Chiang Mai

Getting back on the backpacker trail we headed back on the train up to the tourist hotspot of Chang Mai. It’s not hard to see why people flock here from Bangkok – it has all of the cute cafes and restaurants, history and beautiful buildings with less of the mayhem that can be so overwhelming. We stayed in a guest house run by veteran Kiwi expat who was very helpful in giving advice about what to see. We were lucky as we arrived at the weekend, and so were able to wander round both the Saturday and Sunday markets which close whole blocks of streets to cars and scooters and are instead filled with every kind of item you can imagine. Our day in Chang Mai were mainly spent wandered around the old city, visiting the various Wats, sipping soy lattes in the quirky cafes and browsing the colourful array of clothing, shoes and miscellaneous objects that are aimed almost solely at tourists.

It was also in Chang Mai that we took in part in an activity we’ve been wanted to try since landing in Thailand – a cooking course! We ended up on a full day course, run by locals not too far from our guest house, learning to prepare 7 local dishes ranging from salads and starters all the way to deserts. Highlights included wandering around the local food market to learn about the ingredients used in Thai cooking and making a fresh green curry paste. We particularly liked the hot and sour Tom Yum soup that I elected to make which was absolutely delicious and appealed to the chilli lover within us. We really enjoyed our time at the cooking school and it ended up being one of the highlights of Thailand – especially because it acts as a souvenir when we recreate the dishes at home!