CFW

Gloria, So glad you liked Oasis Spa. It really is an oasis. Hope Ann feels better. Please say hi to Poon from Rob & Carole Wilder and tell her we look forward to seeing her in February. Can't wait!

CFW

Gloria, Two restaurants I've read about in CM that you might try are The House at 199 Moon Muang and Dalabaa at 113 Bumrungraj Road. Would love to get your opinion if you try either of them.

glorialf

For anyone who is looking for exquisite and unique weavings for your wall (large ones) I went to a new store called Studio Kachama on 10-12 Soi 1 Nimanhemin Road that had some of the most gorgeous items I have ever seen. Not cheap -- in the $2000 range but worth every penny if you can afford it. Even if you can't (and I certainly can't) it is well worth going to as the quality is unlike anything I have seen anywhere.

Also went to see the Mandarin and loathed it. It looked like a Cecil B DeMille movie set. You couldn't pay me to stay there. I gather a lot of people are upset because they have misused religious symbols in the temples they have created. Seemed incredibly ostentatious, pushy and aggressive staff and just plain way over the top. They have a shopping mall there with the same stores that are near Baan Orapin but at double the price. Everything about the place turned me off. Yuck -- the worst case of commercialism, tourism and luxury gone awry.

Had a good lunch at the Boat -- mostly locals. Very very cheap.

rhkkmk

but, it's an oriental???? are you mad because they did not have a special chair for you in the lobby??

how is ann doing??

we are off to florida tomorrow to celebrate our birthdays so i will miss your reports for a few days....

keep having fun....

bob

glorialf

Bob -- First, have a fabulous birthday.Ann is still out of commission but I think is headed in the right direction. Hopefully she'll get well enough to enjoy at least a few days of Chiang Mai. Obviously it's had an affect on my trip but since one of the reasons I'm here is to think about spending 2-4 months here yearly when I retire it is giving me a sense of what the city offers in terms of services (like doctors and grocery stores). The more I'm here the more I think that this is the place for me. I think I would be much happier here than in Bangkok for long periods of time.

As for the Mandarin Oriental -- I can't believe it is part of a company that usually has class. This place has none. I gather the owner is a thai billionaire who paid for the entire place in cash. No bank loans. No corporate investers. Cold hard cash. Makes you wonder ..... Anyway I really found the place apalling.

Guen-- I'm delighted Cotton House scored again. It's a pleasure to recommend a place that everyone seems happy with.

Kathie

I'm enjoying your report, Gloria. Too bad about the Mandarin Oriental...

CFW

We did not see the Mandarin Oriental hotel complex, but did have dinner at the Grand Lanna and the food was absolutely delicious (I am dreaming of the spicy green eggplant salad we had as an appetizer!)and we thought reasonably priced. Dinner for two was about $45, I think. Yes, it was luxurious, but we thought it was tastefully done and not ostentatious. I wouldn't say that anyone we encountered was agressive or pushy, though now that you mention it I think that the waitress may have been a little over-eager. We thought she was just young and new, and certainly not aggressive. Sorry you hated it. What is the Boat?

glorialf

The longer I am in Chiang Mai the more I like it. I actually think it is now my favorite place in thailand. Some new and old finds.

Mahanaga has opened a restaurant in Chiang Mai. It has been open a month and is absolutely beautiful and the food was superb. I had the best mee grob of my life and wonderful lambchops in a yellow curry sauce. Some problems -- outside very buggy so we moved inside. Both inside and outside so dark they bring flashlights so you can read the menu. I suspect both problems will be addressed. Servers speak very little English. Wine by the glass very reasonable for thailand. Food expensive for chiang mai but still cheap -- my lamb was 420 baht. Highly recommend.

Studio Naenna now has a shop on 23 Soi 1 Nimmanhaemind Rd in addition to the one near the 4 Season. Absolutely luscious cotton and silk weavings. I bought a cotton scarf that is exquisite and feels incredible. This whole area is a lovely place for high end unique shopping.

