Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Night Bazaar and Dinner at Duke's

Feeling fully recharged from our siesta, we trooped to the famous Night Bazaar. They say that the bazaar is something that you shouldn't miss when you're in Chiang Mai. With descriptions like "dazzling array" and "sheer variety", who wouldn't be lured to this shopping haven? So I anticipated a night of serious shopping -- but I was wrong. It was just like Suan Lum. There were various stalls selling fake designer items. There were also some that had local handicrafts like shawls, silver and other stuff, but these can also be found in Chatuchak. I was disappointed with the shopping, but exploring new places with my husband is always a fun experience.
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Our first tuktuk ride! We rode this from the hotel to the night bazaar and back.
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We only bought two things from the night bazaar and this is the first one -- cute hairclips for me and Aly.
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No, this is not a candy store. These are hairclips with real cookies, gummy candies, popcorn and colored noodles!
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We walked and walked until we became hungry.
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We had dinner at Duke's -- it reminded me of Friday's or Chili's.
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This is the view of the night bazaar from our table.
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For me: a half slab of baby back ribs with baked beans, french fries, coleslaw and corn bread.
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For Aly: kid-sized pepperoni pizza.
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For Richard: Philly steak sandwich with onion rings.
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Thank you to the kind waiter who took our photo :)
The servings are huge here at Dukes! We had to walk around the bazaar for another hour before heading back to the hotel.
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After an hour of sweating out our dinner -- Chiang Mai is said to be cooler than Bangkok, but I think magkasing init lang sila -- we went back to the hotel.
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We stopped by the front desk to book a tour to Mae Sa Elepant Camp for the next day.
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Tired, sweaty and badly in need of a shower, we headed back to our room and called it a night.

U Hotel and Drinks at The Garden Island

I found and booked this hotel on the internet.
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When I was looking for hotel accommodations in Chiang Mai, I had three requirements: 1) I want a boutique hotel or a resort ala Plantation Bay. Hotels in buildings are out because it won't be any different from Oakwood. 2) The package should come with a free spa treatment because we want to have a relaxing weekend, and 3) It should be within the budget that Richard gave me. I was left with three options, but I chose U Hotel because it offered the best deal.
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Enough with the blabber, let me just show you the photos and I'll tell you more about the hotel as we go along.
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This is our room. I looove the bed. It's super soft and comfy! I thought Oakwood's bed was great, but this is even better! You literally sink on the bed. Sarap talaga matulog.
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This is our bathroom.
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Check out the rain shower.
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What I love about this hotel is they promise a personalized service and unique experience for their guests. You choose the items that they will put inside your room like tea, soap, pillows, etc. For the soap, your options are jasmine, orchid, bamboo...I chose lemongrass.
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For the pillows, they have luxury duck down, medium firm polyester, etc. I got Ultra Soft Microfiber pillows.
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You also choose the music selection for your in-room ipod...they have international pop, jazz...I opted for lounge/chillout music.
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Each room has a balcony and a daybed.
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The view from our balcony.
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When we were checking in at the front desk, they asked me if we were on a holiday. I told them that it was our wedding anniversary. Five minutes later, a male staff showed up in our room, greeted us with "Kamusta kayo?", and gave us a gift. Wow! I'm impressed!
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The big box is for me and Richard while the small box is for Aly.
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Handmade soap. Luvit!
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I'm happy that Richard and Aly liked the hotel. In fact, Aly liked it so much that she didn't want to leave! She'd rather stay inside the room than make pasyal!
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The Valdezes in Chiang Mai.
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After fixing our things, we headed to the restaurant across the street for snacks and drinks.
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The Garden Island restaurant.
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That's our hotel across the street.
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I saw this on their menu: it's the Thai way of saying "not available".
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A tall and refreshing glass of fresh fruitshake to beat the heat.
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K
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+ A!
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How sweet!
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After our snack, we headed back to the hotel to take a nap. When we woke up, Richard and I had coffee in our balcony, and I took more photos.
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I love these silk slippers! So soft and comfy!
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Up next: the Night Bazaar