January 15, 2014 Wednesday

I was going to walk around most of the moat today, and started out by going to Tha Phae Gate, the gate entrance on the east side of the wall.

Guess who at Tha Phae Gate!

Another view of one of the actual doors of the gate.

Blue Diamond Coffee Club

I was walking around the sois (lanes) in the NE quadrant of the old city (north of Tha Phae Gate) and stumbled across the Blue Diamond Coffee Club, a bakery/restaurant that is run by a Thai lady (who many people say has something of a New York style rudeness about her- she is actually quite nice). Blue Diamond is quite famous for their mostly vegetarian food and good breakfasts. I stopped there, had a fresh roll with peanut butter, and a coffee. This is the first time I have seen peanut butter in Thailand, although I know they have peanuts, as they are used occasionally in cooking (although cashews are used more than peanuts). The roll was quite fresh, very tasty, and the peanut butter was (I think) freshly ground. The coffee is said in their menu to be from the hill tribes, and is quite strong, with a very good flavor.

After the snack and walking around more, I spent more time at Wat Chedi Luang. As I have said, I like to sit near the large old chedi and watch the other tourists. With Chinese New Year approaching, there are many, many Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai, and they, not unlike the Americans and Europeans, have their guidebooks and cameras in hand, and are at all of the popular temples.

Thais That Bind

I had a relatively common dinner, stir-fried chicken and vegetables in sweet and sour sauce with cashews and steamed rice. You can just make out the singh (lion) on the bottle of Singh sparkling water, and in the top center is a banana smoothie. A very good meal at Thais That Bind, just down the street from 3-Sis.

Next: Pouring concrete at Wat Chedi Luang and a walk by Chiang Mai RAM Hospital