Our last day in Chiang Mai was a low key one.  We weren’t leaving until 4pm, so had a leisurely morning at Baanbooloo until we needed to check out.

I’ve really enjoyed having soups and similar meals for breakfast!  SO much better than the berry and muesli shakes I often have at home.  I just feel better for longer with this type of meal – but at home there isn’t anyone cooking this for me!  Might just stick to what I’m already doing…

I’ve mentioned before how much I love the way that Baanbooloo has reused and recycled building materials.  Apparently many building materials are reused in Thailand, particularly timber – teak being especially prized.  The woven decorations hanging in the below photo are pieces of a simple bamboo screen, but up and reconfigured.  They look fantastic, and are an excellent example of creativity and lateral thinking.

It’s lovely to sit on the couches or around the long dining table chatting or reading.

The big covered urns are traditionally used for water storage.  The covers are particularly important for keeping mosquito numbers down.  There are already plenty of mosquitoes in Thailand!

Open air living is such a contrast to how we do things in Victoria (I am sure that in Queensland and other Australian states people are outside much more).  We build our houses in ways that can be completely sealed from the elements, then divide them up into rooms.  A very clear inside and outside delineation.  But here, it seems that more often property boundaries are built or defined, then rooms as separate buildings within the property, often with open sides.  Air flows around you all the time, lines of sight are often unobstructed, or there are screens to define boundaries.

I remember that even these ceramic tiles have ground glass from recycled drink bottles in them that give them their sheen and colours.

We decided to spend a few hours just walking around the streets of the old city.  Stella wanted to have one more try at the fish spa.  This was attempt number three.

Unsuccessful.  But good on her for persisting!  The girls had noticed loads of school kids with delicious looking ice-creams the day before – so we tracked down the source.

The streets are interesting places.  So much going on all the time!  We heard this vehicle approaching, as it had speakers playing music.  I wondered what was going on – as it passed we realised that it was a hearse and was carrying a coffin.  We presume that it was heading toward the south gate of the old city, as that is the gate that people leave by when they die.

We had noticed many shops advertising and selling latex.  This was primarily in the form of latex pillows and mattresses.  Rubber production has been increasing steadily in Northern Thailand over the past few years and many farmers are shifting from rice production to rubber.

We spotted three of these utes driving around Chiang Mai advertising “Prooooooooofessional!  Thai Boxing!  Tonight!”  You could hear them a mile away.  Imitating the recording is still causing great mirth in my family.

I really love these little floral offerings.  You often see them hanging from the rear vision mirror in cars or tuk tuks.  I have noticed that drivers often touch them just before they go around a blind corner.  Not sure that taking one hand off the wheel in those situations is actually helpful…..

Chinese New Year was about to commence, so many restaurants and shops were being decorated accordingly.  This particular restaurant was absolutely stunning.  So many umbrellas!  They looked spectacular en masse.

The old city in Chiang Mai was built over 700 years ago.  It was a walled city, with a moat around it and gates in the centre of each side.  Each side is approximately a mile long, which makes the old city extremely walkable.  The main gate, Tha Phae, has been rebuilt along with a section of wall, to show what it was like when first constructed.  In other parts of the old city there is still evidence of the original wall, especially at the corners.  The moat is still there too.  Good old Wikipedia tells me the following history of Chiang Mai: King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (“new city”) in 1296^[1]:209 on the site of an older city of the Lawa people called Wiang Nopburi.^[10][11] Gordon Young, in his 1962 book The Hill tribes of Northern Thailand, mentions how a Wa chieftain in Burma told him that the Wa, a people who are closely related to the Lawa, once lived in the Chiang Mai valley in “sizeable cities”.^[12]

Chiang Mai succeeded Chiang Rai as the capital of the Lan Na kingdom. Pha Yu enlarged and fortified the city, and built Wat Phra Singh in honor of his father Kham Fu.^{[1]:226–227}The ruler was known as the “chao”. The city was surrounded by a moat and a defensive wall since nearby Burma was a constant threat, as were the armies of the Mongol Empire, which only decades earlier had conquered most of Yunnan, China, and in 1292 overran the bordering Thai Lü kingdom of Chiang Hung.