Antique House -- very disappointed. Thought the food was very mediocre to poor and found the whole place a bit dirty and the service barely adequate.

Baan Chom Doi -- a very good seafood restaurant. Locals.

School for Life -- this is an incredible place outside of the city. Address is 114 Moo 9 Tambon,Sanpeesua, Muang district. Phone is 053-854-213 or 01-288-9208. It is a home and school for orphans and poor children where they not only learn the basics but also things that they can do in life -- cooking, farming, computers etc. There are 140 children there now with 10 teachers and a lot of volunteers. I spent about 4 hours there and was enormously impressed and moved by the work they are doing. You can stay at the school as a guest or can stay at Joy's House about 30 minutes away (latter has more amenities). This was a highlight of the trip thus far and a place I plan on supporting in the future and would like to work with. I strongly recommend if for people who want to get beyond the shopping and temples and tourist sites of northern thailand. The children are also all learning English and will enjoy practicing it with you.

Now off to a cooking class.

alibi13

I went to the Antique House tonight. It's funny that you mention the service as it was almost ridiculously bad. Our waiter was playing a pocket radio. The whole place seemed to be run by high school students. And the Thai guy singing American songs was really sad somehow. Not that he was bad, just I'd rather hear Thai music.

glorialf

Went to Chiang mai Cooking school yesterday and thought the class was wonderful and a very good value. But everyone seems to love the cooking class they are in. This one included a market tour which I found extremely interesting -- and I know something about thai food and ingredients. Anyway I highly recommend taking a class whether you are a good cook or not.

Went to a new restaurant last night but left the card with its name at the hotel. It's at the end of Nimanhemin Rd soi 1 -- will post the name tomorrow. Anyway, it was very good thai food in a very pleasant atmosphere. If you're like me and can't deal with the loud music and hub bub at a lot of the chiang mai restaurants this might be a good choice. It was also very inexpensive. I had chicken in a coconut curry sauce that was oustanding for 90 baht. They even had a decent California wine for 990 baht. Lots of choices in both appetizers and entrees and a huge selection of fruit juices. Nice place for lunch or dinner.

Ann's temperature is finally normal but she still isn't herself so we went back to the doctor (hospital) today where she is having a chest x-ray to make sure she's ok to go into burma.

Baan Orapin continues to be wonderful. The warmth of the owners and staff is outstanding. I really can not recommend this place highly enough.

Poon has also been wonderful. Always early, always smiling and very very helpful and willing in every way. Also has a great sense of humor. We have had no trouble communicating and she has been incredibly helpful with ann's illness.

Took divediva and opas' suggestion and visited the wat next door and met the caretaker. Wonderful guy and definitely worth a visit.

This afternoon plan on doing the sunday walking street and maybe return to the spa.

divediva

aloha gloria...
i've been thinking about you and ann and am glad to hear that she is doing better.
poon is a good friend to have in chiang mai and i am looking forward to seeing her again next year.

she burned herself when we were there in october...can you please let her know we think of her often and always recommend her services to fodorites....

i was amazed at all the incredible stuff/antiquities just laying about at the museum next door. sure couldnt do that in america...

i just read amy tans new book...saving fish from drowning about burma...very interesting...dont read it until you get back...just kidding...

keep up the report...loving it and wishing i was in asia...
aloha

kai

brusselschap

Gloria,
wierd to read your reports from back home as we used so many of your tips whilst we were in Thailand!!
If you have anywhere religious to visit try giving Pom (Itiphon) a call, he's only had his guide certificate a few monhts but as he was a monk from ages 12 to 22 he know a LOT about buddhism, wats etc. His english is also very good. His mobile phone number is 06/921.67.24 and his email is [email protected] their office (TIC travel) is just infront of Wat Phra Singh.

glorialf

So here's the report of the latest hospital adventure. Went again to Chiang Rai Ram hospital but this time because ann was registered it took even less time. Saw a woman doctor with perfect english who decided to do a chest x-ray just to make sure she was ok for burma. X-ray was clear. Thinks this was an infection but is now viral. Gave her claritin (or something like it) , more stuff for the cough and a heavy duty antiobiodic in case it flares up again. Gave her copies of her medical report in case she has a problem along the way. Whole thing took about an hour and 20 minutes and cost $50 which included the doctor, x-ray and all the medication. Just like America! Oh, and because it was be nice to the elderly day or something she got a 10% discount.

