Chiang Mai - Day 1
Woke up this morning on the train to the sun rising over the trees lining the train track. It was pretty, but I decided it was too early to be up so I closed the curtains and went back to sleep. A couple hours later, I woke up again, this time for good, and let the train attendent convert my bunk back into a seat with a table so that John and I could have breakfast. The breakfast was ... edible. It consisted of a fried egg, toast, tea, a sausage patty, and a sliced meat (ham maybe?). After breakfast, we packed up so that we would be ready to go when the train arrived in Chiang Mat around 10am.
We are planning this trip on the fly so we didn't have a place to stay arranged in Chiang Mai, so after we exited the train station, we walked for a little bit (to get away from the taxi's that cater to tourists, and thus charge more) and hopped into one of the many red songthaews for the trip into the old town.
Once in the old city we walked around for a little while to find a guesthouse. Eventually we decided upon C.M. Blue House, which John was pretty sure he had read good things about on the internet. The price was right (300 Baht/night for the fan cooled room, or about $5 each/night), so it didn't matter to me. We checked in, dropped our bags in the room, and then decided to talk to the lady in the office about day treks for tomorrow. We booked one that looked good, and then walked out to the main street to decide what to do today.
We decided to see some of Chiang Mai, and the best way to do that seemed to have easy transportation. On the main street there were plenty of places renting moped/motorbikes so we rented a couple for the day (150 Baht) and off we went.
By now it was about lunch time, so we learned to ride our mopeds on the way to a restaurant we had heard about that served a Northern Specialty called Khao Soy. The restaurant was appropriatly called "Just Khao Soy." I'll right a review later, but suffice it to say that the food was delicious!
After Lunch, we took our mopeds and drove to a temple on the outskirts of town in the foothills around Chiang Mai called Wat Umong. Wat Umong was different from every other temple I have visited in Thailand.
Next we drove to Wat Suan Dok, whose golden Chedi I had seen from the road while we were on our way to Wat Umong.
After it was clear that the storm was on a track away from the city, we headed back into the old town and relaxed for a bit at a bar/restaurant called The Wall, which was named in honor of Pink Floyd. We stayed there until we were hungry for dinner, and then rode to the river front to eat at the Riverside.
The Riverside was a perfect choice. We were seated right next to the river with perfect views of the lit up bridge that we had crossed to get to the restaurant. Again, I will review the restaurant later, but it was quite good.
After dinner, we headed back to return the motorbikes since we were going to be on trek all day tomorrow and wouldn't have time to return them then. We had a minor hitch, when mine didn't want to start or stay running at first, but eventually I got it running and made it all the way back to the rental office, albeit sputtering the entire way. I'm sure the problem was that it was practically out of gas, since John and I had decided not fill the mopeds up after we rented them, even though they were on Empty, but hey, we made it back and didn't have to spring for any gas the entire day.
It was too early to head to bed, so we went to the UN Irish Pub to have a couple beers, and some garlic bread and watch some rugby on TV.
After that we headed back to the gues house and went to bed. Actually first we grabbed some late night food at Mike’s Hamburger and Hot Dog stand – Chili Cheese fries and chili dogs. Delicious.
Our table was located right next to the river with an excellent view of the bridge and its twinkling white lights reflecting on the river's surface.
The menu was expansive, with more than 500 options to choose from and a mix of western and Thai dishes. Having had had a Northern Thailand specialty for lunch at Just Khao Soy, and yet not feeling quite right about eating strictly western food in Thailand, we decided to split the difference and ordered Hors D'oeuvre Chiang Mai as an appetizer, and then western entrees.
The appetizer included three types of northern sausage, fried pork skin, and some vegetables accompanied by a dip. I really enjoyed the classic northern sausage, which is seasoned with green curry powder, but the other two types were nothing special. This may however simply be a result of my Milwaukee, WI upbringing where top quality sausages are a way of life.
For dinner, I had the mixed grill, which came with generous portions of steak, chicken, and pork, along with a choice of potato and a serving of mixed vegetables. The meat was well prepared and came with a garlic/herb butter that was delicious.
John ordered the barbecue spare ribs, which were OK, but wouldn't win any awards back in the U.S. The prices however were much better than in the U.S. where I cannot think of a restaurant where I could get a mixed grill of decent quality for around $12.
The atmosphere was by far the jewel of the night however, as the river views were gorgeous. For those looking for a little more upbeat atmosphere, the Riverside also has you covered. Inside the bar, there were two bands (one on each side), which means there is non-stop music from around 18:30 until closing time (around 1:00).
I would definitely recommend the Riverside as a must visit in Chiang Mai.
The menu states that Khao Soy, despite its immense popularity, had long been thought of as a "peasant dish" and as such ignored by the major restaurants in Chiang Mai. This meant that until Just Khao Soy opened, you could only get Khao Soy from street vendors who often used cheaper ingredients. Just Khao Soy decided to give the popular dish its due and so turned the traditional recipe into a "work of art," using only the best ingredients and choice cuts of meat.
Maintaining the "work of art" theme, the Khao Soy is served on an artist's palate, with condiments served in paint pots. Included condiments are chili paste, sugar, pickled cabbage, lime, fish sauce (the Thai equivalent to adding salt), fresh coconut milk and bananas (to either add to the dish, or cool your tongue if you added too much chili). You can get beef, chicken, or vegetarian Khao Soy in either of two styles: traditional Burmese or Chiang Mai style which adds coconut milk to thicken the broth.
The price is right, around $5 for a very filling dish. The atmosphere is also excellent, as there are works of art displayed on the walls to keep with the overall art theme. I would highly recommend Just Khao Soy to anyone in Chiang Mai.
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