Returning to Thailand for the 3rd time in 3 months felt oddly like returning home… the sea of yellow shirts, people “wai-ing” me (Thai bow), and tuk-tuks galore. Refusing to take a motorbike in Vietnam was an expensive commitment, since there was hardly any other means of transport. After spending the night in the Bangkok airport, I arrived the next morning after a short flight up to Chiang Mai, and happily climbed into a waiting tuk-tuk at the airport. I checked into my hotel (Daret’s, right in the middle of town), and went straight for the Tom Ka Gai soup, my favorite.

After enjoying the perfect weather and walking around the city, I met Abby and all her friends for a Thanksgiving feast at a fancy falong (foreigner) restaurant called “The Dukes”. We caught up, feasted on all the fixings of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and devoured delicious pumpkin pie. I was a bit concerned about the price, but after realizing that really, for a (very) full meal and desert I was paying less than $10, I stopped complaining.

The following week was filled with fun activities and delicious treats. Abby has been an incredible tour guide, and has dragged me to all of the best restaurants and activities in town. I finally got my favorite, Mexican (twice!), we ate more sushi than any human being should naturally consume (better than anything at home, including Nana in Brooklyn), I was introduced to a Northern classic, Kaosoi, a curry crispy noodle dish, finally had the real Thai iced tea (to die for), tasted the best pad thai I have ever had from a street stand, and had a delicious veggie Thai meal at a great vegetarian restaurant.

Abby brought me to obscure shopping areas, and into mysterious alleys that contained outlet stores with even cheaper prices than can be found on the streets. We saw two movies (An Inconvenient Truth - Yes, in Thailand! Spread that gospel!, and the new James Bond). We treated ourselves to bodily delights with manicures, pedicures, a haircut for me and body waxing for Abby… I was thinking of doing the body waxing, but after hearing Abby yelp in pain in the next room, I decided against it (Sorry, Meghann, as hard as I try, I’m not as brave as you). We also did a 2 hour yoga class, which was very nice and great for my back.

My third day in Chiang Mai, we had an interesting cultural experience when Abby brought me to a  Burmese wedding. She knew the sister of the bride, who had asked her on several occasions to attend the event. Luckily, I had my Vietnamese dress from Hoi An (See “Spent All My Money: Coming Home”), so was able to dress appropriately for the affair. We walked in and saw a huge buffet, an enormous ice sculpture, many linen clad round tables with what seemed like hundreds of people crowded around them, and a beautifully dressed bride and groom. Abby went to find her friend, and we were immediately spotted by the aunt of (we think) the bride. Although we protested as politely as possible, we were dragged to the very front of the whole room, and asked to sit at one of the 2 really fancy tables with the family, including the 2 mothers of the bride and groom! Food was brought to us (instead of us going to the buffet like everyone else), and we had front row seats for the speeches, music, and traditional presentations. We felt a bit out of place and slightly awkward, since we hardly felt we deserved this royal treatment. But we enjoyed the experience, and definitely the food. We found out later that it is good luck to have “white people” at your wedding…

That night, we had a second Thanksgiving feast with 8 of Abby’s friends. Again, the food was perfection, particularly a delicious cheesy mashed potato dish that Abby’s friend Caroline cooked up. After stuffing ourselves silly, we headed to a birthday party at a bar, and then checked out an all Thai dance club called Rodeo (though the tuk tuk drivers don’t know what you’re talking about unless you call it “Lodeo”). This was a very cool experience… there were rock bands between dance music breaks, and everyone crowded around tall, circular tables where they ordered whole bottles of alcohol and mixers and danced with their group. Abby and I accidentally polished off an entire bottle of whiskey between us (oops), and spent the night dancing and meeting some of the “locals”. We returned at 4:30am, and swore off alcohol for the following week (which we did, indeed).

A few days later, I signed up for a Thai cooking class. It was an all day event with several cooks. We went to the market in the morning to learn about the different vegetables and ingredients, then watched back at the teaching center as the chefs prepared different dishes and explained the best methods of preparation. We then each got a cooking station and had a go at cooking up our own dishes (which we got to eat! 7 courses!). My first attempt was at Tom Ka Gai (as I mentioned, my absolute favorite). I paid extra attention, and took detailed notes (shockingly, yes, I know). While you’re cooking, the chefs come around and taste, adding spices and telling you how to improve the dish. But when the chef came to mine, she looked up in surprise and said, “this is amazing!”. She then asked me for another taste as I was walking to the table to enjoy it myself. My new found confidence didn’t last long, as I burned the curry and overcooked the fish. Oh well. As long as I can make Tom Ka Gai, I don’t care.

I’ve now been here for over a week, and have really enjoyed my time staying put and being unpacked. I take long walks each day around the gorgeous mote, and go running in a cute little park on the other side of town. I can understand why Abby is so resistant to leaving this place. I had the opportunity to check out her school, and had a very fun time helping to teach a class. It was great to see Abby in action, and her kids were all really enthusiastic and very cute. You can tell how much they like and respect her.

My very good friend, Sir Luke Davis, will be arriving in less than 24 hours as my first (of many, I hope) friends joining me from home. We will have 2 weeks to spend exploring Thailand, and knowing us, this will be done in a very high gear.