Chiang Mai, THAILAND

Posted on by Anna

October 2-17

Hello!  Today I am leaving Europe.  We woke up and packed our things then walked to the Rome Termini train station to catch a train to Fiumicino Airport in Rome.  We checked into our flight and went through security. We went to the gate and me and Cole went to the candy shop to spend our last Euros because you can’t use Euros in Thailand.  In Thailand you use Thai Baht. We got on the airplane and there were screens on the seats in front of us!! We were SO HAPPY because this meant I could watch screens and play games for 10 hours!!!!  Then the food came and I had mashed potatoes, carrots, a banana and a little dessert. Then I went to sleep. I woke up in the morning and played more video games. Soon after that, we landed. It was a FUN flight.  

At the Rome airport Candy Store!! Spending our last Euros!
We loved Thai Air!!!
This was on my airplane screen when we were flying over India. I’ve never been there but we are going to go when I’m older.

CHIANG MAI

We got to Bangkok but we weren’t done yet!  We had to get on another flight to go to Chiang Mai!  We were SO tired. We got on the plane and slept the whole time.  It was a two hour ride. We landed again and got a taxi to take us to our apartment.  The driver was Tom and it was SO crazy!! He was looking at a paper while he was driving!!!  Thankfully we made it there safely! Immediately we took a shower and a nap!

We woke up later and went out for dinner.  We went to a Thai restaurant and it was SOOOO GOOD! I had noodles with sprouts in them. I couldn’t eat the sprouts because we can’t have vegetables that aren’t peeled yet.  We might get sick if we have raw fruits and vegetables that aren’t peeled. Also, we can’t drink the water here unless it comes from a sealed bottle.  But we did eat LOTS and LOTS of STREET FOOD and we even ate some gross stuff…Cole talked me into trying a silkworm!!!! It was HORRIBLE!!!

Cole and I at the night bazaar food court. We were early. Most people eat later than us.
Thai silks are very nice and smooth and these are the worms that make the silk. Some people eat them. They have a lot of nutrients and feed only on leaves, so they are quite healthy.
This was before I started chewing the silkworm.
This is me with the silkworm in my mouth. I was feeling disgusted in this picture. I was mad I got talked into eating it.
These are quail eggs. They are made in little molds and then topped with different toppings. I chose tobiko. I love tobiko. It is flying fish roe (or eggs). Eggs topped with eggs!!
This is how they are made in the molds.
And then they put different toppings on them.
Fresh coconut!!! It is everywhere in Thailand and is delicious!
LOOK WHO WE GOT TO MEET!!! The famous Cowboy Hat Lady of Chiang Mai and we tried her Khao Kha Moo Chang Phueak, pork in a yummy broth served over rice.
Sometimes just mommy and I would go out together. This is an old tuk-tuk. It was part of a shop display. We don’t shop much because we only have one backpack each and try to keep things simple and light.
And here we are in a modern tuk-tuk during one of our girls nights. Tuk-tuks are all over Chiang Mai. But mostly only tourists use them.

It took us awhile to get used to Thailand.  We had to stay inside and do a lot of homeschooling.  But we went out everyday to get lunch and explore. Sometimes we went out at night to the night bazaar.  There is a lot of good food and fun shopping at the bazaar. Another thing we did at the night bazaar was put our feet in fish tanks!! The fish nibble on our feet and make them nice and smooth!! It felt funny and nibbly.  I loved it!  

It tickled!!
Nibble Nibble!!
Homeschooling! I’m working on my Language Arts on Time4Learning. I also have to do Eureka Math everyday. And Kids Discover Social Studies, History and Science. I love Kids Discover, but that is the only one.

Chiang Mai is hot.  It is hotter than anywhere I’ve ever been!!  We had to buy hats to help stay cool and protected from the sun.  Thailand is a tropical climate, so it is hot and humid. I am only used to the climates in Hermosa Beach and the Midwest. And there are mosquitoes here that carry infections.  So, we had to wear mosquito protection everyday and it smelled bad. We also had to take malaria pills every day since the second last day in Rome.

It’s hot so we have to cool down with lots of liquids! Mostly we drink bottled water but this time I got a treat and it was delicious!! This is my yellow mosquito bracelet. It has a natural chemical in it that mosquitoes don’t like.

One of the things I noticed first in Chiang Mai was that there were a lot of temples.  There are over 100 temples in Chiang Mai. They are Buddist temples. Buddhism is a religion and a way of thinking.  It started 2,500 years ago in India, where my grandparents are from, but my grandparents are not Buddhists, they are Jains.  Buddhism is the 4th largest religion in the world. (Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism are larger). Monks take care of the temples and study the religion.  They only wear an orange robe because they don’t believe in having extra things or being attached to things and by keeping things simple they will have happiness. Some monks are old and some are young and are in training.  Most are men. There is only one temple that allows female monks. It’s not fair, but it is their culture and tradition. And things are becoming more fair so that’s good. There was a young monk school near us and we could hear them chanting in the morning and before sunset. Not all of them want to become monks, but some of their parents signed them up when they were little so they don’t always have the choice.  

The temples are extra beautiful at night.
This is Wat Phra Singh. It was close to our apartment and we could hear the monks chanting from here.
There are so many monks in Thailand. Every time we went anywhere we saw them. They almost all have shaved heads and wear sandals or no shoes at all. Some of them have cell phones and we saw some at a store called 7-11. We go there for paper towels and mosquito spray.
We walked past so many temples every day and every night.
The temple structures are covered in gold leaves. They are so beautiful. This is also Wat Phra Singh.
Another temple!

One day we got to go to a cooking class!  I made five dishes. Soup, curry, dessert, fresh spring rolls and fried rice.  We each got to pick five recipes that we wanted to make. So we all got to choose different recipes and now my family knows how to cook so many Thai recipes. I got to cook on the gas stove and use a machete.  It was dangerous and fun!

We got picked up in a truck and headed to our cooking class. We started off by going to the local market and picking out ingredients. We met Marie and Mona from Germany. They were in our class.
I got to use a machete! Those are spring onions.
Here I am making the seasoning paste for the pumpkin curry.
Fresh fried rice.
Fresh spring rolls and dipping sauce!
I loved this class!! We had a great time and learned so much.

We had a great time in Chiang Mai and now it was time to head south to Ao Nang! We didn’t get to spend much time in Ao Nang, but we had so much fun when we were there.

When the rains stopped, we explored Ao Nang. It is a really fun place!!
This was our last night in Ao Nang. We had one of the best nights ever!!

Next we will head up to Bangkok!!!

4 thoughts on “Chiang Mai, THAILAND”

  2. Hi Anna and Cole! Mr. Jimmy and I went to Thailand for our honeymoon after getting married 11.5 years ago. We loved exploring Bangkok, especially eating all the yummy food and seeing the temples. I’m so impressed with all the crazy food you have tried…so adventurous. We miss you all so much.

    Love, Kate, Jimmy, Olivia and Jack

    Reply

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