Monday, January 16, 2023
Long walk to Bake & Bite for lunch

After a good workout at the O2 Gym with Ning and the walk back to See You Soon, it occurred to me that I had not been to Bake & Bite this year. Bake & Bite is another restaurant that John & Rose told me about. They are the only place I know of where a turkey sandwich is on the menu. They bake their own bread, too, and have other baked goods, like cinnamon rolls sometimes. Bake & Bite is open for breakfast and lunch only, closing at 3 PM, and are more known for their breakfast than anything. I decided a long walk, over 3 kilometers each way, would be good for me today, so I headed out at about noon.

In this post, I’m trying to show more of the context of the photo. My normal process is to crop the picture to focus on just what I want to show, then I reduce the size to minimize upload and viewing times, and finally upload the edited photos to my WordPress blog site. For this walk to Bake & Bite, I’m not doing any cropping, only the size reduction. The size reduction is important. My camera (Sony RX100 Mark VI) produces picture files that are about 6-8 MB. I reduce the size to 1/2 to 1 MB using an Android Photo Editor app.

Tha Phae Gate

I have written about this before, and today I stopped to take a picture of the monument that actually tells the story of the original name of Tha Phae Gate in Thai and English. Here is the story of Chiang Ruak gate, now known as Tha Phae Gate. I did crop out the Thai portion of the text.

When I first read this 9 or 10 years ago, I became interested in the “outer, earthen rampart” mentioned and started investigating. This is the Kamphaengdin about which I have made a few posts. I am still fascinated by the Kamphaengdin because of its importance in Chiang Mai history and so few Thai people living here know anything about it.

Because of the emergence of social media, it has become “important” to share a photo standing next to the “famous” Tha Phae Gate, beneath or by the sign. I was able to get a photo of this “famous” location with no other people around for a brief moment.

Turning exactly the opposite direction, there it is, Starbucks. The northern Thai coffee is so good, I’m a little surprised that there are Starbucks here, but there are a few, I know of three in Chiang Mai, while at the same time there are probably 30 independent coffee shops within 200 meters of where I stay in the old city. The other interesting thing about this Starbucks is that it is three floors!

Walking north along the moat/wall, I came to the turn to Chang Moi Road which will lead me east toward the Mae Ping River. Chang Moi Road is one-way, going away from the old city, while Tha Phae Road is one way going to the old city. While walking, it does not matter, but Chang Moi Road is pointed a little more directly to where I am going. At this turn is now a “Smokehouse” restaurant, to which I have not been. It used to be B.B.Burgers, a not-very-good burger restaurant that closed before the pandemic. I went one time 10 years ago, and saw no reason to return – B.B. was barely mediocre. It was, however, popular because of the location and because they served western-style food years ago when western of food was less common. Over the years, with the proliferation of other western-style resturants, B.B.Burgers fell in popularity, and it was not a surprise that they closed.

Walking down Chang Moi Road, I passed this sign and electric lighting shop. If you want an electric sign for your business, they have them:

Passed over the Klong Mae Kha, and at the next main intersection was the sign for the Chinatown section of Chiang Mai, on the way to Warorot Market. I turned left here to go north on Ratchawong Road, also in the Chinatown area.

And walking through the Chinatown area, the traffic was dense, and the store displays colorful since Chinese New Year is coming very soon.

At the next intersection with Tai Wang Road, I turned right close to the Nakhon Ping Bridge over the Mae Ping River. And soon I am confronting the always heavy traffic on the Nakhon Ping Bridge.

I crossed on the green light (always a good idea…), and you can see that there is a dedicated motorbike lane, and a dedicated pedestrian lane. So few people walk over this bridge that motorbikes often use the pedestrian lane. This is why I prefer the walking bridge a hundred meters or so downriver. But this bridge takes me directly where I am going, so I brave the traffic – it is not a problem today.

Looking down river from about the center of the bridge, the view is peaceful. In the distance is the walking bridge I mentioned.

Looking up river and slightly more westward, is the familiar flag of the U.S. Consulate General. I have walked by a couple of times, but have no need for their services. Entry is by appointment only. The U.S. Marines at the entrances have smiled at me as I walk by; photos are NOT allowed.

Crossing the bridge, the name of the road changes to Kaeonawarat Road. I need to walk to Soi 3. This road becomes the highway to Doi Saket, a small city about 20 kilometers from where I am on the road. So it was a pleasant surprise to see a pedestrian overpass up ahead. This road, while not busy now, gets very busy and this overpass is a safe means of crossing for people who must cross. I will be turning right and am on the right side of the road, so no need to cross.

Finally I get to Soi 3. There is no sign telling me it is Soi 3, but the Bake & Bite sign tells me where to turn.

I head down Soi 3, looking for sub-Soi 2 of Soi 3, or in Thai nomenclature, Soi 3/2, and I find both the “official”sign and another Bake & Bite sign:

And I arrive at Bake & Bite, almost hidden in the trees, bushes, and gardens:

At the entrance are many “specials” listed on chalkboards:

At the bottom I notice Fresh Corn Chowder, and I have to try that. So my order is a turkey sandwhich, corn chowder, fried potatoes, and soda water with lime (yes, I was hungry, and yes, I ate everything).

The little jar of something dark-colored is cranberry sauce. I add it to the sandwich, and enjoy my lunch. Bake & Bite never fails to leave me wanting to return. It is a long walk, and there are other options, so I’ll likely return once more before my winter in Chiang Mai ends.

The walk back to my acommodation at See you Soon is mostly along the Mae Ping River then crossing over the Iron Bridge. So today I walked about 7 kilometers. Fortunately is it “winter” and not too, too hot.

Next: Another hike up Doi Suthep