As we struggle to get through our quarantine days, I wanted to share a few new things going on in Phuket. First to put everyone at ease, I’m happy to report Sedona made it safely back to Cincinnati. Going through Qatar is the way to go! They will not allow you to stay in their country, so there is always a flight out. She is self quarantined back in our Cincy condo where all my Korean tenants moved out. So it is empty yet again. Another side effect of this Covid epidemic. Not only did I lose my income from the towel factory that was forced to shut down, but now I also have to cover my mortgage in Cincinnati since my tenants wanted, rightfully so, to be home with their families during this crisis.
I guess the “begin again” tattoo I got had a different meaning than what I originally thought. Mother Nature is like that. The minute you have it all figured out, you get a curve- ball that helps you realize how insignificant you and your delusional control of life is. I am embracing it. If God wants me to start completely over again, I am open to seeing what that may look like.
Me sporting my law -required home made mask.
I thought this “Where’s Waldo” was hilarious! They closed down all hotels in the Patong area today and all traffic going in and out of that location since it has over half of the reported cases coming from that point on the island.
Every day there is a report like this stating the cases and how they are related . I am very impressed . I always check to see if there is anything related to where I have been. They also state if the person was showing symptoms or not.
Mimi sent me these photos from the Art C. She was very scared. They were spraying disinfectant on the streets in Phuket Town.
She and I check in on each other daily via text. I am hoping she can come over for a visit next week.
I thought this was a good way for all of us to check in with ourselves. My days lately have been cat 4, but thanks to Paul Flam’s routine advise, I am hoping next week is more like 9. I start tomorrow. (I know we all have said that a thousand times eh?) I even downloaded an exercise app. This should be interesting.
On Friday I headed over to Jason’s house to enjoy some human company. Instead I got more than that with his entourage of dogs. I had the two chihuahuas attached to me for most of the time I was there. His house is secluded down a gravel road and surrounded by a rubber tree farm. Right by his house is a trail that leads up to the Big Buddha. We are definitely going to hike that when the weather cools down a bit.
Me chilling at a socially safe distance 🙂
His place is an eclectic gathering from all of his travels. It was so peaceful and a great retreat.
He has a table for sound healing. I was intrigued. He has gathered these instruments from around the world. Australia, India, Switzerland, and even Czech Republic. He let me play the bowls and taught me how to allow the vibrations to heal my cells. It was really fascinating to experience the vibrations and witness the effect it had on my mood. He also played the gong in a way that I have never heard before. It was also cool to hear about the classes he took for sound healing. I asked his permission to take this photo to blog about.
This gong was about 1000$
I have since found many sites on youtube that play these healing bowl instruments. This particular artist also sings. It’s so calming. I wanted to share.Just in case this is something that can help your nerves through some moments which may be testing your energy these days.
Sedona and I wanted to get out today. No place to go, but just wanted to breathe in the mountains and sites of Phuket. Yesterday we realized our condo coffee shop reopened, which thrilled me! I was missing my daily iced cappuccino. You get used to certain routines and then when they are gone, you tend to appreciate them even more. Life lessons. Appreciate the here and now.
I mapped out a couple of new places to visit that Sedona has not yet seen. Then we decided to ride up the coastline along the water on our way home. It was a beautiful day out. Not too humid and sunny as always. Thankfully we had our UV protective jackets.
First stop was Friendship Beach. This is a non-swimming beach that is mostly known for its’ kite surfing. We found many locals sitting under the trees in the shade enjoying their lunch breaks. I also waved to a fisherman who smiled back probably wondering why the heck I was in this location.
This beach surprisingly had a lot of garbage on it. Made me wonder if the locals were the ones leaving it behind at times. There are no public trash cans in Phuket. Making it difficult to discard of any take-away meal containers or purchases. I noticed when following a scooter, they pulled over to a local house’s trash container to rid of their bag they were carrying.
I made Sedona pose along the roped off beach.
I remembered there was a warehouse of graffiti art close by, so I instinctively found my way back to it without having to walk illegally along the shore. There was a woman out front smoking a hand rolled something or other. She was binding up her plastic bottles and I offered her two of mine which she gladly took. She remarkably spoke and understood English. One would assume wrongfully that she was uneducated.
Yep, I took Sedona to another abandoned site. But it’s so cool to explore!
There was a lot of new art. This is a place where they obviously come and continue to paint over top of the surfaces. Not sure if it is any sort of turf art warzone 🙂 Or just friendly walls to display the next artist’s ideas. But now knowing it changes, I will plan to visit it again.
