Monday morning came quickly and we rushed to get ready for our 8am bike tour throughout Chiang Mai. Our guide, Nooh, and our fellow riders were waiting for us outside the Tha Pae Gate where I’d had my fateful accident the day before.
Nooh walked us to his bike shop, dressed us for the day and gave us the equipment we’d need to ride. There were 8 of us in total – Patrick, Ian and I, Bonnie and Will from Toronto, Christine and Keith from Sheffield England, and Raavi from Shri Lanka. After nearly 8 hours of eating, drinking and 20+ miles bike riding together, we easily became the best of friends.
Our ventures took us to a local market near Ratchawong Rd, throughout the city’s Old Town, to the oldest and most famous silver maker in all of Chiang Mai, through more modern neighborhoods, past Chiang Mai University, to the Buddhist and Muslim quarters, back to the cascading waterfalls and then the city gates. It was a jam packed day with lots of eats from Nooh’s local favorites, tons of pedaling and a great deal of fun too!
After we stopped home for a much needed dip in the pool and a warm shower, we headed back to the North end of the city for some Thai food and Thai boxing.
We stuffed our faces with Pad Thai and Heineken before making our way to the Thai boxing arena where we saw China vs. Thailand in 6 female/male matches. The athletes were incredible – buff and covered in icy hot – and we were “lucky” enough to witness one knock out in the male 130lb category, which ended with a seriously painful looking roundhouse kick to the back of the head.
After one of our most memorable nights in Thailand yet, we hit the sheets and woke the next morning, ready for a fun-filled day in the kitchen.
The Thai Farm Cooking school is located about 30 minutes outside of Chiang Mai proper and boasts a fabulous organic farm and expansive kitchens to boot!
Our hostess, MB, was literally the most chipper person in the world and ensured that our day was filled with learning, fun and delicious foods.
We picked fresh ingredients, strapped on our aprons and set about cooking a full course meal of Tom Yam soup, spring rolls, Pad Thai, curry, and stir fry, before ending the day with sticky rice and mango for dessert. The food was to die for, and we had a great group of tourists who joined us, including a husband and wife from Switzerland, a solo female traveler from Germany, a mother and daughter from China, and two guys from Austin, TX.
Stuffed to the brim with food and laughter, we made our way back to our B&B for a low-key night of movies and reading. We packed our gear and prepared for the 4am wake-up call to catch our flight from Chiang Mai to Krabi island. From there we planned to board a 20 minute bus, 2 hour ferry and 10 minute TukTuk to Koh Lanta islands Mook Lanta resort.
Southern Thailand… Here we come!
-Two for Takeoff
Boy, those two days in Chiang Mai sound like fun to me. Wish I were there! Have fun on the islands in the Andaman – love Dad