Sukhothai
Our next destination north took six hours and two buses to reach. Sukhothai is a cute town, with only a few majors streets and a large day market. The reason for picking this spot was the nearby historical park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the following day we rented a scooter to check it out.
The ruins were wonderful but the day was excruciating hot, forcing us to walk slowly (you were not allowed to drive scooters inside the main section of the park), drink plenty of fluids and nap under a huge tree. When we felt we had seen it all, we took full advantage of the scooter and explored beyond the city walls. Although there wasn’t much to see, it immediately felt more authentic. It strong suggested we needed to keep away from the touristy areas as much as possible. We kept that in mind going forward.
Chiang Mai
Although Chiang Mai is quite a large city with many industries, the inner city is surrounded by moat, which made the place feel intimate and cozy. Many trees lining the narrow streets, populated by eccentric restaurants, bars with various themes, relaxing cafes, tattoo parlours and massage parlours, all of which added to the chill vibe. Sure, there were plenty of tourists, but they didn’t take away from the soothing atmosphere.
Although I wouldn’t say Thai food is spectacular, it is quite enjoyable and we wanted to learn how to prepare some dishes. The class we picked offered a full day course, including a stop at a local market to learn which ingredients to purchase. The course itself was hosted at a farm, and was really well organized. Each person was able to choose seven dishes, and the staff did all the tedious work and then cleaned everything, leaving us to focus on the important parts.
I don’t want to brag too much, but my pad thai and sticky rice with mango were sensational! Being just an average cook, I was rather proud to learn a few new things and definitely plan to remake some dishes in Montreal (they provided a cookbook at the end of the day).
By that evening, Weronika and I were rather sick of Thai food and had a wonderful and romantic French dinner, with a delicate bottle of red.
We also found the best place for massages in Thailand! All of the massage therapists are blind, and gave strong but relaxing massages. We went twice; once for a 60 minute foot and reflexology massage, then a second time for a 90 minute Thai massage. When she was done, I was in a sublime state of bliss 🙂
