We arrived at Chiang Mai in need of a rest - our trip feeling like it was near it's end and instead of trying to pack a few more destinations in, we decided to spend a week relaxing and making the most of this traveller hub. The city is well-known as a fantastic place to take a course, and as I have always loved Thai food, but never gotten the knack of making it, I decided to enrol in a one-day course.
The food was spectacular - both in appearance and taste. The Tom Yum was perhaps my favourite dish with it's very strong yet balanced flavours: sweet; salty; spicy; and bitter.
Chiang Mai is also famous for it's second hand bookstores, with at least half a dozen large shops in the city centre, plus many smaller (and often even cheaper) selections like we found at the Free Bird Cafe - a restaurant set up as part of a charity for Burmese refugees.
In addition to educating ourselves, we spent a good deal of time at café's and restaurants, making the most of the very inexpensive food and drink, and giving us a chance to get into those books.
And as an antidote to all the sitting around, reading and getting the occasional massage, we frequented a nice little yoga studio as part of a long-held desire to do yoga each morning. The classes were very full, which may have been a result of post-NYE-resolutions, but we also know many people come to Chiang Mai specifically to attend courses and classes. It was very enjoyable, but difficult to reconcile that it was 25 per cent more expensive than massages for the same length of time.
There are many different cooking courses available in Chiang Mai, but I saw an advertisement at a yoga centre and asked the owner if he recommended it. Based on that and the reasonable price, I rang the chef and found out it would only be me and one other student, which solidified my decision. The company was Red Chilli Cooking School and had no problems adapting the recipes to be vegetarian - even swapping fish sauce for soy, and oyster sauce for mushroom.
Chiang Mai is also famous for it's second hand bookstores, with at least half a dozen large shops in the city centre, plus many smaller (and often even cheaper) selections like we found at the Free Bird Cafe - a restaurant set up as part of a charity for Burmese refugees.
In addition to educating ourselves, we spent a good deal of time at café's and restaurants, making the most of the very inexpensive food and drink, and giving us a chance to get into those books.
And as an antidote to all the sitting around, reading and getting the occasional massage, we frequented a nice little yoga studio as part of a long-held desire to do yoga each morning. The classes were very full, which may have been a result of post-NYE-resolutions, but we also know many people come to Chiang Mai specifically to attend courses and classes. It was very enjoyable, but difficult to reconcile that it was 25 per cent more expensive than massages for the same length of time.
