. There we got all checked-in, got set up, and set out for lunch, massage, and evening adventures. No idea what the name of our restaurant was (seriously, there was no name on the map, on the building, or the menu...just a sign that said: FOOD) but we opted to go there, as we passed it on the taxi ride to the hotel, and it was absolutely full of Thai people enjoying lunch, while the other places in the area were not.

Mmmmm....

Cannot tell you the name of it, but go to this place!!!!!

Then, thanks to the reviews of TripAdvisor, we went to Makkha Spa for an hour-long Thai massage. I had never had a Thai-type massage before, as Adam had, but I am now as obsessed as he is! They walk on you, drive their knees and elbows in between every muscles, actively bend, stretch, and pull you, truly giving you a good workout and muscle relief. We scheduled a second session for the the following day, but a 2-hour massage this time. You have to love how ridiculously cheap massages are in Thailand, and they are higher quality than what you get in the US! The spa manager told us of a night market to go explore, that had started the hour before, so off we went.

On the way, we stopped and explored Wat Phra Singh, to admire it statuary and glaring gold temples.

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh

THE MARKET!!!
This market was over a kilometer long, the entire length of Wua Lai Rd, with several off-shoots. It was FULL of hundreds of food vendors, artisans, booths hawking wares, and everything you can imagine. We also, very quickly, noticed that it was very much a "locals" market, as we were some of the very few non-Thai there. So dinner was random bites and bowls shared from the various food stalls. Cheers to 7Eleven for the end of the evening rehydration fluids, cold beers, and bottle of wine.

Our octopus was incredibly delicious!

Sticks of meat happiness!

So many bites to take!