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...

Suan Lum Night Bazaar

From Paragon, we split into two groups: one half rode with Richard in our car, while the other half took a cab with me. When we arrived at Suan Lum Night Bazaar, the first thing that they bought were Thai delicacies for pasalubong.

Shopping for spicy sampaloc and squid flakes for pasalubong.

Taking a shopping break with Tita K.

My dear husband and dear daughter taking a break too.

Shopping for souvenirs and more pasalubong.

Richard checking out the items.

Alyannah checking out the items too.

Rows of colorful bangles and other wooden items.

Caught in the act! Tita F and Tita B haggling with the souvenir vendor.

Ang hahaba ng nguso! Mukhang hindi nila nagustuhan ang asking price.

Vendor: Cheap-cheap already. I give you good discount. More expensive in other store.

France and Brenda: Ows, hindi nga?

Brenda: Sige na nga, I will buy na.

France: Hmmm...(pinag-iisipan pa)

My two loves.

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Tuk tuk replicas made from recycled aluminum cans.

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Thai ornaments.

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The nyoras got a taste of spicy Thai food. We had dinner at one of the food stalls in Suan Lum.

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First day palang suko na mga paa namin so Lette, Jeng and I decided to get a foot massage.

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We did not totally enjoy the massage kasi ang ingay ng mga masahista! They were talking nonstop! Oh well...at least nawala yung sakit ng mga paa namin.

The girls enjoyed the pasyal in the malls, but they were more thrilled with the stuff that they saw at the Night Bazaar. Shopping at Suan Lum is more fun because you can haggle and getting the price that you want is like winning the jackpot. Hehe!

As for me, I was very happy with the slippers that I bought for me and Alyannah...

If you want shopping with local flavor, I would recommend Suan Lum. Sure, the malls are great for branded items, most especially when they have one of those crazy sales, but those brands can be found in other countries as well. So if you're looking for local products, your best bet would be the tiangge. Chatuchak weekend market is still my favorite, but if you don't have time to go there, Suan Lum is your next best alternative. Plus, since it's a night market, it's not as hot a Chatuchak. Suan Lum Night Bazaar is open everyday from 6pm to 12mn.

Our First Homecooked Meal

For our first homecooked meal, I decided to make the most Pinoy dish of all -- ADOBO! I thought about this when we were at the supermarket so I bought pork belly (liempo), garlic, pepper, vinegar and soy sauce. The last two ingredients were a bit of a challenge because they were all local brands. They don't have Datu Puti, Silver Swan or Lauriat here! No familiar labels whatsoever. So I had to make do with the ones with english translation (written in teeny tiny letters) and the ones that I thought I saw in supermarkets back in Manila.
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Feeling Iron Chef ako with the ingredients that I will be using. For example, I saw two kinds of vinegar on the shelves - artificial vinegar and distilled vinegar. Anything with the word "artificial" attached to it scares me especially with food so I went for the distilled vinegar. As for the soy sauce, I saw different kinds - there's formula 1, formula 4, aromatic. I thought formula 1 was only for race cars! Pati pala toyo dito meron nun. They also have Kikkoman but I only use it as dipping sauce and not for cooking adobo so my only option was to choose the one that looked familiar.

The ingredients - vinegar, soy sauce and garlic.

A closer look at the vinegar and soy sauce.

The finished product.

Pinoy talaga! Adobo + steamed rice = panalo!

The table is set! Let's call the guinea pigs -- este, judges pala.

Here are the judges. Kain na!

I'm sure my mom will react when she sees the picture with a bottle of coke on the table but before mom can react, let me explain...buffer lang yung coke just in case hindi sila masarapan sa luto ko. Hehe! Obviously, I'm guilty because I'm defensive. Haha!

So what's the verdict? Richard and Yan loved it! My iron chef challenge was a success!