July 19th, 2016
July 19th Tuesday
Truly an amazing day. I had no idea there were still things in Chang Mai that we have not yet done so imagine my delight when we decide to hire a red truck, a.k.a. Songtao, to go up to Doi Suthep, and see a few other things on the way. This is our last full day with Kim before she heads home tomorrow, so we are making the most of it. The red truck picks us up at 1 PM sharp, and he was going to stop at the airport, or we believed he was going to stop with your part, before heading up to the mountain. As it turns out he decided to just pick us up the mountain. We have learned that sometimes you just got a roll with it here. Maybe he’ll stop on the way back we think. The temperature drops between 10 and 15°F on the trip up the mountain and that coupled with the lovely breeze that we get from being in the open air red truck provides a much needed respite from the heat of the city. We get to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep and the drover just keeps on going, so as we say here in Thailand Mai pen Rai. Meaning “it doesn’t matter”. We assume he has a plan. So he carries onto Bhubing Rajanives Palace. Which is the Royal winter Palace (where we have never been before). It includes some lovely gardens and walking tour of the grounds include including the outside of the buildings. This setting is absolutely gorgeous and much much cooler than hot streets of the city. So we enjoyed it immensely! As it turns out, the palace closes at 4 pm so the driver is planning well for us to he able to see everything. Not sure if I can add photos, I’ll try.
Then we head further up the mountain to Doi Pui’s Hmong Village. We mostly just saw their shops, there are flower gardens, a waterfall and (something else I don’t recall) to see, but in the interest of time, we just shop. Hahahaha! I got some coffee, dried mango, and these really cool hair ties for the girls. And a NEW corn treat!! I’ve never had here yet. Corn Fritters! OMG! Yum 😍😍after this adventure, and a small rain shower, we load up and head back down the mountain to Doi Suthep.
Kim is loving it and having a great day, so this is a bonus! Since she really has been struggling with being sick since the second day she got here.
Doi Suthep is ALWAYS beautiful! We have been many many times and we are never disappointed. We were blessed by a monk (who actually AND very carefully, tied the string on Kim and I), we shook sticks to receive our fortune, and we said a prayer and made a donation to the Buddha that represents the day of our birth. Do feeling good about the protection we will receive from Buddha until I can get back again.
Wonderful meal at Ginny’s Cafe upon our return to CM. had myself some khao soi gai 😍😍😍😍. I was hungry today as to be honest I ate very little yesterday…..we enjoyed beers (tee, Ian, troy) and Seagrams coolers (Kim and Laurie) prepurchased on Sunday due to the 3 day ban on alcohol sales becausr of the Buddhist holiday here ATM. We hid the bottles behind water bottles and other things on the table in case a cop wandered by. Not illegal to drink, just sell. And since we are sitting in a restaurant, it would be hard to prove we weren’t buying them.
