Thursday, March 30, 2006
Chiang Mai Escapade! - 26 Mar 2nd Day
Today is Nancy Chandler day! We decided to junk the free map (since it was so horrendously inaccurate) and buy the Nancy Chandler map of Chiang Mai. Touted to be the most detailed and accurate map of Chiang Mai, it certainly was different. The map looked as if it was roughly drawn and coloured with highlighters! Hard to believe that it was done by a caucasian woman cos it looked more like a kid drew it. It consisted of 4 parts: A huge map of the whole of Chiang mai city, a medium size map of the old Chiang Mai city, a smaller map of the night bazaar area and another small map of areas outside of Chiang Mai city. And it had various symbols to mark places of interest, wats, hospitals, places to eat etc etc. Now this is what I call accurate!
We decided to heed Nancy's suggestion and go to Warorot Open market. Being there, I couldn't help thinking that I was in a market in SG Chinatown. The place was 4 levels. 1st level was all the food stalls; 2nd level was the wet market; and the upper 2 levels sold clothes, shoes etc. Familiar, no? But the best part about this place was: it was frequented by the locals.. which meant that prices were decent!!! Most of the shops had prices on placards and you could bargain even further! But be warned that there were still shops which didn't display the prices and still attempted to rip us off. And the stuff sold here were definitely more fashionable and less touristy than those sold in the Night Market.
DC and I wasted no time in trying to get the necessary stuff for our hiking trip the next day. On the shopping list?
1) Backpack - bought a North Face backpack (probably fake) for 300 Baht (S$12). The stitching was pretty good and the inside was of good material
2) Sandals - the best buy! I swear the sandals were made out of recycled Goodyear tyres or something! The traction was damn hell good. Imagine this: the floor is marble. DC did a traction test by dragging his feet on the floor to see if the sandals will slip. And it didn't! Stuck deadfast! And only 250 Baht (S$10)!!!
3) Shorts (for DC) - 90 Baht (S$4.50) for Berms.. need I say more?
Being a Sunday, the place was packed with locals. And it was interesting to see the daily life there. People buying groceries, sundries etc. Unfortunately, with the huge crowd and the weather being scorching hot, DC and I were desperate for a nice cool place to rest a bit. We decided to seek refuge in another Nancy Chandler recommendation: Siam Celadon, which was nearby.
Siam Celadon is a shop and cafe in one. Once you enter Siam Celadon, you can't help but feel that Nancy Chandler is an architectural geek. The place reeks of old world charm. It reminds me a lot like the Colonial Houses back in SG. The Interior was fashioned like a British tea house: Painted cream walls, heavy metal chairs and tables, carved balconies, wrought cornices, white embrioderied curtains, swinging doors, porcelain tableware etc. You had a choice to sit inside or at the garden but DC and I unanimously plonked ourselves on one of the tables indoors. We ordered iced tea and it was a welcome treat! Extremely refreshing! We decided to have lunch there and ordered sandwiches. The food wasn't anything to shout about though. Looked through the shops wares and nearly choked up my lunch... A quilt cover set costs 6500 Baht!! That's like... almost S$300 (FYI, that's the amount of spending money we collectively changed)... *faint* looks like we can only afford the food.
We walked around the Old City area again and stumbled upon yet another market. Apparently, according to lonely planet, this market is only open on Sundays. They actually block up the roads. Ooh.. lucky us! We continued to walk around. Was looking at some wares when DC suddenly disappeared. Apparently he was captivated by a tree.. and I can see why: The tree was freaking huge!!! Measuring at least 6 stories high, it had a thick trunk and stood ram rod straight. But the tree led us to another gem of a find: Wat Chedi Luang
The funny thing about the Wats in Chiang Mai is the way they are built. Built among the other normal buildings, they have small facades and are easy to dismiss. But when you do take the effort to walk in and look, you will be surprised with the sprawling gardens and the various other buildings connected to it. Wat Chedi Luang is like this. But the highlight of the place was the Chedi (stupa)! It probably is the largest and oldest one in Chiang Mai. Parts of it were crumbling and we could see that it is damaged in certain areas. Not sure if it is due to wear and tear or the war? There were 4 sides to the Chedi and each one housed a Buddha and 2 Huge 5 headed Nagoyas guarding the entrance. Only the front one had stairs leading up (which was blocked of course). The remaining 3 had no stairs but steep slopes. Unfortunately, the one with the stairs was also the one which was badly damaged. Littered around the circumference of the Chedi were bronze bells. You were supposed to hit the bells and they were supposed to bring good luck! Ding Dong!
There were also two smaller "temples" in the compound. But they certainly freaked me out. Both housed the bodies of monks who have died. Initially I was skeptical if they were real bodies. But after taking a closer look, I was convinced: the hair did me in. Even Madam Tussaud's couldn't make it that real!!! The temples also housed the sharira of other monks who have died and cremated... I only knew that i wanted to just get out of the place... fast!
