Discover Top Posts Tagged with #chiang mail

How can fruit eaters afford to stay long term in Asia?

I meet a lot of people who dream about a life in the tropics with abundant fruit and sunshine but they are short of money. So how can they do it financially? I thought you would like to know so in this video I interviewed a row of fruit eaters who are already doing it and they each have their own brilliant solution.

http://www.fruitylou.com

Sweet and Savory in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is one of the few places in Thailand where it is possible to experience both the historical and modern Thai culture coexisting side by side – picture centuries-old chedis and temples next to modern convenience stores and boutique hotels.

This strange, but amazing, balance can best be seen and felt within the moat-encircled old city, which retains much of the fortified wall that once protected the city center as well as the four main gates that provided access to this former Lanna capital city.

We arrived mid-evening taking a quick taxi from the airport to our accommodations at The Small Hotel, a fantastic boutique hotel near the city center. After the non-stop movement that was Bangkok, it was nice to find a place with a slower pace, cleaner air, and a sense of calm that could only be found in a city rich with Buddhist temples, monks, and the smell of incense.

We crashed in the hotel for the better part of the night. We ended waking up around 4am rested, ready, and hungry.

Looking out from my hotel balcony in the moonlight sky with streetlamp lit roads I could feel there was a stillness now, but an impending madness as the city slowly woke to the new morning.

For what would not be the only time while I was staying at The Small Hotel, I watched as a small parade of saffron-robed monks with pots for alms make their way down the boulevard stopped by a local shopkeeper whom was loading in her goods for the day to pray with her. She offered alms then got down on her knees while the seven monks prayed with her.

Few people could be seen in the streets heading in one general direction, so we followed them through the old gates into the city center where we found a large open-air market that was just starting to come to life. As the sun rose so did the proprietors and shoppers in search of this morning’s ingredients or their breakfast.

The market came to a ubrupt standstill as voice came over an apparent loudspeaker system throughout the market speaking something in Thai while everyone stopped what they were doing and had a moment of silence. As soon as the voice ended they returned to their hurried stocking of produce, meats, and spices.

We took several laps around the market trying to find the best thing to try first. We finally found ourselves at a stall that sold fried pork bits, Chiang Mai Sausage, and an amazing chili sauce that complimented both perfectly.

While eating our second round of pork and sausage we saw a gentleman with an SLR taking pictures of his food as he was buying it and with a quick introduction Arie from Malaysia was seated at our table and we were sharing his sticky rice.

He gave us some great advice to rent a scooter for the day. For the equivalent of $5 we could rent one for 24 hours. It seemed to be our best option as tuk-tuk rides were beginning get expensive and the freedom offered by having our own transport was too good to pass up.

On the walk back to our hotel we found a scooter dealer of off the main road that had just opened up. With two hundred dollar bills exchanged as deposits we grabbed our helmets and powered into Chiang Mai traffic to explore the city.

Driving in Thailand was one of the most harrowing adventures in my life. The scooters outnumber the cars 3 to 1 and deftly maneuver between traffic as the larger cars, tuk tuks, trucks, and buses act mostly as if they are not there. One has to be cautious as well as aggressive to effectively navigate the streets of Thailand.

The important thing to remember while driving scooters through the crowded streets of Chiang Mai is that they drive on the opposite side of the road as compared to the U.S. This took some serious adjustment on my part and quickly became a problem. It took two turns before I found myself driving directly into traffic. I quickly darted to the side escaping with no more than some angry Thai drivers and a dose of adrenaline.

In fulfillment of one of my major goals in traveling through Thailand, we took the scooters up into the mountains stopping first at park and waterfall then on to lookout points where we could see for miles across the span of Chiang Mai.

It was Sunday early afternoon and the park was filled with Thai’s enjoying the day with their families or boyfriends and girlfriends eating, drinking, playing the water and generally having a good time with the backdrop of some spectacular scenery.

From there we rode higher challenging our scooters to keep up on the incline until we reached a lookout post where we could easily see all of Chiang Mai and beyond.

It wouldn’t be Thailand without a food vendor anywhere people congregate and this was no exception – there was a crepe stand at the lookout post serving an interesting mix of sweet and savory.

I had a banana and chocolate that was crunchy, sweet, and delicious. Jorge had a savory crepe filled with shredded dried pork, chili paste, seasonings, and a trio of spicy sauces that took his to the opposite spectrum from mine.

After taking in the views and finishing our crepes we set off for the steep decline back into town.

#matthew schultz #thailand #Chiang Mail #travel