Kim spent the day attending to pressing business from home while I did some admin. We didn’t feel like we were missing out on anything Chiang Mai had to offer. The idea of going to see elephants or patting tigers weren’t that novel at our age.
After a massage in the evening, we went out in search of Chiang Mai’s famous street food. Being Saturday night we had a choice of the Saturday night markets in the south gate of the city or the nightly bazaar to the east of the old city. The receptionist recommended the latter as it had a specific food area, when I tried to clarify whether the market/bazaar were for shopping or eating.
To our disappointment, the night market was almost exclusively for shopping, except for a roti stand or two. We found Ploen Ruedee which was the proper food section of the night market located off-street in purpose-built open-air lot.
It felt contrived. The food was a mix of Thai and world cuisine. There were some awesome seafood platters but we weren’t hungry enough tonight. Prices were high and it seemed targeted towards tourists unlike the authentic closed-off street market Chiang Rai. I think we would have had a better local experience eating in one of the small eateries back in old town. What a disappointment!
We stumbled into Halal Street, the Muslim area of Chiang Mai. As I undesrstand it, many Muslims here are descended from the Chinese and Silk Route traders whereas in the country’s south-east they are essentially Malay people.
I was enticed by the biryani hoping it would be a “khao mok” (Thai interpretation of biryani). Another disappointment hit me when my meal arrived. It was like chicken fried rice with peas and a few bits of pink rice. At least we had nice conversation with a couple from Montana who spend a couple of months in Chiang Mai twice a year.
I said goodbye to Chiang Mai at its somewhat iconic Thapae Gate before returning to the room to prepare for tomorrow’s early departure.
Gate to Chiang Mai’s Muslim quarter.