We continued walking and passed by the Sunday Bazaar at Tha Phae gate. Forgot to mention about the Old City. The main city of Chiang Mai is located within the crumbled walls of the old city. Only a few bits of it are left and only the 4 main gates are present: Chang Puak (North), Chiang Mai (South), Tha Phae (East) and Suan Dok (West) . On various maps, the city is marked with a square boundary and long blue dotted lines. The blue dotted lines were actually the moat to the old city. Today, it looks like a very long pond. It's interesting how the existing roads have to go around the moat! And the city is only accessible by these 4 gates. Of the 4 gates, Tha Phae is the one that is most complete. It probably managed to best survive the war? Hence, it is an icon and many events take place here: from the sunday market to the political rallys to festivities.
5pm came quickly and we went for our Thai massage. Called Loi Kroh Massage School (cos it is located at Loi Kroh road), an hour of massage costs 200 Baht (about S$8). I was sorely disappointed, especially since i really love Thai massage. The lady couldn't even hit the right pressure points. And there was no trademark stretching like the one i did in Bangkok last year. And to think they are a massage school??? i seriously doubt it.
After a shower, we decided to go to The Riverside, also recommended by Nancy Chandler. It was located in the other direction of the city and was a 15 min walk from our hotel. When we arrived, the place was largely made up of Farangs (ang mohs, gwai lohs), Jap tourists and a few locals. Couldn't help but feel like we were cheated to yet another touristy place, especially when we opened the menu and a steak costs 650 Baht... Dang. But all is not lost! The place turned out to be a great place to chill out! We ordered local thai food:
1) Som Tam - green mango salad: very appetising, with generous amounts of seafood!
2) Pandan chicken - extremely yummy.... finger licking good and better than KFC!
3) Beef green curry - not too thick not too thin, great as a gravy with rice
4) Fried mushrooms with garlic sauce - the best I have tasted. Definitely much better than the one offered at Jerry's in Jalan Kayu. The mushrooms were crispy! CRISPY!!!!
5) Black sesame glutonous rice balls in ginger syrup - in other words, Ah Ball Ling! And this is the best Ah Ball Ling I have ever tasted!!! I was surprised to find out that it was a thai dish!
The whole dinner came to about 650 Baht (cheap! I was expecting 1000 Baht). So for the price of a steak, go for the local food instead which is very yummy. The place was also located at the Mae Ping river and offered dinner cruises too! nice place to chill out. And the band playing was one of the best i have heard. it is not everyday that you get a band singing good English songs. And the female vocals were really good... Would have stayed longer and had some beer if not for the Baileys waiting for me in the fridge back at the hotel. Also we had to return early for the next day... We had to be ready at 8am!!!! GROAN.....
We decided to heed Nancy's suggestion and go to Warorot Open market. Being there, I couldn't help thinking that I was in a market in SG Chinatown. The place was 4 levels. 1st level was all the food stalls; 2nd level was the wet market; and the upper 2 levels sold clothes, shoes etc. Familiar, no? But the best part about this place was: it was frequented by the locals.. which meant that prices were decent!!! Most of the shops had prices on placards and you could bargain even further! But be warned that there were still shops which didn't display the prices and still attempted to rip us off. And the stuff sold here were definitely more fashionable and less touristy than those sold in the Night Market.
DC and I wasted no time in trying to get the necessary stuff for our hiking trip the next day. On the shopping list?
1) Backpack - bought a North Face backpack (probably fake) for 300 Baht (S$12). The stitching was pretty good and the inside was of good material
2) Sandals - the best buy! I swear the sandals were made out of recycled Goodyear tyres or something! The traction was damn hell good. Imagine this: the floor is marble. DC did a traction test by dragging his feet on the floor to see if the sandals will slip. And it didn't! Stuck deadfast! And only 250 Baht (S$10)!!!
3) Shorts (for DC) - 90 Baht (S$4.50) for Berms.. need I say more?
Being a Sunday, the place was packed with locals. And it was interesting to see the daily life there. People buying groceries, sundries etc. Unfortunately, with the huge crowd and the weather being scorching hot, DC and I were desperate for a nice cool place to rest a bit. We decided to seek refuge in another Nancy Chandler recommendation: Siam Celadon, which was nearby.
