It’s our final day in Chiang Mai and I can’t say I’m glad to be leaving. Don’t get me wrong; I’m excited for everything that comes next, but Chiang Mai has been a dream. Our guesthouse is lovely, literally every single meal we have eaten has been incredible, and everyone has been so nice and full of good humor. We’ve had so many small interactions with drivers and vendors and waiters and people just walking on the street, and they’ve all been friendly and kind. That said, I do think we’ve gotten a good sampling of what Chiang Mai has to offer. It’s known for its temples, its food, and the surrounding mountains. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know we’ve gotten to try all three, even if we are not yet full of them. We will miss Chiang Mai and cherish our memories of her, but I don’t think we’ve missed out. We’ve drunk deep from her cups.
To prepare for our travel the next morning, we decided to get another Thai massage. This time, we checked out Fah Lanna in the Nimman district. We had been told that was the hip, up-and-coming area of the city, so we wanted to make sure we got to see it before we left. Fah Lanna was, as spas go, pretty great. The building was modern, but mostly bamboo. It also had a pleasant courtyard with a water mill. Our massages were also great. But, if I were going to compare Fah Lanna to Zira Spa, I would say there is no comparison. If I had never been to Zira Spa, I would have thought Fah Lanna was one of the nicest spas I had been to, but after Zira, I couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed. The courtyard was pretty, but it wasn’t so-pretty-I’m-almost-crying pretty. The massages were good, but they weren’t so-good-I’m-almost-crying good. Basically, Fah Lanna didn’t make me almost cry tears of joy and Zira did. Plus, the beds were just mats on the floor, so when they were working on your back, you had to twist your neck to lay your head on its side. And yes, I’m aware of the incredible privilege seeping out of these last few sentences (read: this entire blog). I’ll leave it at: it was nice and we needed it.
We went to look for a coffee place after our massages. We wandered into the Baristro. It’s an all-white decor, hotel cafe with a number of specialty drinks. I asked the barista what she recommended and went with it. It was a coconut espresso something-or-other and it was delicious.
Next up in our Nimman checklist was Thai eatery Tong Tem Toh. There was an insane queue when we arrived, so we put our name in and walked a few blocks to a rooftop bar to see Nimman from above. The rooftop at Hotel Yayee served artisan cocktails with a Thai twist. We enjoyed ours while watching the sun set behind Doi Suthep and getting the bird’s-eye view of Nimman.
It took exactly one-cocktail’s-worth of time for our spot in the queue to come up. We were the only white people at Tong Tem Toh, which both excited and scared us– because everywhere else we ate that was filled with predominantly Asian clientele had been spicy as hell. Tong Tem Toh did not disappoint on this front. The sweet chili dipping sauce for my fried tilapia was the spiciest thing I’ve eaten in my life. I had to order a coconut just to keep my tongue from spontaneously combusting. Aaron tried to be adventurous and ordered some fermented pork, but it turns out we’re basic bitches. I was pretty proud of myself for eating my dish, until my stomach decided that actually, it wasn’t a fan of spicy food. Go figure. We returned to the guesthouse so I could have a little privacy while I writhed in pain.
This morning, we flew to Luang Prabang. We had just enough time to fit in one last visit to Coffee Plus. I had started an antibiotic the day before because there’s a slim chance of contracting malaria in Laos, and this morning I took my next dose. On an empty stomach. So I made it as far as ordering a latte before my already queasy stomach decided it had had enough, thank you very much. “Are you ok?” the owner asked me. “Fine,” I said, green-faced, “just a little nauseated.” She produced a small amount of brown liquid in a large shot glass. “Drink this. It’s Thai herbal remedy.” Bottoms up, I guess. It tasted like licorice and some herbs that weren’t meant to be consumed, but I’ll be danged if it didn’t do the trick. My stomach instantly settled, just in time for us to catch a red truck to the airport.
Next stop: Luang Prabang, Laos.
Hanoimoon 