Our First Thai Massage
Chiang Mai, Thailand
March 25, 2009
I had to pee again, but did not know what time it was, it was still dark.
I picked up the clock on my way back to my bunk. It is only 4 am, so I read for an hour or so and dozed off until 6:30 when Bill touched my back and gave me a start.
I spent the rest of our trip reading about Northern Thailand and continuing to read Cornwell's "The Last Precinct".
We had placed a specific order for breakfast last night, but everyone gets the same (not sure why they bothered asking) and it was an hour earlier than we were told... It was white warm bread and fried eggs with turkey lunch meat. We also had tang (it is so gross in my opinion) and tea.
We arrived at 11:45, 1 3/4 hours late. We almost negotiated ourselves out of a ride, but found a truck to take us to our hotel, Mandala House, for 40 bhat.
We cleaned up and went for a bite to eat. We were trying to find Aroon that had been recommended by Bob from Mandalay (as is the hotel), but we could not find it. So, we went to Art Cafe instead. It had no art and is more like a restaurant than a cafe. We overpaid for an avocado salad (my mustard dressing was dijon mustard scooped into a dish) and a pepperoni pizza. Trying to add bell pepper to it took a while. I decided to try iced Thai tea (with milk) and it is really good. It is orange, I was not expecting that.
After lunch we went to Boots (finally got some conditioner before I run out) and wandered in and out of some book and jewellery shops. I was able to get a pretty silver pendant for less than $8. There is a ring there that I like too (among many other things), but I am not sure if I am going to spend $31 for it. I have a feeling that Chaing Mai is not going to be cheap. It is very touristy and has some really nice shops. I saw a couple of dress shops (maybe something for me for Ange's wedding??)
We circled back to the hotel to find a Thai Massage. We almost went into one place, but the sign said something about Man for Man. I decided to protect Bill. We headed back to the area where we had lunch. There was a place near there. I was 200 bhat each for one hour. I really enjoyed it. I felt very relaxed afterward.
We have been at an internet cafe for the rest of the afternoon and I am FINALLY caught up!
We found Aroon Rai restuarant and it was very good. We had spring rolls, seafood soup, curry chicken, curry pork (very tender) and cookies and cream ice cream (homemade). While we were eating I was watching the traffic zipping by and happened to see a guy drop his scooter. I am not sure what happened, it did not look like anyone hit him, he just went over and slid a bit. Remarkablely he was not hit (there was so much traffic) and he was up right away. I don't even think he was bleeding and he was just wearing pants, a short sleeved shirt and flip flops!
We walked around the area which is full of restaurants, cafes and bars. It is quite lively and we went to John's Place (also spelled Jhon's place) to enjoy a beverage on the roof top bar. Thai people need some serious marketing and translation assistance. Most of the time it is pretty comical!