With the decline of the Lan Na Kingdom, the city lost importance and was occupied by the Burmese in 1556.^[13] Chiang Mai formally became part of Siam in 1775 by an agreement with Chao Kavila, after the Thai King Taksin helped drive out the Burmese. Because of Burmese counterattacks, Chiang Mai was abandoned between 1776 and 1791.^[14] Lampangthen served as the capital of what remained of Lan Na. Chiang Mai then slowly grew in cultural, trading, and economic importance to its current status as the unofficial capital of Northern Thailand, second in importance only to Bangkok.^[15]

Also from Wikipedia: According to Thailand’s Tourist Authority, in 2013 Chiang Mai had 14.1 million visitors: 4.6 million foreigners and 9.5 million Thais.^[43] In 2016, tourist arrivals are expected to grow by approximately 10 percent to 9.1 million, with Chinese tourists increasing by seven percent to 750,000 and international arrivals by 10 percent to 2.6 million.^[44]Tourism in Chiang Mai has been growing annually by 15 percent per year since 2011, mostly due to Chinese tourists who account for 30 percent of international arrivals.^[44]

Chiang Mai is estimated to have 32,000-40,000 hotel rooms^[43][44] and Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) is Thailand’s fourth largest airport, after Suvarnabhumi (BKK) and Don Mueang (DMK) in Bangkok, and Phuket (HKT).^[45]

The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) aims to market Chiang Mai as a global MICE city as part of a five-year plan. The TCEB forecasts revenue from MICE to rise by 10 percent to 4.24 billion baht in 2013 and the number of MICE travellers to rise by five percent to 72,424.^[46]

The influx of tourists has put a strain on the city’s natural resources. Chiang Mai is faced with rampant unplanned development, air and water pollution, waste management problems, and traffic congestion. Local government is seemingly powerless to enforce zoning and construction.

Time for lunch!  After wandering the city for a while we diverted away from the larger roads and went down some back lanes.  We happened upon this restaurant, Angel’s Secrets, and made our way to the only available seats, right at the back.  There was one woman sitting there – and serendipitously it was Amy, the American woman we’d met the night before at dinner!

Clearly there are some people that you are just meant to meet – and Amy was one of them! We’re sure that we’ll see her again one day (maybe here in Australia).  This restaurant served a variety of food so there was something that suited every member of the family – especially the youngest one.

I think that one of the most striking things that differentiates streetscapes in Southeast Asia versus Melbourne is the cables.  In Southeast Asia there seem to be multitudes of power, phone, communication and television cables lining the streets, complete with loops of spare cord attached to fix any breakages.  In Melbourne there are main poles with cables attached at regular intervals – sometimes the cables are underground and you don’t see any overhead cables at all!  I have pondered why there is such a difference for some time, so eventually googled it.  I’m not the first person to have asked: you can read some answers here and here.

At this site in the old city a construction had been demolished, but it was easy to see that all the materials were being sorted into groups for recycling.  Impressive, I thought!

These apartments were around the corner from Baanbooloo.  I suspect that they are simple bed-sit units, with the higher levels reached by stairs.  I enjoy trying to work out the different ways that people live in a city like this one.  It seems to be incredibly diverse.

And that was it!  Time to farewell Baanbooloo.  We headed to Chiang Mai airport, then had our next minor adventure.  When I presented our documents for check in, I was asked if we had a connecting flight.  Yes, we did, three hours after this one arrived at Bangkok.  On production of our onward travel documents, there was a great deal of activity and chatter between the Bangkok Airways staff.  People were on the phone, into and out of offices, and up and down to other counters.  One lady took our passports to a reservations desk, and we eventually figured out what was going on.  Our flight had been delayed by two hours, so the incredibly helpful Bangkok Airways staff were booking us onto another flight with another airline, and making all the arrangements.  And as it turned out, we ended up on a Thai Smile flight – in business class.

We told the girls to not get too used to it!  I have to say that I was super impressed with the service from both Bangkok Airways and Thai Smile.  And our meals were delicious!

We made it to Bangkok airport in plenty of time to check in to our international flight, get through security and immigration, and onto the plane to settle in for the night.  Yes, attempting to sleep sitting up was pretty dismal, but it was truly worth it – money that could have been spent on a more luxurious airline than Jetstar had instead gone toward the content of our holiday – one of the best holidays that I think my family has been on.  It was superb.

Our holiday was quickly drawing to a close, but today was a day we’d been looking forward to with great anticipation.  Last time we were in Chiang Mai, Orn looked after us beautifully at Baanbooloo.  She now has her own cooking school, Auntie Orn’s Organic Family Cooking.  Orn is passionate about fresh organic food, cooked in ways that the whole family will love.

We were collected in a songthaew and headed off to meet with Orn at her local market.  No other tourists there!  It was lovely to see Orn again, and she enjoyed seeing how much the girls had grown over the past two and a half years.  Firstly we went into the ready-made part of the market, where you could buy desserts, sausages, cooked meats, and similar items.  I really enjoy those glutinous coconutty sweets in little leaf packages.  So delicious! As it was almost Chinese New Year there were lots of appropriate treats being prepared.

The items in the below photo really look like “natural” cigarettes to me!  What do you think?  Do you know?  They are parcelled up with rolled up tubes, dried leaf matter, and boxes of matches.  I really should have asked.

