Chiang Mai, Part Two

Chiang Mai Part Two

There are three things in abundance in this city: food stalls, bars and massage shops.  If I had to guess, I would say more massage shops than bars and more food stalls/restaurants than massage shops.  With an abundance of choices for massage, these shops have had to differentiate their markets, always trying to find the new thing that will give them the edge.  The little fish that eat your toe cuticles when you stick your feet in the tank is so last year!  Yogurt facials seem new to me, especially the kind that have mint leaves in them.  Hot stones are no longer enough; they have to be hot jade and crystal to really be on the cutting age.  But best of all is the snail facial massage.  Ah, just picture yourself all comfy on an outdoor mat and having four or five large snails placed on your face and allowed to just slime around.  If that doesn’t relax you, I don’t know what will.  For me, I would like to combine the snails with the hot rocks and throw in some garlic, butter and parsley; now that would be relaxing!

Escargot Anyone?

We, and a few thousand of our closest friends, wandered around one of the larger night markets here in Chiang Mai last night. If you can’t find what you are looking for, it simply doesn’t exist. It is an interesting mix of retail stalls, all jumbled about without any apparent thought to grouping similar things together. In the middle are all of the food stalls selling food from around the world and you sit at large communal tables and eat and drink and sweat as one large family.

The weather has become very bright and sunny which means it is also very hot.  While we are high in the mountains, it is still in the 90+ range but the humidity isn’t as bad as it is in Bangkok.  Since the weather has turned we have been treated to spectacular views of the surrounding mountain ranges that form a ring around the city. Today we waited too long to walk to the river and it exhausted us because it was already so hot outside, but it was worth is since from the Iron Bridge, we were still able to see lots of the colorful floating baskets adorned with flowers and sticks of incense that were left over from the festival the past few nights.

The food here is really incredible, but this is real Thai food and while we love most of the spices, the heat from the variety of peppers that seem to be in everything have brought us to tears on several occasions.  Some of the plainest looking things and even some of the desserts are loaded with heat.  To give our palates a well-deserved rest, we ate in a wonderful Cantonese restaurant last night and it was glorious. Duck served three ways with a crispy skin the color of mahogany, glistening Bok Choy with three types of mushrooms and sliced garlic, and oodles of noodles with fresh herbs and ginger.  Not one dish was hot or spicy, just filled with flavor.

Tomorrow we are off to Hanoi and are really looking forward to our first trip to Vietnam. It is another long travel day since getting in and out of Chiang Mai is difficult, but I’m sure it will be worth the effort.  Until Vietnam, Cindy and Wm