Inside there was a couch where a local man was sitting. I said hi and asked if he was one of the artists. Everyone here feels nonthreatening to me. He smiled and was not at all bothered that we as tourists were in his personal space.
Next we rode to Rawai which is known as an expat community place to live. It is also a launching spot for many longtail boats going out to the islands. I was hoping Sedona and I could’ve done that this visit. I wanted to snorkel with her. But that adventure will have to be saved for next year. I may do it alone once things open up again. Or maybe Jason will do it with me here.
We sat along the water’s edge for a bit giving Mean Mia a little break. By the end of our day we used about 3/4 of a tank of gas.
The streets were fun to drive, obviously a lot less traffic so I was able to enjoy more sites along the way. Not worrying about traffic so much. We were stopped by a construction truck and I whipped out my phone and snapped this photo of Karon Beach.
I decided to drive down a road I had never been down. We had all the time in the world with no place to be, so why not? Although Sedona and I also tried this in Rawai earlier and the road was completely blocked off so we were disappointed. But this road led to a small private beach area with a roundabout displaying this fisherman statue. Don’t you love the background with the palms, mountains and of course the red tuktuk.
We then drove to Kamala Beach and took a turn toward Kamala Bay. I stopped to admire this hotel which was absolutely stunning adorned in pink blossoms.
Kamala Bay was the first beach I have seen that was not roped off. I later texted Jason about it and he joked that he was calling the cops. This beach has a very rocky terrain, but there were a few locals and expats taking it in.
As we headed toward Surin Beach, which was completely gated off, there was this viewpoint. I remember seeing this once before and wanted to figure out my way down to this amazing secluded beach. On google maps it is named Cape Singh Beach and also Haad Laem Sing. I will find my way there this year!!
Sedona leaves to head back to the USA tonight. I watched a video yesterday from the US Embassy of Thailand which told everyone to head back home unless you are okay with staying for an indefinite amount of time. In which case, they gave us an email address to help with any visa issues. I felt comforted by this.
I spoke with four of my Cambly students recently whose children just returned to their home countries. (two in Taiwan, one in Japan, and one in China) I am so impressed by the measures their countries are taking to ensure the safety of their communities/citizens.
In China upon arriving, you are escorted to a hotel where you are housed in your own room for 14 days. You are brought 3 meals a day and checked on daily for any health issues. When you are done with your time, if you are still testing negatively, you are released.
In Taiwan, upon arriving you have to give them your cell phone number. They then register this number and work in cooperation with the cell phone carrier to track your position. You must tell them where you will be staying and remain there for 14 days. You are taken to a taxi directly where you are then desanitized with a spray and taken to your address. If you leave the location, you are heavily fined. If you are found outside and have left your cell phone inside, the penalty is 30,000 USD$. My student is the mother and her son was returning from Chicago. She stocked food in her house and then she and her husband moved to their in-laws so their son could be alone in their home. She also told me her son’s flight was about 70% full and he wore only a mask. Several other passengers were in full protective gear during the entire direct flight.
In Japan they seem to be a little more lose on their regulations. But my particular student put her son returning from New Zealand into an apartment alone for two weeks. She would not allow him to come home until the 14 days were up. In Japan, it is more like the USA ,they ask you to self quarantine. Nobody is following up on it.
Sedona came with me to the grocery yesterday and we wore our masks, had our temperatures taken and then applied hand sanitizer prior to being allowed to enter. It was such an odd feeling. I told one of my Chinese students that I wore a mask for the first time ever. He asked me how it felt. I said it was uncomfortable and hot. He told me if it was uncomfortable, then I was wearing it right 🙂
I am so sad to say the CV-19 got to Phuket beaches. Thailand is doing their very best to avoid their numbers climbing and shut down all the beaches as of last night.
I am thankful that Friday, Sedona and I made our way down to Nai Han Beach and relaxed for a few hours in paradise settings. The water was crystal clear. The beaches are cleaner than I have ever seen. The sand at this beach is perfect. Was an awesome last visit!
We kept our 2 meters distance from anyone. Swam and watched the fires in the mountains rage. At times we could see bright orange flames glowing.
The best palm trees.
The sailboats were fun to watch. They have the best quarantine idea. You can be in nature, change your scenery at will and swim without the lifeguards policing.
Today I decided to drive around and check out the closures to see how they were implementing and if it was truly in effect. I also wanted to check out a hiking trail I had not adventured down yet, for a little natural break in the sun.
