Kathie

Gloria, I just want you to know that I'm enjoying your report. Sorry Ann hasn't been feeling well, but it does sound like she has gotten good medical care.

Kathie

(Aside to Euro - I'm also a wine lover, so I rarely order wine in Thailand. The prices for mediocre imported wines are very high. If you are a beer drinker, drink beer. I'm not, so i usually opt for mineral water. Perhaps once per trip I'll order wine in a Bangkok restaurant ... $50 for a bottle of passable wine just seems like a waste to me. By the way, wine is cheaper in VN and in Malaysia, for instance. I was in Portland over the weekend and ate at Olea in the Pearl... wonderful food! I recommend it if you haven't tried it. Do try the grilled dates appetizer!)

glorialf

Final report from Chiang Mai. Ate at La Casa and Italian restaurant which was nice and cheap and even had cheap wine. Nice atmosphere.

Went to Gongdee Gallery which was fabulous last year. Have no idea what happened but the quality has gone way down.

Went back to Oasis Spa -- highly recommend. But make sure you go to the original location.\

Again, I can't say enough good things about Baan Orapin and Poon. They truly made my stay memorable and were incredible to Ann. In fact she bought Opas a thank you gift. Poon has become a friend. A really lovely lovely woman. I can't say enough good things about her.

Smeagol

Gloria

I thought Poon was just so lovely when we met her. I really enjoyed her company.
Glad you had the best time in CM, i really liked it and plan to visit again for sure.

glorialf

Poon is indeed very special. She found out it was Ann's birthday tomorrow and bought her a $20 scarf from Studio Narenna. Now even if she got a discount for being a local that's a lot of money for someone like her. And she gave me a silk scarf as a New Year present. When I was with her alone she insisted on paying for both her and my lunch and then brought food for us to eat when we went to the elephant conservation center. Then when I paid her more than the total amount she protested that I was paying too much. When she dropped us at the airport we gave her a gift of something she had admired and also an envelope with a tip and since we were going through security and she had to get back to her car she couldn't give it back. We also had a huge number of laughs with her and learned a lot as well. She's a good companion, a good driver and perhaps most important a very good human being.

eurotraveller

(aside for Kathie) I have not even heard of Olea! What kind of food? Portland has so many fabulous ethnic restaurants!

I would assume you have eaten at Typhoon? One of the best Thai restaurants here in PDX. You should also try Andina, a Peruvian restaurant with amazing food!

Cheers! Looks like I will stick to beer while in Thailand!

glorialf

ttt for Kathie

BillT

Eurotraveler:
We lived in Portland for 4 years, coming from the SF Bay Area, and I must say that we did not find very good Japanese or Chinese food there. Its hard to measure up when you are used to what the SF Bay Area offers in that regard. We now live in Houston where the asian food options are almost as good as SF.