Chiang Mai - Our first foray into Thailand and it doesnt disappoint! We got settled in, hit the food markets for some food and then watched the football. Standard. Then we decided to find somewhere for a drink....
We wandered sround for ages with all the bars empty apart from 40+ year old white men and 20 ish year old Thai girls. So wrong. Then we found somewhere which seemed a little more buzzing only to discover a Thai boxing match going on in the middle - midget vs child. We didnt hang around there too long! Eventually found a bar which seemed a little more normal and danced the night away, but the fact that my first night in Thailand involved all those things truly confirms all the cliches I had heard about the country!
We spent our first real day wandering the city/town sorting out a cooking class and some trekking, torn between doing a really good, eco conscious one (dam degree makes you too aware) for 4000 baht or a tourist standard one with elephants and bamboo rafting for 1100 baht. Such a difference! We think we have found a middle one but will report back in a few days! Shamefully the two highlights on my day were having a veggie burger in WHOLEGRAIN bread, totally unheard of since leaving NZ and going to Tescos. Oh yes you read that correctly! I had been talking about 'normal' things for a few days since realising that I was 3/4 through my trip now with less than 50 days to go and tesco had come up a few times so when we found it I was SO excited. Plus it was the most air conditioned room I had been in for quite some time!
We spent the evening walking around possibly the largest night market, bumping into the same couple from Halong bay, Hanoi and all of Laos, again and buying food!
Today was a brilliant day. Splurging a little on ourselves we booked onto a cooking school day and it was so good. Called itself the best thai cooking school and did not disappoint. The instructor, a lady called Boom, was hilarious and we learnt how to make (and then eat) some delicious food which we now have recipes for! Yummy. The group we did the day with were really fun too, but I think Boom took a shine to Alex and he went to the top of the class for the day. Show off!
So I am lying here writing this full to the brim with Thai food and in about an hour we meet the group we do the trek with for three days. FIngers crossed they are 'normal'!!! Just a few mundanities to deal with first, such as the purchasing of toiletries and retrieving washing. I promise it isnt all go go here. Plus Alex has taken this time to nap after instructing me that I MUST write my blog.... seems fair?
Write more after the hopefully amazing trek. x