Wawa's Ramblings

The next stop was the Hmong (Meo) hilltribe village and market in Mae Choam. The villagers here sell produce from King Bhumibol's Royal Project which supports the hilltribe villagers to grow other produce instead of poppy.


There were quite a variety of fruits and vegetables, including locally grown strawberries which were in season. I could not resist buying some vegetables which cost only 10 to 30 baht for a one kg bag.

some of the fruits and veggies we bought

We met a 101 year old villager who was selling pumpkin leaves and Amy decided to buy some from her so that we can try it for lunch.

Our lunch stop was at a small eatery near the Wachiratan waterfall. We were delighted to see a stall selling grilled chicken, one of Co's favourite dish.

yummy grilled chicken with sweet chilli sauce

sitr fried pork with basil leaf

The Wachiratan waterfall was pretty amazing, and could rival those which we have seen in Hawaii.

We love Chiangmai and its people and look forward to our next visit. Just discovered that Tiger Airways has discontinued flights to Chiangmai from April. Looks like next time, we will have no choice but to fly by Silkair, and opt for a cheaper hotel.

Labels: chiang mai, thai food, thailand, travel

We had booked a full day private tour to Doi Ithanon, Thailand's highest mountain and were picked by Amy, our tour guide and Mr La, the driver.

Our first stop was the Karen hilltribe village. As all the menfolk were at work, only the women and children were at home. The children seemed so carefree while the women were busy weaving.

We bought 3 hand woven scarves for a steal, at only 200baht each and the workmanship was much better that those found at the night bazaar.

The villagers also grow their own coffee beans, among other crops and we later sat down to enjoy the serenity of the village surroundings with a cup of freshly brewed thick black coffee.

Our next stop was the Sirithan Waterfall, one the six waterfalls in Doi Ithanon National Park.
Doi Itanon, at 2565m above sea level is the highest mountain in Thailand and is part of the gateway to the Himalayan mountains and Mount Everest.

At the summit is a memorial shrine builit in the honour of Chao Ithanon, a former prince of Chiangmai, after which the mountain is named.

We walked along the Ang Ka Nature Trail which has many species of plants and colourful birds.

Labels: chiang mai, thailand, travel

Soon after our trip to Chiang Mai last year, we planned to visit this charming city again and secured cheap tickets on Tiger Airways (approximately $130 return) as we booked way ahead of time. We stayed at the same hotel, Rarinjinda Wellness and Spa Resort as the hotel offered us a very attractive discount off their rack rates and airport transfer.
The hotel was a peaceful oasis in the city centre and the service staff were friendly and welcoming. A surprising sight was a couple of cherry blossom trees near Narawat bridge. A close up shot confirmed that these were really sakura trees, which tourists flock by the thousands to view in Japan. And they actually had them here in Chiangmai!

We had planned to have lunch at Just Khao Soy, a restaurant near the Anusarn market specializing in this Northern Thailand curry noodles.

When we reached there, there was still more than half an hour before the restaurant opened, so we thought we should just grab some coffee. However, greedy me spotted a little shop serving noodles and sugggested a light snack, which turned out to be a pretty filling meal.


Co had the pad thai (30 baht) while I had a bowl of steaming beef ball noodle soup for only 25 baht.

After this cheap and yummy 'breakfast', we headed off to Just Khao Soy to satisfy our voracious appetite for more food. The restaurant was empty and we were ushered to a quiet dining area. Giving in to temptation, we over ordered (as always) and had an appetizer on top of the two bowls of khao soy. The appetizer consisted of spicy thai sausages, fried fish, thai spring rolls and dried beef slices and cost only 150 baht ($6.80).

The khao soy (100 baht, $4.45) was served on an artist's palette, together with the accompanying condiments of fresh coconut milk (for a thicker gravy), sugar, fish sauce, chilli paste (for more 'kick'), sliced lemon, shallots, pickled cabbage and sliced banana (to take away the heat).

Total cost of lunch, including two bottles of Chang beer in this nice restaurant only costs 430 baht ($19.20) and we were bursting at the seams after the meal.

Later in the afternoon, we had a totally rejuvenating 45 mins of foot relexology and 2 hours of herbal Thai massage at Just Relax for 850 baht ($38). This was followed by a walk along the night market, dropping off our photos for the artists to draw,


an appetizer of yummy banana roti (20 baht) ,


and chicken ball noodles for dinner (35 baht) from the streetside vendors.

This is what a holiday should be; cheap good food, relaxing massage, a little shopping and people watching....

Labels: chiang mai, thailand, travel

Cooked this braised pork ribs from Molly Stevens book 'All about braising'. First needed to caramelize the sugar over a medium low heat which took about 25 minutes. I had to throw away the first batch as I stirred the caramel just as it was turning colour and lo and behold, the sugar quickly crystallized into one big lump! I had to patiently wait for the sugar to change to a deep red brown colour at the second attempt and was rewarded with a lovely caramelized sauce flavoured with chopped onions, fish sauce and pepper. The next stage was easy as I just needed to slowly braise the pork ribs in the sauce, turning over every 15-20 minutes to ensure that the ribs are evenly coated. Scrumptious when served over a hot bowl of steaming white rice.

Labels: home cooking