Chiang Mai

Joe made a reservation for me to go to a Khantoke dinner last night - a bargain at 250bh (about $5). I was alone, sitting on the floor in front of a round table filled with little dishes of food, with one of the hard triangular cushions to lean against. Not terribly comfortable, but the food was good if mostly a bit westernized and mild, and there were two hours of traditional and not so traditional folk dances. It reminded me of Kenya - tribal dances, tribal crafts for sale outside - the whole thing took place at the Chiang Mai cultural center.

I'm trying to figure out if the interest in the hill tribes who performed some of last night's show is new, generated by the interest of farangs in "unspoiled" cultures, or is something CM is really proud of. I rather think it's the former. CM has a long history - it's older than BKK - and these people are relative newcomers to previously very sparsely settled highlands.People there, and people at the waterfall we went to next, were mostly Asian. Mostly Chinese, for that matter, it being holidays for them. The site is spectacular but the promised view was not there - serious smog - haze and smoke; you could see that layer I remember from being on Mount Baldy. This mountain, which is about the same height and relation to the city as Baldy, is also very much the pride of the city. The monk who caused the road to be built up there is the local saint. The road is a marvelous one, very windy and mountain-road, but in very good repair. This is undoubtedly the case because not only is the temple there, but a bit further up the road is the King's summer palace. The king is there now, so we couldn't go up.  

Affection for the king here is I'm sure real, but there's not quite the fixation on him or his ancestors in public places that I saw in BKK or even Phi Mai. 

After the temple, Joe drove (he has an air-con Peugeot) to a waterfall on the next mountain over. This is much like, say a waterfall in the White Mountains - several shallow falls with puddles below them, Again, mostly Chinese in attendance and children playing in the pools below the falls while parents picnicked alongside. Just very relaxed. Joe and I had lunch at one of the stands on the way to the falls - great barbecued chicken, sticky rice, papaya salad. Spicy but not overwhelming.

Finally we went to the orchid, butterfly, and Siamese Cat farm. Yes, tourist - just after we left a tourist bus was pulling up in front, but fortunately we beat them around and it wasn't very crowded. Orchids quite beautiful, butterflies not very impressive. Difference between here and elsewhere: entrance fee was 20 bhat (about 40 cents!). Not many cats at the moment, in cages big enough for lions.

We came back to the house and I napped a bit - last night was not a good rest - then I went over to town to get more money and see another wat, this one just down the street. Now I'm off for the night market.  One good thing is that there is food everywhere: street food, restaurants, whatever. I'm having a little allergic reaction but the allegra is keeping it under control. So far anyhow; it did last year. 

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An interesting day. Not a touristy one, but interesting nonetheless. Last night I went to the Night Bazaar, and as directed by the regulars hanging around the courtyard of the guesthouse, I went to the Galare food court across the road from the NB to eat supper. You buy coupons and exchange them for food: in my case duck soup with thin noodles, and deep-fried sil mae dumplings and a fresh strawberry shake. (There's no way around here you can avoid fresh veggies and fruits. Even strawberries.)  The night bazaar is a large, several storied building with a lot of crafts and clothing for sale, very Thai, not very interesting after the tenth booth. Hill tribe people wander through, selling their headdresses and jewelry and looking a bit forlorn but quite the salesmen.  It was all very crowded, and that was made even worse by a sudden downpour of rain, a real thunderstorm. I waited it out inside the bazaar and then caught a tuk-tuk back to the guesthouse; my knee was giving me fits because of all the steps I'd come down at Doi Suthep. 

I really had to knock myself out with pain pills and aspirin before I could get comfortable enough to sleep. Before I went to bed I tried to plug in my computer, only to be given a strong reprimand by the transformer which did not have an adapter. (I wish I could remember where I last saw it; it wasn't in the box at home that the appliance-adapters live in. 

This morning I felt fine again, and first set off to JJ's restaurant or coffee shop for two croissants, fresh from the bakery, and real coffee, two cups, for 90 bhat (about $1.80). I tried from there to find an electronics store to buy a new transformer, but without luck, though I did buy some fabric for a sheet liner. I came back to the house to find Michael, Jo's computer guru and creator of infothai.com. Nice guy. We talked shop a bit and he sent me to Computer City to find the transformer, so I tuk-tuked over there. They of course didn't have it, but sent me to the big new mall Central Department Store. I couldn't find it there either but finally found a shop in the larger mall that did computer repairs and sure enough, one of the guys there led me up hill and down dale in the big department store until we found the thing. Finally!