Decided to celebrate so went to Grand Lanna for lunch. Much as I dislike the resort (and this time they would not even let us in to look at it) I thought the restaurant was lovely. I had pomelo salad which I thought was only fair -- have had much better in several places in Bangkok-- but ann had fried rice with chiang mai sausage and other stuff in a pineapple that was wonderful. We had a nice time.

glorialf

Divediva-- I have already read Tan's book but none of it surprised me. We were in Burma for almost a month six years ago and I've done a lot of readiding. I basically am only going this time to see our guide and to give him some money and any other things we can do to help. Not really a sightseeing trip.And we'll only be there five days.

eurotraveller

Gloria, after reading your report I am even more excited about our upcoming trip!

I have a questions regarding wine. I have read many reports regarding how bad the local wine is. Is imported wine readily available? Admittedly, I am a wine snob so I am very particular about what I drink. Any suggestions on where to buy GOOD wine would be greatly appreciated! I lean towards reds but if the wine is mediocre I would rather drink a white.

Thanks!

rhkkmk

glad to hear ann is on the mend...have fun in burma

glorialf

First-- someone was asking about House restaurant. Went there last night for dinner and it was quite good. Fusian cusine but more western that Mahanaga. I had breast of duck with red cabbage and potato pancake (the latter definitely not the kind made in delis) and ann had a pork chop. Outside not very appealing as you're sitting on top of the road but inside nice albeit again so dark they needed to bring flashlights. The wine bar looks moroccan. Restaurant is a bit out of the way but I would recommend it.

Also went to the Sunday street market. Fun but not if you want to shop rather than observe thai life. Most of the stuff is for the locals and 90% of those walking around were thais. We were there early so it's possible it becomes more touristy later. If you hate crowds get there by 5 or 5:30.

As for wine. I bought four bottles of wine at a local store here. They had virtually all imported wines but I had heard of very few of them so I went for the ones that were on sale. They have been adequate but nothing that I would seek out when I get home. If price isn't a factor you should be able to find decent wines as they do have them on menus. The cheapest wines seem to be from chile here.

Off to elephant conservation center.

marcy_

Gloria,
Greetings from the BKK airport! (we're on the way to Chiang Rai)
I'm enjoying hearing about your trip. Chiang Mai sounds great.I'm glad to hear that Ann is doing better.

Did you get your phone to work OK? Ours didn't work when we first put our SIM card in, and we had to change the settings to 900/1800 bands, and then it worked fine.

Looking forward to meeting you on the 13th.

Smeagol

Gloria

am Glad you are having such a great time, althought its a shame about your friend, i hope she feels better!

Am so sad that the Antique house wasn't up to scratch, we had a lovely dinner and the service was very good (we were in and out in no time at all) although i must admit the second time we went we sat IN the house as opposed to the garden and the service was definately sketchy then BUT that said we had a nice time, maybe we just caught them on a good week. (The BF did tell me last night that the bathroom was hideous... had he told me that when we were there i think i would have walked as i am very funny about those sort of things..)
Maybe we got lucky (and they had cleaned up for Loy Krathong) oh well you live and learn

Enjoy the rest of your trip, looking forward to hearing about Burma

Jane

glorialf

First- the unnamed restaurant in Chiang Mai is Modiwa. Very pleasant. Ate last night at Piccolo Roma which was perfectly good Italiand food in an old fashioned atomospher. Definitely not a gourmet meal but more than fine and not overly noisy or with loud music.

Marcy-- I did not get my phone to work. At this point I'm not sure it's worth it to try again but I'll see.