#2416: Six days in LA

Post 2416

- 9 years and 31 days since I started this blog -

  

Journal
(written Jan 8-10, 2020)

Read this once (it won't change for the rest of the trip(s): I'll be linking this post to Facebook. If that's how you got here, here's some background: About 9 years ago I started this blog as a food journal. I had a medical situation and needed to lose weight. Initially, that's all I did here: Journal my food intake and my weight. It contributed to helping me lose 20+% of my body weight in 6 months, and continuing has kept me on track since then. I started adding commentary after a while, but lately it has become infrequent. 

While I'm traveling, I let go of the weight-tracking and food journaling, except for the occasional food shot when I've eaten something interesting. And that's where we find ourselves now.

I'm in LA.

Chiang Mai is in the rearview, and I'm more than a little wistful. I don't know when I'll be back (although I know I'want to return).

I am only here a short time - my all-time shortest stay. And Alex is back to work, meaning I'll see a bit less of him, although toward the end of the week we'll hang together while he works remotely.

I got in late Friday, back to the Bob Dylan room I stayed in for two weeks before I went to Chiang Mai. Everything's the same, and that's a good thing.

My visit will end on Thursday late afternoon, when I drive back to LAX to get my flight to Panama, change planes to Quito, then, after a long layover, Cuenca, Ecuador.

I wish I could say more about my time - but in this week, it was mostly about hanging out with Alex. His work schedule meant that we got together for lunches and dinners. His other work schedule - the one where he does his own thing, writing and video production, also limited our time.

On my own time, I... didn't do much. I didn't go sightseeing or to the LA museums I love so much. I didn't get a chance to play much.

As always, I took advantage of California's legal recreational marijuana laws, but that really doesn't impact my time much.

Saturday after I got in, Alex was 'booked' up for the evening. He took me to his favorite sandwich shop, then went to his new apartment (he just started moving in when I left for Chiang Mai) and hung out for a bit, just talking and watching some 'The Mandolorian' on TV (I was curious. I don't watch much TV normally). Now I know all about Baby Yoda, although I'm certain it is, by now, no longer a part of anyone's conversation. 

Sunday, we had plans to go to Smorgasburg. Mission: dumplings (see below). 

At Smorgasburg. Yeah, lots of lines, but they move quick, and the food is great, and worth it!

Alex had planned to spend the whole day with me, but outside of going to ice cream favorite Little Damage, he didn't really have any agenda. Earlier, I had suggested a museum, but post-ice cream, I wasn't really feeling like it. 

instead, we went to a party revolving around a heavily-promoted wrestling event, some kind of women's all-in beatdown thing, with thirty(!) woman wrestlers getting into the ring at two-minute intervals. I'm no wrestling fan, but figured there was plenty of room in that scenario for some laughs, and there would be food and booze and company, and a chance to not interfere in Alex's social life, so, okay. i'm into it.

In this case, my low expectations were trounced. For one thing, Alex's friends were really, well, friendly, and funny and a pleasure to hang out with. For another, the hosts had gone to a lot of trouble to make the party fun.

They made the wrestling match into a game. There was an elaborate pre-game draw, with everybody, or each team (Alex and me) getting three numbers from 1 to 30, corresponding to one of the wrestlers, and the order they entered the ring.

So everybody was invested.

As the show unfolded, the host who was actually into wrestling provided color and backstory on each wrestler.

It was fun!

After the weekend, Alex had to house-sit in the Hollywood Hills, he was doing his regular job remotely. I'd meet him there, we'd go out for lunch, then I'd hang there, sometimes watching TV, sometimes 'working' on the MacBook.

But really, what I'm saying here is, I don't have a lot to say.

I had a delightful dinner with some wonderful friends, and next night a birthday dinner.

And then I was seventy years old. The picture at the top was taken at Alex's house-sit (mansion-sit?), on my birthday. This is what seventy looks like on me.

Then, I'm seventy and packing for my flight(s) to Cuenca.

During that week, most of the pictures I took were of food, but there really weren't a lot of pictures.

It is its own special blessing that I am alive and enjoying my life. I don't take it for granted, ever. There is no smooth line to be drawn leading up to this point. Things didn't work out as I planned, they worked out better, and I have no idea how. But the 'how' of it doesn't seem that important when I assess where I am now. 

I'm just grateful. Grateful for the great relationship I have with my son. Grateful for all my family and friends still with me - which, astonishingly, is the majority of them. Grateful, every day, all the time, for my life. 

Food Comment

My first visit to Mendocino Farms, an amazing, high-quality sandwich shop where things are amazingly healthy and delicious. Above is 'the Farm Club' a turkey-bacon-avocado sandwich with lots of good salad between the seeded whole-wheat bread, curried cauliflower soup and a "Crazy Healthy" salad. It was all great.

World's best dumplings - at least, the best I ever tasted. They're only available at Smorgasburg, and that means they're only available Sunday. On my third visit to this collection of food trucks and pop-ups, this was the only thing we wanted.

Like Mendocino Farms, Lemonade is a chain of restaurants. I'd seen them all over LA, but thought they were juice bars. This trip proved how wrong I was. They're a little bit like hometown fave CoreLife. Above, tuna poké in the front, surrounded by kale salad, kimchi, and grilled broccoli, with a slice of parmesan toast. 

A LEO (lox, eggs and onions) at Nat's Eats. My last breakfast in LA this time, and my first breakfast as a 70-year old. So. Damn. Good.