Driving Mean Mia around restored my energy and allowed me some freedom that I felt a little guilty in taking. There was no traffic and I literally drove solo on many hi ways. Patong Hill was not even a challenge!
I saw two foreigners coming from behind this sign. They must have had the same hiking idea as I did. I didn’t dare wander past. Private property is enough to know I would serve jail time.
I later saw this narrow trail and really wanted to explore, but the sign persuaded me not to.. I texted a photo of the sign to Mimi to ask what it said because my google translate kept jumping between saying something about butterflies and pit bulls 🙂 Mimi said it simply said dog bites”. So I guess it’s a fair warning that you would encounter a guard dog along the way.
So the hiking was a bit of a disappointment. I saw other scooters with white couples coming down the road as I was heading out. All of us are trying to find something to do with the mindfulness of social distancing. I decided I will need to find my ‘go to’ place in nature where I can be” for this next month.
Said they were closed until April 10. So if they reopen, it will be an EXCELLENT birthday to me on the 11th. But I am not holding my breath.
This was Kata Beach. Literally empty. I saw one person go for a swim and the lifeguard immediately came out to scream at her. I met a Polish woman who said they closed her hotel pool and now the beaches!? She was not happy and as most of us, just wanted a place to sit.
Nice to see the people here do take their laws seriously. Southeast Asian culture is much more obedient. Notice I am still out.
This was Karon.
I even drove up a dirt road to a place called Freedom Beach. Thinking it was so remote, maybe they would not bother watching. But the two foreigners at the top of the trail warned me that they allowed you to dip in and that was it. You could not linger. This view was on my drive up to the remote beach. That is the Meridian down below, literally empty.
At least I can still enjoy the colors and the views.
Made it down to Patong Beach where they had a CV-19 booth set up. Not sure if that was for testing? I just drove past. I wondered if they were going to start setting up a roadblock to test people randomly.
Patong is the most crowded beach in Phuket. Now vacant.
I got whistled at by the lifeguard once I stepped too far onto the beach. I just kindly took the photo and waved.
Remembering that Mimi makes her own clothes, I asked her to make Sedona and I some masks. I heard they were now requiring them to enter into the grocery. I picked them up today. Was great to see Mimi. She’s hanging out at the empty Art C alone. I said I would come by again soon. She also passed me a bottle of champagne, because she knew I liked it. She accepts nothing in return. She is the sweetest person. I feel so fortunate to have met. I literally got teary eyed thanking her.
This was the Phuket Immigration line a few days ago. I feel VERY fortunate that I got my visa before coming over.
Immigration now requires a letter from our US Embassy for the extensions needed for visas. The tourists that are stuck here due to closed borders, need an original letter from their Embassy stating they need to remain where they are. I met an Aussie guy who is stuck here for the next 3 months and when I asked him if he got his government to give him a letter, he said he just had the notification from the airlines.
Until they say we can’t, Sedona and I are determined to get out into Phuket’s natural beauty to appreciate every day. Today we decided to head to a waterfall, only to find it was gated off. Really? A waterfall? It can transfer the virus? Hiking is an issue? I’m so confused. In true American mindfulness, I was tempted to just walk past the gate, but reconsidered with thoughts of being caught on camera and the possibilities of Thai jail time.
I wanted to find something to do, so I googled and decided to take a detour to show Sedona the pier. As we drove past the shore I took an unknown road toward a sign that said ‘Sheraton Hotels. Figured if there was a hotel in this area, it must be nice. We passed a lot of construction which I presume was the hotel being built. We barely conquered the steep incline, even on Mean Mia, but once we did, it leveled off onto a flattened dirt area with the most beautiful views!
The shoreline we drove past.
The flattened out area with views all around us.
You can’t make this up. Just randomly driving up a new road and I get the privilege of seeing such a site.
Sedona taking it in.
The building in the distance is a mosque. It is where we originally turned to get to the pier.
I am spoiled in Phuket.
There were a few locals taking a nap in the shaded huts.
The view from inside them. I think I could nap here.
Notice the road down below. It led to an abandoned hotel.
Sedona wanted to explore the hotel below. I was worried about whether the scooter would make it back up the incline, so we decided to walk down for a closer look.
Sedona thought she saw a ghost in the shadow when we first were walking up the path. She may have. This place more than likely could tell a few tales.
