JT keeps saying that he doesn't have many more tricks up his sleeve, but he
continues to come up with some absolutely fantastic local places to eat.
Last night we went way down to the southeastern part of town and had some amazing stuff, and today
at lunch we had some Issan or Northeastern Thai specialties, which are my favorite, and they were
just great.
JT and Mai discussing how many dishes to order for dinner
We had a whole fried fish, some seafood salad, and fried squid.
...and Som Tum and Tom Yum Gai (spicy and sour chicken soup)
The fish was excellent. Note the deep fried green peppercorns and basil.
For lunch today we went to a local place outside the old city in the northwestern
sector of Chaing Mai that served Issan style food. The gai yang was on the
grill out front.
If Guy Fieri was looking at this picture, he'd be thinking, "That's money!"
That's money X 3
We had gai yang (grilled chicken), larb muu (minced pork & spices), som tum (green papaya salad), and something
that I had never tried before, a spicy Issan style spicy soup with pork and turnips. It was just superb.
This is the outside of the restaurant. To say it was unpretentious would be an understatement.
My end of the lunch was 53 baht, a good deal less than $2. It wasn't that it
was a cheap lunch, it was a cheap lunch that was amazingly good.
On my walk back from lunch I stopped by a couple of more wats. The first one is Wat Phra Singh, which
is perhaps the largest wat inside the old city.
Monks are a common sight throughout the city.
This shot looks just like a postcard you may have have seen of Chiang Mai.
After I left Wat Phra Singh, I headed over to Wat Chedi Luang, which is the
next series of photos.
And that's the photos of Wat Jediluang and the city pillar.
I was out walking after breakfast this morning
and I got this shot of a boat heading up the Ping River as the haze was burning off.
I was fiddling around with the night settings on my camera last night up on the roof.
This is a shot of Wat Chedi Luang.
There is a little gold speck of light near the center of the photo, which is
Wat Doi Suthep way up on the mountain outside of town, one of the most famous wats in
all of Thailand.
This is a similar shot in the daytime, which gives you some idea about where the mountain
is in relation to my residence.
This shot is looking east, away from the mountain. The band of light at
the top of the building is Le Meridien Hotel, which is super luxe, either
4 or 5 stars.
This is another guesthouse being built just down and across the soi I am on.
Note how bamboo is used for the bracing.
Passed by this place on the way to dinner, but we did not go in. It
was too small to accomodate both JT and me at the same time.
It was Italian night tonight. Some things are always good, like
a pizza and a 1 liter pitcher of Merlot.
JT and Mai
The pizza was not bad - nowhere near the level of Lombardi's in NYC, Frank Pepe's in
New Haven, or Home Slice in Austin - but it hit the spot.
Well, that about does it....wraps 'er all up. Another fun day here
in Chiang Mai.
