Friday, May 19, 2023

Thailand May 19: Chiang Mai (free day) and Thailand May 20: Op Luang National Park, Travel to Omkoi

**updated 5/20 4pm** As it turns out, we are actually "on grid" at the Hotel Sarisa, so I'll be able to post updates every few days, and I'm editing this post to add more info and photos.

Night of 5/18–the students and I had dinner at Tong Tem Toh, my favorite restaurant of the trip that features northern Thai cuisine (Burmese influence) before visiting the night bazaar. From what I can gather, Burmese curry has a different flavor profile A quick consultation of the internet oracle indicates that a traditional Burmese curry will feature some or all of the following: turmeric, ginger, garlic, chilli, and lemongrass--I'm also seeing fish sauce in a few recipes.

Burmese style pork . Sorry the photo is sideways.

I didn't take any photos of the night bazaar (oops), but this is our group of 12 in the back of a songthaew.

5/19 was a free day for everyone, but we gave folks lots of options that they could choose from. One student went horseback riding, while another group (myself included) did what might have been my favorite experience of either trip I’ve taken to Thailand: a cooking class!

We met our chef/teacher, Perm, at a small, local Thai market. He walked us around the market, explaining various types of produce and herbs, and explained how to check various fruits and vegetables for freshness. We also bought the ingredients that we would need for our menu.

Chef Perm explaining various Thai fruits and vegetables

Kaffir lime.

Chef Perm holding up what I think is a bag of palm sugar--we used it in several sauces during our cooking class.

We left the market and traveled about 20 minutes out of town to the site for our cooking lesson. It was a beautiful, open air kitchen with individual cooking stations, overlooking a garden and rice field. 

Panoramic view of the cooking site for "The Best Thai Cooking Course," which is aptly named!

Perm taught us how to make:

  • Tom Yum Kung - a common and popular Thai soup served with many meals. Features Thai chilis, mushrooms, chicken and/or prawns, and other herbs and vegetables.
  • Pad Thai
  • Stir-fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts
  • Panang Curry - this was the standout for me. We made the curry paste from scratch. It was labor intensive but totally worth it!
  • Mango Sticky Rice

From left to right: sticky rice, stir fried chicken with cashew nuts, Pad Thai, Panang curry. I forgot to take a picture of the mango sticky rice.

Tom Yum Kung

The group is having a blast getting to cook our own Thai meals.

The group with Chef Perm (top right)

Such a fantastic experience. If you find yourself in Chiang Mai, I can't recommend highly enough The Best Thai Cooking School. My photos really don't do the experience justice.

We had a few hours of free time in the afternoon before the group left the hotel to visit Wat Chedi Luang for the annual Inthakin festival.

From Thaizer.com
CHIANG MAI CITY PILLAR INTHAKIN FESTIVAL

Many towns and cities in Thailand house what is known as the ‘city pillar’. These pillars were created when a new settlement was established and often located at the geographical heart of the city. The pillars were originally made of wood or stone, but in most cases now have ornate protective metal or brass casings. Different regions of Thailand have different names for these pillars, but in the old northern Thai language the pillars were called ‘Inthakin’. Some historians believe the pillars represent a phallus and were created to encourage the fertility of the land which would have been crucial to an agricultural society. These ancient animist beliefs pre-date the arrival of Buddhism in Thailand, but even as Buddhism spread the old traditional beliefs still remained, just as they do in so many aspects of Thai society today.
THE LEGEND OF CHIANG MAI’S INTHAKIN CITY PILLAR

There is an ancient legend that tells the story of how the original site of Chiang Mai was a town plagued with demons. A hermit asked the god Indra for help and from the heavens came the Inthakin pillar to protect the town and the people from the demons. However, in time the people neglected the pillar and the demons returned and the town was left in ruins. In 1296, King Mengrai chose the site of Chiang Mai to be the new capital of the Lanna kingdom. King Mengrai found the old city pillar amongst the ruins of the town and was told the legend about the demons. He placed the pillar at the geographical centre of the new city in a temple called Wat Sadue Muang. Today, the remains of this temple can be seen in and around the grounds of the Cultural Hall (just behind the Three Kings Monument) in the old town area of Chiang Mai.

Students in front of Wat Chedi Luang during the Inthakin festival

Students playing carnival games

I treated myself to some sushi and tried to choose the pieces that looked most interesting. Missed having my regular weekly sushi buddy Jon with me!!

Lots of food boths at the festival

Musical performance at the festival

It was a unique opportunity to experience local Thai culture at a micro level. There were musical demonstrations, carnival games, and tons of food stands and booths where folks could make religious offerings.

We closed the evening by attending a Muay Thai fight. I have a huge blog post about Muay Thai from last year that I will link here that explains some of the nuances and history of Muay Thai. Three of the seven fights ended in knockouts!

Students ringside at the Muay Thai fight

Muay Thai fighters each representing a local gym

This fighter was so fun to watch. She ended her bout with a high kick that knocked out her opponent.

5/20: Op Luang National Park and travel to Omkoi

We left Chiang Mai this morning to travel to Omkoi, a rural village about 3 hours southwest of Chiang Mai. About halfway through the drive, we stopped to hike and have lunch at Op Luang National Park. I also have a really thorough post about Op Luang from last year (link). I'm sorry to repost old content but it seemed silly to duplicate efforts for the same information. 

Here are a few key facts:

  • Ob Luang - roughly translates to "Large Straight" referring to the Mae Chaem river cutting through the canyon walls
  • Ob Luang protected by Thai government in 1966; originally designated as a site for timber harvesting
  • Established as an official national park in 1991, making it the 68th national park in Thailand
  • Along our hike, we had opportunities to view remnants of a grave from the Bronze Period (3300-1200 BCE) and pictographs (paintings on rock).
Hiking in Op Luang National Park

Next to the Mae Chaem River

We made it to the top!

We arrived at our hotel in Omkoi about an hour ago and we'll be doing a short hike to Phra That Kaew Omkoi before having dinner and calling it an early night.

Tomorrow, we're doing a new, never-before-done-on-MTSE-Thailand hike, and the following day, we'll start our projects at the Banyang Kaew School.

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