This department store is part of a giant brand-new and very fancy mall.  Real galleria type.

Back to the hotel, met the lady that Bill Wood had sent me money for, and Amara, Jo's wife, offered to take me to a good Lanae style restaurant.

It was a charming, outdoors pavilion filled with happy Thais, dancing waters outside the sheltered part, and good food. I said you order, I pay, and indeed they did. Everything from fried worms and grasshoppers (worms ok but I said nothanks on the grasshoppers) several pork dishes and a good river trout stuffed with pork strongly pounded. The wine was 870 bhat, the dinner for the four of us (daughter Carolyn had come too) was 700 or thereabouts. After dinner I went with Jo and Amara to their bar, behind the night bazaar, wandered the bazaar a bit more, and am now tuktukked home and ready for bed, thank you! 

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[this first part was written with Yo, identification otherwise unknown but a young Thai woman who seems to do errands around here, was looking over my shoulder. She may be a niece of Amara's.] Today I went to the Thai Cooking School. They picked me up before 10  and took me to the store-front and from there we went first to the Sompet market where we were given a very thorough tour of what foods are used for what, how pastes are put together, etc. We learned about the noodles, the mushrooms, the chilis, the vegetables, the sauces. Basic in some ways but very complete and interesting. How to judge fish sauces, for instance.

We then went on to the very fancy house in the suburbs that the teacher Somphon has had built, quite recently, to meet all his requirements as chef. One does rather expect him to be on TV soon. But again, he's very good, very thorough about how  to do things. He has a two-burner stove, many big woks and he demonstrates dish after dish - nine in the space of the few hours. After all was created, we then went back out onto a straw-matted lanai and sat against those triangular pillows, on mats, and ate. And ate and ate. 18 people. It was all very good and I'm not sure I'm going to want to eat for awhile more! We got a cookbook as part of the course so we could take notes as we went.  I enjoyed it enough to sign up again for tomorrow's afternoon class. Somphon teaches three different days of cooking, different food, different lectures, so one could conceivably take all three. Actually several people were on their second or third day. The cookbook has each set of recipes grouped together so you can easily reproduce a meal.

Getting back to the hotel, Amara cross-examined me about the school. How much did it cost? $800b (at this point just under $15). How many in the class? 18. And if there's enough demand he does it again in the afternoon, although I would guess that there would be no more than ten at that time.  What expenses are there for him? Well, aside from the fancy custom-built house, there's the store-front office. The woman running this office. The busses to drive us out to his house - little taxi-busses actually.  The ingredients of the food and probably a bit of pay-off to the market people who let him stand in front of their stalls and demonstrate the kinds of food, etc. Amara obviously thought, and I think rightly, that he's got a good scheme going. He does, but the experience of watching this and seeing how it all works is really amazingly useful!

Tonight, since I'd sat on my glasses and wanted to catch Joe when he came in from picking up the kids, I sat downstairs and read/visited with Uncle Boon (?) the old guy who is their general houseboy. He's very sweet to me and brings me soft drinks when I need them. 

The whole family arrangement is very complicated, obviously. Jo himself is a sweet-faced, gentle, quiet sort with good English skills. So is their daughter, Carolyn (!), who is 10. Amara is very different, looks like an almost different person when she's dressed for her role as hostess at the bar. Shiny silver coin vest over tight black. Or lace see-thru top. There are various young men who show up and disappear about the time the bar opens; I think they are cousins or brothers. Joe's parents live next door and take care of the kids while Joe and Amara are at the bar at night. Tonight Yo was there; she left with the others on motor-scooters; other nights various westerners show up around the tables. The little twin boys (fraternal) bounce in and out, slowly wearing out and are ready for bed at a pretty good hour, all scrubbed and damp-haired. Amara is, however, an extremely sweet and loving mama, very sweet with me; it was her idea that we go to the restaurant for dinner. I like them all very much. The bed may be a trifle hard, but they are very gentle and sweet.