Siam Celadon is a shop and cafe in one. Once you enter Siam Celadon, you can't help but feel that Nancy Chandler is an architectural geek. The place reeks of old world charm. It reminds me a lot like the Colonial Houses back in SG. The Interior was fashioned like a British tea house: Painted cream walls, heavy metal chairs and tables, carved balconies, wrought cornices, white embrioderied curtains, swinging doors, porcelain tableware etc. You had a choice to sit inside or at the garden but DC and I unanimously plonked ourselves on one of the tables indoors. We ordered iced tea and it was a welcome treat! Extremely refreshing! We decided to have lunch there and ordered sandwiches. The food wasn't anything to shout about though. Looked through the shops wares and nearly choked up my lunch... A quilt cover set costs 6500 Baht!! That's like... almost S$300 (FYI, that's the amount of spending money we collectively changed)... *faint* looks like we can only afford the food.We walked around the Old City area again and stumbled upon yet another market. Apparently, according to lonely planet, this market is only open on Sundays. They actually block up the roads. Ooh.. lucky us! We continued to walk around. Was looking at some wares when DC suddenly disappeared. Apparently he was captivated by a tree.. and I can see why: The tree was freaking huge!!! Measuring at least 6 stories high, it had a thick trunk and stood ram rod straight. But the tree led us to another gem of a find: Wat Chedi Luang
The funny thing about the Wats in Chiang Mai is the way they are built. Built among the other normal buildings, they have small facades and are easy to dismiss. But when you do take the effort to walk in and look, you will be surprised with the sprawling gardens and the various other buildings connected to it. Wat Chedi Luang is like this. But the highlight of the place was the Chedi (stupa)! It probably is the largest and oldest one in Chiang Mai. Parts of it were crumbling and we could see that it is damaged in certain areas. Not sure if it is due to wear and tear or the war? There were 4 sides to the Chedi and each one housed a Buddha and 2 Huge 5 headed Nagoyas guarding the entrance. Only the front one had stairs leading up (which was blocked of course). The remaining 3 had no stairs but steep slopes. Unfortunately, the one with the stairs was also the one which was badly damaged. Littered around the circumference of the Chedi were bronze bells. You were supposed to hit the bells and they were supposed to bring good luck! Ding Dong!
There were also two smaller "temples" in the compound. But they certainly freaked me out. Both housed the bodies of monks who have died. Initially I was skeptical if they were real bodies. But after taking a closer look, I was convinced: the hair did me in. Even Madam Tussaud's couldn't make it that real!!! The temples also housed the sharira of other monks who have died and cremated... I only knew that i wanted to just get out of the place... fast!
We continued walking and passed by the Sunday Bazaar at Tha Phae gate. Forgot to mention about the Old City. The main city of Chiang Mai is located within the crumbled walls of the old city. Only a few bits of it are left and only the 4 main gates are present: Chang Puak (North), Chiang Mai (South), Tha Phae (East) and Suan Dok (West) . On various maps, the city is marked with a square boundary and long blue dotted lines. The blue dotted lines were actually the moat to the old city. Today, it looks like a very long pond. It's interesting how the existing roads have to go around the moat! And the city is only accessible by these 4 gates. Of the 4 gates, Tha Phae is the one that is most complete. It probably managed to best survive the war? Hence, it is an icon and many events take place here: from the sunday market to the political rallys to festivities.
5pm came quickly and we went for our Thai massage. Called Loi Kroh Massage School (cos it is located at Loi Kroh road), an hour of massage costs 200 Baht (about S$8). I was sorely disappointed, especially since i really love Thai massage. The lady couldn't even hit the right pressure points. And there was no trademark stretching like the one i did in Bangkok last year. And to think they are a massage school??? i seriously doubt it.
After a shower, we decided to go to The Riverside, also recommended by Nancy Chandler. It was located in the other direction of the city and was a 15 min walk from our hotel. When we arrived, the place was largely made up of Farangs (ang mohs, gwai lohs), Jap tourists and a few locals. Couldn't help but feel like we were cheated to yet another touristy place, especially when we opened the menu and a steak costs 650 Baht... Dang. But all is not lost! The place turned out to be a great place to chill out! We ordered local thai food:
1) Som Tam - green mango salad: very appetising, with generous amounts of seafood!
2) Pandan chicken - extremely yummy.... finger licking good and better than KFC!
3) Beef green curry - not too thick not too thin, great as a gravy with rice
4) Fried mushrooms with garlic sauce - the best I have tasted. Definitely much better than the one offered at Jerry's in Jalan Kayu. The mushrooms were crispy! CRISPY!!!!
5) Black sesame glutonous rice balls in ginger syrup - in other words, Ah Ball Ling! And this is the best Ah Ball Ling I have ever tasted!!! I was surprised to find out that it was a thai dish!
The whole dinner came to about 650 Baht (cheap! I was expecting 1000 Baht). So for the price of a steak, go for the local food instead which is very yummy. The place was also located at the Mae Ping river and offered dinner cruises too! nice place to chill out. And the band playing was one of the best i have heard. it is not everyday that you get a band singing good English songs. And the female vocals were really good... Would have stayed longer and had some beer if not for the Baileys waiting for me in the fridge back at the hotel. Also we had to return early for the next day... We had to be ready at 8am!!!! GROAN.....
# posted by Xallista @ 9:33 PM 