Was really fun to explore. Reminded me of Lime Island when I was a kid. My dad would take us there on my grandpa’s boat in the UP of Michigan. Lime Island was a deserted place and as kids we loved to explore the empty houses and pretend we lived there. It would entertain us for hours.
The swimming pool which was surrounded by gazebos.
Windows were broken out but mostly anything of value was absent. No drywall, wires, etc.
I love that when we googled the location, it actually said Ruins of a Hotel and had a 4.3 rating 🙂
We were trying to figure out if it was ever used or just left unfinished.
It was eerie but cool at the same time.
I regretted not putting on sunscreen today. I thought I would only be 25 minutes on the scooter with a face shield on my helmet and then in the shade of the jungle. Lesson learned. Always pack it anyways. My cheeks will be rosey for awhile.
There was graffiti in chalk on the cement walls, but mostly just tourists marking their home countries. There was of course Russia, Hungry and now Cincinnati!
Such a cool shot of ruins with life.
After we climbed down from the third floor, I took this shot looking back up the staircase.
Sedona and I headed over to the Art C to say hi to Min and Mimi. It was perfect timing. Upon arriving they informed us that today was their last day. The hotel is shutting down earlier than planned due to the tourism situation. They are both quite concerned with no jobs lined up and the border of Burma now closed. Mimi has no place to stay and will be holding up at the Art C until they kick her out. She told me not to worry, that she had some brothers in Phuket if she needed help.
The four of us toasted to our unemployment, as Sedona’s Hilton service job also is closed and my towel design job was put on indefinite hold as well. We are all in uncertainty and it will be interesting to see where we end up.
I listened to a podcast today that Rebecca Luckenbach sent to me. It was pretty real in saying, let’s not kid ourselves, the comfort of stability was simply an illusion we prefer to live in and is never reality. I needed to hear that. Because it’s true and the last year I was getting quite comfy. The more we get used to change which is inevitable in this world, the better we will be equipped to emotionally handle its arrival. Afterall we are never really in control.
Mimi insisted that I show Sedona Phuket Town’s beach, so we headed over to take a look before we went back to Kathu. I was pleasantly surprised. It really was a beautiful walk with a lot of families out dining and couples enjoying time together. For living a month so close to this place when I was at the Art C, I don’t ever recall seeing it in this light. I was thankful she reminded me of it.
It is definitely not a swimming beach. The low tide unveiling crabbing opportunities. You can see many people out digging for their dinners and even an abandoned boat in the distance.
I’m loving the grey stones with the tan beach and blue skies.
There was a wide walkway that curved along the shoreline which we took the opportunity to walk and get some exercise.
A fisherman with his catch of the day.
I wonder if these flag poles ever hold flags?
A welcoming sign which I recall previously seeing with Tiffani last year during our Songkran Festival walk. This New Year Thai festival is cancelled this year. I feel grateful to have experienced it in 2019.
We discovered this beautifully lit pathway through the woods offering shade and a peaceful walk. We took it until it dead ended back onto the street.
When you looked down over the railings, the trees revealed their roots and you could visually see with the color differences how high the water must get during different seasons.
After getting food in our bellies, the sun was starting to settle and we knew we had limited time left before we had to return our rented scooters. I found one more temple that was within a 15 minute radius so I thought we could check it out before leaving Chiang Mai. Sedona was game and followed me through several odd twists and turns to land in a very strange but enlightening campus.
There were signs posted just about on every post reminding you of Buddhist beliefs.
The grounds were not well maintained and there were a lot of donation boxes throughout.
We crossed over a bridge only to find a pigeon haven where all the birds dwell. I felt like running- like in the movie ‘The Birds’, which by the way, scarred me for life. Even the statue there was encased and covered in bird poop.
Sedona spotted these two mud caked turtles bathing in the sun.
Found it interesting that the King’s bust was below the buddha, but represented nonetheless. I still really enjoy the spirit trees. I wish I knew how old they were.
“Our world has thousands of brilliant minds, but only a few kind hearts” Sadly true.
“Anger pays no attention to morality” Love these gentle reminders.
As we were wandering, we found a staircase that led up to this pagoda. Walking around and just looking is my joy. As frustrated as I am with the Covid closing down the city, I can still find places like these that help me appreciate and spark my curiosity.
Showing the scale with Sedona beside it. As I was walking around, I found a back staircase that led to a tunnel.
How exciting! We took off our shoes and wandered inside.
Ancient tunnels with buddhas throughout. I felt like I was in The Goonies or some childhood movie.
Really cool right?
Selfie moment.
Okay, more adventure lies ahead.
