Showing posts with label Chiang Mai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chiang Mai. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Our Last Day in Chiang Mai

On our last day, we did not have any itinerary -- no tours, no sightseeing...our only plan was to wake up late and order room service for breakfast. I was still feeling sick so I really wanted to stay in bed longer.
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Our breakfast spread.
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Isn't she lovely?
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Spanish omelette with sausage and ham.
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Eggs benedict with bacon and caramelized mushrooms.
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This is funny: we packed an extra bag kasi akala namin madami kaming mabibili sa Chiang Mai. But no, we were only able to buy the items that you see here...
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...two vintage-looking ref magnets from the Sunday Market...
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...and four hair clips from the Night Bazaar. These clips are made of real popcorn, gummy stars, pencils and capsules. These will not rot nor melt because they're coated with something.
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After brunch, we took a shower and packed our stuff. I told Richard that we should make the most out of our vacation and the few hours that we had left before our flight. I felt a bit energized after taking a shower so I had enough energy to make pasyal a bit.
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Last-minute shopping for spa products at this shop near our hotel.
Richard and I love soaking in the tub to relax after a long day -- separately because our bath tub is small. So we like buying foam baths, bath salts, aromatherapy stuff, etc.
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Here's our loot (clockwise from top): foot bath tea, bath gel, different flavored bath teas (peppermint, lemongrass + green tea) and tea pillows for the cabinet/drawers. These items are super cheap at the Herb Basics store so I went a little crazy in there. Heehee!
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We had late lunch at this Mexican place called Miguel's.
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Richard and his beer.
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Richard + Aly's lunch: the Tres Amigos -- three mexican dish combo with soft taco, enchilada + something else.
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I had the chicken taquitos -- deep-fried chicken wrapped in tortilla on a bed of lettuce topped with sour cream, salsa and guacamole. Sorry for the bad photo. The restaurant had a green see-through roof so everything below it becomes greenish.
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Oh yes, I didn't miss out on dessert -- apple burrito with vanilla ice cream. Think apple pie ala mode, only this time the apple-cinnamon filling is wrapped in tortilla and deep-fried instead of baked. Sinfully delicious!
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Our tuktuk ride on our way back to the hotel.
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Huling hirit bago umalis.
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From here, we got our bags from our room, checked out and headed to the airport.
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Wala kayo sa taxi namin! Lock pa lang ng pinto, mamahalin na!
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Oha! May ganyan ka ba? Diamond-crusted door locks?
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Our taxi. Sporty on the outside, elegant on the inside.
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Waiting at CNX Airport.
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All aboard!
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Goodbye, Chiang Mai!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Sunday Walking Market

I forgot to mention that our hotel is located inside Chiang Mai's old city. Sorta kinda like our very own Intramuros -- the brick road, the brick wall surrounding the area, the historic vibe, etc. They close the main road to traffic to give way to the Sunday market. This walking market is located along Ratchadamoen Road and our hotel is located right smack in the middle of it! Yeessss!!!
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When I came out of the spa after my two-hour massage, I was delighted to see the street abuzz with shopping activity. After being let down by the Night Bazaar, I still had another chance to go shopping before flying back to Bangkok. However, I felt like I was coming down with something -- my throat felt painful, it was difficult for me to swallow anything, I had a headache and I was feeling feverish. It was really a bad time to get sick, but I didn't let this hold me back. Kahit masama pakiramdam ko, go pa rin! I didn't want to miss my last chance to go shopping. Besides, I have the entire week to rest at home. So while Richard was having his massage, my shopping buddy Alyannah and I scoped out the goods on sale. It was a quick trip. The heat and all that walking didn't do me any good so I felt weaker and sicker. After buying fried ice cream, buttered toast and a balloon for my little girl, we went back to the hotel to wait for Richard to finish his massage. My plan was to meet Richard at the lobby, have dinner and go back to the market. But it started drizzling so we had no choice but to have dinner at the hotel.



Wala akong gana kumain so I just had Tomato Cream Soup and garlic bread.



Aly had Spaghetti Bolognese. Richard had a gigantic cheeseburger, but I forgot to take a photo -- ang tagal kasi dumating ng order nya.