The fresh food section of the market was also quite extensive.  There are always fruits and vegetables that I’m not familiar with in among the ones that I know.  This is very much the local Coles or Woolworths – everything that you need can be found here.

More mystery parcels in the photo below!  We did ask what was inside those leaf wrappings – I think it was sticky rice and coconut.

Kaffir limes – these are such a great fruit.  Both the fruit and the leaves are used extensively in Thai cooking.  As per Wikipedia: The leaves are the most frequently used part of the plant, fresh, dried, or frozen. The leaves are widely used in Thai^[10] and Lao cuisine (for dishes such as tom yum) and Cambodian cuisine (for the base paste “krueng“). The leaves are used in Vietnamese cuisine to add fragrance to chicken dishes and to decrease the pungent odor when steaming snails. The leaves are used in Indonesian cuisine (especially Balinese cuisine and Javanese cuisine) for foods such as soto ayam and are used along with Indonesian bay leaf for chicken and fish. They are also found in Malaysian and Burmese cuisines.^[11] It is used widely in South Indian cuisine. The rind (peel) is commonly used in Lao and Thai curry paste, adding an aromatic, astringent flavor.^[10] The zest of the fruit, referred to as combava^{[citation needed]}, is used in creole cuisine to impart flavor in infused rums and rougails in Martinique, Réunion, and Madagascar. In Cambodia, the entire fruit is crystallized/candied for eating.^[12]

The juice and rinds of the peel are used in traditional medicine in some Asian countries; the fruit’s juice is often used in shampoo and is believed to kill head lice.^[9] The juice finds use as a cleanser for clothing and hair in Thailand and very occasionally in Cambodia. Lustral water mixed with slices of the fruit is used in religious ceremonies in Cambodia.

I enjoy the aesthetics of the wrinkly skin.  They look like tiny brains.

I had to ask what this vegetable was – it’s bamboo shoots, prepared in different ways.  Not something that we can easily buy fresh in Australia at all!  Wikipedia tells me in Thai cuisine bamboo shoots are called no mai. It can be used in stir-fries, soups such as tom kha kai, curries such as kaeng tai pla, as well as in Thai salads. Some dishes ask for fresh bamboo shoots, others for pickled bamboo shoots (no mai dong).

And look closely at what is inside the bag in the next photo:

Yes, those are frogs.  Frogs were on many of the menus we encountered in Thailand.  I’ve found a terrific blog post here that details their use as an ingredient.  I did not indulge.  I just can’t go there.  I know it’s all in the mind, but still.  The below photo is of another interesting Thai ingredient, chicken blood, that is used in conjunction with a particular type of noodle.  I am pretty sure that the name of the dish is nam ngiao.

And of course, chicken feet!  Every part of the animal is used in Thai cooking.  Stella was rather perturbed that the chickens were sold with the head and feet on, looking extremely identifiable as chickens.  Of course, the rest o the meat section of the market was the same.  Every single part of the animal was available for purchase.  No wastage here!  We were rather pleased that this section was cooled and enclosed to keep insects to a minimum.  Appealed to my western food safety and hygiene sensibilities.

There were also terrific clean pay toilet facilities at the market – including a toilet with disabled access.  I think that was the first time that I saw any provision made for people with physical disabilities while we were in Thailand.  I often wondered how people cope with the uneven streets and pathways and the multitude of steps both outside and inside houses.

After we’d decided on what meals we would cook and had bought all the ingredients, Orn’s friend Lek picked us up in his car and we drove to Orn’s home and cooking school.  There was a very special surprise waiting for us there in the form of two puppies!  Stella was ecstatic.  She’s been missing Buzz.

Orn and Lek have constructed all the buildings on their land themselves, primarily from simple materials in straightforward traditional styles.  The climate certainly helps with this – most living is outdoor living, with the bathhouse and bedrooms the only rooms that can be enclosed.  They’ve used plenty of bamboo, mud bricks and plaster where appropriate, and are embracing an organic and permaculture lifestyle.  They have all the things that they need – including a fridge, beer, computers – but not a great deal of excess.  Enough, but not too much.  It’s pretty inspiring.

The gardens are extensive and Orn and Lek plan to grown pretty much all that they need.  There are all sorts of trees, planted in a companion planting style, along with ducks and chickens.  The kitchen at the back of the property has a solar powered battery to help with electricity where needed, but cooking is done on gas or charcoal.  Food scraps are composted, and activated charcoal is being prepared.  There is no plumbed water but instead a couple of deep bores, and water is stored in large ceramic urns.  They purchase drinking water, but are otherwise very self-sufficient.  We gathered the rest of the ingredients that we needed from the garden.