There were these little alcoves in the tunnel walls where there were several smaller statues placed. Took me three tries to get them to show up in this photo with the darkness..
There was one other group in there with us. Otherwise extremely empty and hallow.
Just trying to capture its mystique.
A beautiful capture.
This is what it looked like when we exited the opposite end. We were smart and carried our shoes with us, otherwise we would’ve had to habitrailed our way back to the odd entrance we started from.
When you left the tunnels, there was this graveyard. In the middle of the stones were old spirit temples. I thought that was interesting to have spirit temples on the same grounds, I usually see them in graveyards down vacant roads.
Maybe this wasn’t a graveyard. Maybe its some sort of spiritual stone stacking? Anyone know? Email me.
A few more reminders. “do what you want others to do”
“The more you think you are wise, the more you are foolish”
“Corruption is caused by selfishness and infinite greed of the ones who have power”
We were happy to find this very different final temple to explore. It left us interested and oddly uplifted from the signage. I think that’s probably why type-o-graphy art reminders are so important in one’s home. We always seem to forget and refocusing always helps set us back on track.
We made it back to Phuket around midnight. We were the only people not wearing face masks. It made me oddly want to buy one and I sort of embraced feeling that pressure and better understanding people’s need to conform. But I stayed true to ‘farang spirit and continue to think our western beliefs about how the virus are spread are true.
Our last day in Chiang Mai we decided to road trip to another ‘destination coffee shop. We were told by the hotel owners that everything was going to shut down starting at 6 pm that night in Chiang Mai. Perfect timing for our flight back to Phuket.
This was definitely another road to nowhere adventure. One where I was happy to have my earpods working. There were so many twists and turns. In my opinion the roads in Chiang Mai are never navigable. I am usually one to look at a map and landmarks, then know how to get there. No way here!
We turned down quite a few dirt roads and private streets which were not surrounded by any landmarks whatsoever. Some new landscape to admire for sure. We ended up in a field, hence the name, only to find it had closed down. Very frustrating to say the least. But not completely shocking given the government’s new crack down.
I decided to walk around the property a bit to stretch my legs from the 40 minute drive and take a look at what we missed.
This looked like an excellent hippy camp! Iridescent transparent banners hung from many overhangs.
They also had lights hanging which I imagine would be very pretty. But who is making their way out this far in the evenings? I wondered what Chiang Mai must be like with more people in it. Maybe it is a fun party place and I was just missing out on seeing it’s true colors.
I walked along the woven bamboo walkway. This place looked more like a retreat. Maybe a venue for music and camping. Notice the beautiful temple on the mountain. No matter how I attempted to find it, (googled temples in chiang mai, or look for temples near me”) I could not locate it on the google maps.
I zoomed in to try to see it better. Obviously under construction. Maybe it’s a mosque?
Just simple country living. I’m sure the food here would have been amazing.
I wanted to climb up this but thought the view would be the same regardless 🙂
It was another bust of a road trip. I tried to google map our way to another decent restaurant which was part of a resort, only to be told by the gentleman who drove down in the golf cart, that they had closed it already. Dang! I was starving at this point. Sedona and I are on a CV-19 crash diet these days. We decided to just head back to the hotel and regroup. On the way back I saw a few places that were open for carry out, but once we entered we discovered they were only serving coffee. Coffee seems to be a big there here.
We ended up stopping at a 7/11 and bought a cheese sandwich and chips. They heated up the sandwich and I have to say, it was quite decent! We made our way back, feeling defeated. After recharging, I told Sedona I was just going to take the scooter out for a bit and wander around. She decided to join me and we were able to locate a restaurant that was open. Thank God for small favors.
On our way back to Old Town we passed a beautiful park that I had to swing into. I mean when you see purple elephants made of flowers, why wouldn’t you go in to take a closer look?
I later read about this park as being the go-to exercise place. There was a lot of outdoor equipment and people jogging. But most people were laying on matts and just relaxing in the shade, like every green space retreat in a city.
Adorable eh?
Bamboo archway.
Made up of individually potted plants.
There were newly planted palms and a lot of white bridge walkways.
Reminded me of a mini Central Park.
Statues and fountains.
Adorably creative planters.
They take their elephants seriously here.
The colors here instantly make me happy.
When I am laying awake in the mornings looking on my phone at all the news of the virus, my head swims. Then I am able to walk outside and sit in this beautiful gazebo and enjoy my coffee and immediately my heart is at peace again. I hope you all can find your retreat.