This is how the Sunday Market looked like when it was drizzling.



Tapos, bigla lumakas yung ulan so nawala yung mga tao.
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It was still raining by the time we finished our dinner so we just went back to our room to watch dvd and wait for the rain to stop. Alyannah fell asleep while watching and when the movie ended, so did the rain. Richard and I sneaked out of the room for a quick trip to the market. This time, I brought Aly's digicam para madaling itago in case it rains again.
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Parang walang nangyari. To think, it was raining pretty hard just a few minutes earlier. Tuloy pa rin ang ligaya!
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Food stalls galore!
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I bought sliced pineapples for a vitamin C boost.
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Lemongrass juice
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Fried larvae, anyone?
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This is one of the reasons why I wanted to go back to the market. I really wanted to take a photo of the exotic stuff on sale and this is one of them. Too bad they were covered with plastic na when we came back. Umulan kasi eh.
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Here's a better shot: fried crickets.
I just took photos. We did not buy any.
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This is so cool: coffee mobile. He makes the coffee at the back of the van and outside is a big umbrella with chairs and tables. Kumpleto pa with an espresso machine, coffee grinder, different kinds of syrups, etc. Ang galing!
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R+K at the Sunday Market.
We didn't get to buy anything, but at least we were able to take a souvenir shot.
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The Sunday Market has more local flavor. I liked it better than the Night Bazaar. But I wasn't able to buy much -- just two ref magnets as a souvenir. Perhaps the reason why I got sick was because I wasn't able to buy anything...or maybe, I wasn't able to buy anything because I was sick? Hmmmm...

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Sampling the Local Cuisine at Hot Chilli

As promised, we were back at the hotel by lunch time. The bumpy elephant ride made us really hungry so we took a short walk from the hotel to Kad Klang Wiang, a small plaza with restaurants and shops much like Paseo de Sta. Rosa. They had four restaurants in Kad Klang Wiang - one coffeeshop, one that serves Italian and two that serves Thai cuisine. We chose Hot Chilli Restaurant because the place looks nice.
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If you ask anyone to describe Thai cuisine, he/she is most likely to say it's very spicy. It's spicy enough to make the acids in your stomach work double time -- bad for people with ulcers or hyperacidity! -- pero kahit na maanghang sya, super sarap pa rin ng Thai food. With a restaurant named Hot Chilli, san ka pa?
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Napkin rin pa lang, mukhang maanghang na. Hehehe!
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Smile, sweetie!
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You too, babe!
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Nice!
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Ako naman...smile!
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Aly and her pineapple shake. Aahhh...Refreshing!
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Gigil
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Cheers!
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Our chow: grilled chicken with sweet chili sauce (Thai version of our lechon manok)...
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...stir-fried beef with basil -- spicy!
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My favorite Tom Yum Kung. I can eat this everyday kahit super anghang sya at sumasakit ang tyan ko pagkakain. It's a wonderful blend of coconut milk, lemongrass, lime leaves and coriander. The flavors literally explode inside your mouth. Ahluvit!
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At syempre, kung sa atin lagi tayong may noodles pag may birthday, dapat kahit wedding anniversary, may noodles din -- for long (wedded) life. Ang pambansang pancit ng Thailand -- Pad Thai.
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Richard and I were amazed at how Alyannah can now eat spicy food. Ibang level talaga ang katapangan ng batang to. Matindi dila nya. Kahit may nakain sya na sili, hindi sya umiyak. She just dipped her tongue in ice water. Haha! Good thing I remembered to pack her chocolate snack so I made her eat it to get the spicy taste off her tongue. I'm glad it worked! The only side effect was, Yan became super daldal! She was making me kulit like she was on drugs! Haha!
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Meet the spice champ.
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Hot Chilli
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Still hyper kaya ganado magpa-picture.
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After lunch, we walked back to our hotel.
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It was a hot day so I couldn't wait get myself in a room with airconditioning. We had planned to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing, so Richard and I took turns in getting a two-hour massage -- part of our room package. Ahh...the life!! Can our vacation get any better than this?