So, on to the cooking!  Dan had done the class last time so after a little while handed over the reins to the rest of the family.  He was also feeling a little intestinally challenged (as is often the case when travelling – not sick, but not how things usually are) so was happy to sit back and let us do the work.  Actually, the girls did most of it!  Ingredients were collected and prepared for a papaya salad, Penang chicken curry, chicken and thai basil stir-fry, and stir fried morning glory (pak boong), all to be eaten with rice.

There goes Stella chopping up the morning glory, as as it’s know in Thai, pak boong.  It’s also known as water spinach.  We’d eaten the same vegetable in Laos and really enjoyed it there too.  It’s a green leafy vegetable with tender shoots and leaves, and if you google pad pak boong you’ll find plenty of recipes for the classic stir-fried version with garlic, chillies and oyster sauce.

Orn and Lek had a volunteer WWOOFer staying with them, Jen, who helped out with the cooking class.  I had never heard about WWOOF before.  From their website: WWOOF organisations connect people who want to live and learn on organic farms and smallholdings with people who are looking for volunteer help. WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles. Volunteers give hands on help in return.

As it happens there are WWOOF organisations all around the world!  Jen was from the USA, and had been with Orn and Lek for a week when we did our class.  What a wonderful example of two-way sharing of cultures and information, and no significant cost to either party.

The papaya salad was delicious.  Clare picked the green papaya, and grated it.  This is usually a very spicy dish, but we toned down the chilli and it was extremely refreshing. Wikipedia has more information about this classic South East Asian dish (originally from Laos) as well. The dish combines the five main tastes of the local cuisine: sour lime, hot chili, salty, savory fish sauce, and sweetness added by palm sugar. The ingredients are mixed and pounded in a mortar; The general Lao name tam som literally means “pounded sour”, however, the more specific Lao name tam maak hoong literally means “pounded papaya”. In Khmer, the name bok l’hong also means “pounded papaya”. In Thai, the name som tam, (a reversal of the Lao name), literally translates as “sour pounded”. However, other pounded salads in Thailand are consistent with the Lao naming convention in which the word tam (“pounded”) is listed first.

Despite the use of papaya, which one may think of as sweet, this salad is actually savory. When not yet ripe, papaya has a slightly tangy flavor. The texture is crisp and firm, sometimes to the point of crunchiness. It is this that allows the fruit to withstand being beaten in the mortar.

In Laos, green papaya salad is one of the traditional staples of the Lao. Pounded salads in Laos all fall under the parent category of tam som, which may or may not contain green papaya, however, when no specific type of tam som is mentioned, it is generally understood to refer to green papaya salad. For absolute clarity, however, the name tam maak hoong may be used, since this name means “pounded papaya”.

In Thailand, it is customary that a customer ask the preparer to make the dish suited to his or her tastes. To specifically refer to the original style of papaya salad as prepared in Laos or Isan, it is known as ส้มตำลาว or som tam Laoor simply as tam Lao, and the dish as prepared in central Thailand may be referred to as som tam Thai.^[6]

Traditionally, the local variety of green papaya salad in the streets of Bangkok is very hot due to the addition of a fistful of chopped hot bird’s eye chili. However, with its rising popularity among tourists, it is now often served not as hot.

These dishes would usually contain much more chilli – much hotter chilli!  Orn kindly catered to our (children’s) bland tastes and there was enough chilli for flavour but nothing was terribly spicy.  As a generally rule Thai love their food super spicy – and their desserts are super sweet!  It seems that there is not much in between – the flavours are intense whatever they are.  The chicken with basil was pretty much like this recipe, and the stir fried morning glory similar to this.  The penang curry was also toned down heat wise.  It was all delicious – and incredibly fresh.

It was such a pleasure to see Orn and Lek again and to meet Jen and to share in their hospitality.  You can find more information on Orn’s cooking classes here (she is also on Facebook) and I thoroughly recommend them if you are interested in how to cook family style meals in a traditional, fresh way.  We left the farm with very full bellies and a whole lot of cooking inspiration!

Some of you probably know that Thailand is famous for its Ladyboy cabaret shows.  Louis kindly offered to take me to one of his local favourites to have a cocktail or two and see the show.  There were six exquisite ladyboy performers and four equally gorgeous young men as backup dancers.  Wikipedia tells me that

These ladyboys put on a really stunning show!  Amazing costumes with lots of quick changes between acts, loads of energy, terrific routines, a bit of humour, excellent lip-synching, and they are absolutely beautiful.  The bar was packed.  It is open to the street on two sides, and the performers were very happy to have their photo taken in the street with audience members after the show.  Jeepers, I look so short and plain next to them!

Thanks Louis – it was loads of fun (and it had been a LONG time since I’d last headed out at 9.30pm in the evening to go to a bar!).  Now I know why all those sequinned fabrics and glittery trims are available for sale in the market – there are so many cabaret costumes to make!