As we headed out of this park, I was dying of thirst. This heat really gets to me. So we drove up and down a few streets inside the ancient walls and stopped when I saw a place that was open and looked inviting. The one thing I have discovered in Chiang Mai is that you never know what you will get upon entering a place.
This was no exception. After heading to the back porch for a table, we sat with this view.
Looked like a spa resort.
The rooms opened up to this lilypad filled waterway with babbling sculptures. We came just in time for their happy hour, two for one mojitos- yes please!
The emptiness puts a heaviness on everything. But there is no denying nature’s beauty.
The staff here were taking the down time to heavily clean. One guy was up on a ladder doing the windows, another was spraying god-knows-what into the crevices of the sidewalks. Another was sweeping up the leaves. They were filming the whole process, snapping photos etc. I was wondering if they were posting on their website or reporting back to the government their progress?
Tonight after 6 pm all stores, restaurants and businesses in Chiang Mai will be closed for a mandatory 14 days. Hoping Sedona and I get out tonight and safely back to Phuket where we can take in pool and beach days that require no staff and maintain our social distancing.
In all the blogs I read, this was a must see temple. It is up another mountain, so first thing before heading out Sedona and I traded in our non powerful scooters for new models.
This time we got cute matching blue ones. We both were happy we made the exchange.
Today was a better day. I put a baseball cap underneath my helmet and it fit much more comfortably. The drive up the mountain was scenic and absolutely fun. Twists and turns along a banked roadway with views of the city. I kept thinking in my younger days this would have been a blast to drive up, but I took my time and tried to soak in every view.
Before hitting the mountain we zoomed in to see this place which caught my eye off the road. It is a place where they hold classes on meditation practice. It is also an all white graveyard called Wat Suan Dok.
As we climbed the mountain we pulled over to take a look at the city below. You can see the pollution in the air here. The airport is to the right of the photo. For an international hub it’s quite small.
I read this on another travellers blog. A little late for us, but we are making the best of it.
We made it to the temple and there were little gift shops opened along the walkways.
Then we spotted the staircase. I was just texting Jason earlier today because he found a 1200 step adventure he wanted us to go on and I told him they would have to carry me. I could envision my calves cramping and holding me hostage half way up and no pickle juice to save me.
Once we got to the top.
We started walking around the grounds and did not see the big deal about this place.
Reminded me of every other temple we had seen before.
They are all different in some ways, this one having a wooden statue/god.
But seemed somewhat the same. We commented that at least the drive up was nice.
Then we took off our shoes and went inside and DANG- what a site!! You could not have prepared me for the amount of gold shimmering in the sunshine.
It was truly beautiful.
There were a lot of encased buddhas. Also a lot of donation opportunities. I wondered if the different buddhas represented different needs, similar to the saints in Catholicism.
Loved the jade buddha. I was thinking of Rebecca’s son Grayson who was obsessed with jade when we spent a day together in Bangkok.
Can you spot Sedona? Gives you a true feel for the scale. Being surrounded by gold is an interesting feeling.
Love being immersed in a totally different culture. It helps me feel small and yet still part of this world that I don’t fully understand.
Looking down seemed easier.
Was definitely a staircase to remember.
The serpents that encased the stairs were made of what looked like ceramic tiling.
I couldn’t help but snap a quick shot of him! His outfit. His hello kitty shoes that matched and his utter boredom. I have no idea what he was doing there. Where his parents were. But he seemed to belong.
It was a long day of travelling and getting lost. We both needed a good meal. I looked up best restaurants in Chiang Mai and read some decent reviews on one close by. We opted to walk, given our long ride today. I have to say upon finding it, I was thrilled!
Gorgeous brick exterior which looked very inviting. This was down a side alley I would never have driven down otherwise. Interesting here how you just never know where you will discover a hidden gem.
Walking through the brick gateway, you stepped into this surreal world they created. All outdoor with plants hanging down from the ceiling, smooth jazz playing and a waterfall trickling to add to the peaceful environment. I wish this would be copied someplace else. All should experience this sanctuary.
A perfect ending to our chaotic day.
The menu had big photos for us old folks.
Sadly empty due to the tourism issues.
The thatched roof made me think about what they do when it rains.
Felt like you were in another world.
They also had paper art and macrame hanging down loosely swaying in the fan induced breeze. I wondered if I appreciated this because I understand/see details. I questioned who designed this interior and picked out all the plants. Someone who appreciated nature and culture for sure.
Tonya Takes Thailand 