Chiang Mai, Thai

Chiang Mai is in Northern Thailand, close to the Burmese border. It attracts tourists for two reasons: authentic cuisine and rustic excursions. We've partaken in both.

We attended a culinary class at the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School, the first Thai cooking school established in Chiang Mai. Historically, we cooked "Thai" stir-fry a few times a week in our household, mostly from macro-ingredients. Having attended the class, we're now armed with an arsenal of curry-paste cunning and culinary techniques. Perhaps you, fair reader, shall someday witness the fruits of our classwork.

Because the class spanned eight hours and seven dishes, we were stuffed to the brim with our own concoctions. We were almost too full to eat the last dish, but it was sticky rice pudding with cane sugar and coconut milk - so clearly, we made room and went back for seconds.

The Night Bazaar (open nightly) and Sunday Night Market with stretches through the old city, offered some good souvenir opportunities and great street food (still diarrhea free, by the way). There we encountered the "Rock N Roll Power Bracelet" (at left) which we had to purchase. It shall serve us well for the remainder of our travels.