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#2415: 'Bye, Chiang Mai, On my way, LA

Post 2415

- 9 years and 25 days since I started this blog -

  

Journal
(written Jan 8-10, 2020)

Read this once (it won't change for the rest of the trip(s): I'll be linking this post to Facebook. If that's how you got here, here's some background: About 9 years ago I started this blog as a food journal. I had a medical situation and needed to lose weight. Initially, that's all I did here: Journal my food intake and my weight. It contributed to helping me lose 20+% of my body weight in 6 months, and continuing has kept me on track since then. I started adding commentary after a while, but lately it has become infrequent. 

While I'm traveling, I let go of the weight-tracking and food journaling, except for the occasional food shot when I've eaten something interesting. And that's where we find ourselves now.

I'm in LA.

I can't fully assess my Chiang Mai trip yet - it's too soon, but there are a lot of things that happened in the last few days that will stick with me.

I had some truly memorable jams. Ate some truly memorable food. And, of course, met some truly memorable people. There's nothing else like traveling to put you in the way of new experiences.

Even when you fall back into the same routines that you have at home, as I did this trip, the context you're operating in makes it all different, if only subtly.

There is a good deal of exoticism, there are always surprises, and there's the different feel of different places, no matter where you travel, and what you do.

The driving patterns are different. Which means, even if you're on foot, something like crossing the street is different.

The background sounds are different. The scenery, the horizon, all different. You do the same things, but the context is different.

That makes the same old things seem new, and I for one am grateful.

My drummer friend Oo takes me, Dave, new friend Matthew up to a restaurant in one of the hills that surround Chiang Mai.

The place is beautiful. The food is good. There is a wonderful band playing dinner music, with a good and pretty vocalist doing a great job on the standard American songbook.

Oo apparently knows the bandleader, and Dave takes to the upright bass and accompanies for a song. Then I get on upright and do a rendition of No Expectations. By the time I get to the second verse, I'm being accompanied on guitar. Good times!

It's a beautiful dusk overlooking the city as we start the first of many, many courses.

Matthew, Oo's wife, Oo, me, David. We're happy, and the food hasn't even come yet.

David on upright!

Night overlooking Chiang Mai.

Next day, I went for lunch at Tikky Café and had the Tikky Salad with chicken and bacon (first time ordering that kind - the other three or four times I've had it, I ordered the seafood version).

The thing about Tikky Cafè is that they do Thai food more beautifully than any other Thai restaurant I've ever eaten at, anywhere. Scroll down to the picture below to see what I mean. The Tikky Salad is, quite simply, the most visually beautiful salad I've ever eaten.

The other thing about Tikky Café is that they have, in their new location, been discovered by middle-class (and presumably those above them, socioeconomically). At my lunch, among about 80 diners, I was one of only three farang (European-flavor white foreigners). This is an incredible testimonial to the restaurant, and probably the only validation necessary for the new location. Thai consumers are very picky and value-conscious. That they're spending their money at a moderate-priced place like Tikky Café means they believe the food is worth the asking price. 

In every respect, I concur.

One extraordinary and beautiful day later, I visited the wots (Buddhist temples) closest to me. Every wot is different, but every one seems so attractive to me. Some wots are also like little shopping centers, they have stalls and shops in them, but I tend to avoid those. No particular reason, but there are so many in Chiang Mai, you have to be selective. 

The three wots I visited were near each other and near my AirBnB. I had passed them many times coming and going, but not really stopped in, even though they looked interesting and beautiful from the street.

They were both. I took too many photos to upload to this blog (more than 50). Here's a link to that album of photos I took that day: Chiang Mai Wots, Jan 22, 2020.

That night, I went to David's Kitchen, one of the best restaurants in Asia, and consistently ranked the best restaurant in Chiang Mai, and the best restaurant in Thailand.

And it was a wonderful dinner, from beginning to end. We were in the piano room, and a very good, very accomplished Thai woman played classical music the whole night. It was lovely.

The service, too, was excellent. Perfect, in fact. We never had to wait for anything - water, wine, whatever; yet there was no feeling of 'hovering' - the staff was never intrusive.

Here are the photos from that night: David's Kitchen, Chiang Mai

David, Harry, and Ollie have organized a going-away party/jam for me at Freedom Bar the night before I leave.

It is triumphant. Very well-attended, including some players that are among Chiang Mai's first-ranked.
We start with a set by the Dudes including a drummer, Jim, who's only just back in Chiang Mai a couple of days. The set goes about three-quarters of an hour, and all the songs come out very well and are well received. Then I get to do four songs, subbing Dave for Harry on guitar, and the results are just as good, which is very gratifying to me.

Then we open it up to other jammers. I alternate with Dave on bass, but get to play a bit with every player. Chiang Mai's star trumpet player, Roddie Lorrimer, who has toured with Eric Clapton, and played with seemingly everybody, is on hand. It is a thrill to play with him - he's as good as it gets.

Sadly, nothing was recorded. Too bad. But here's a couple of pics:

The scene at the Freedom Bar, where I was holding forth on bass at my going-away party/jam. You can see Harry on guitar in the window on the far left. Outside the window (seated) is Phil, who inserted vocals from the street. Inside was full, and just as much fun.

Going-away jam scene: The singer is Johnny, I've written about him before - he is such a talented singer. Until this trip, I didn't know that he also played guitar and bass. But the main feature is his singing - so expressive, so technically good and soulful. That's Ollie up front on guitar, and Jim on the kit. It was just awesome playing with these guys.

The night ends when the police as Freedom to shut it down, about fifteen minutes before midnight. Apparently, a neighbor has complained about the noise, and now they're threatening to check everybody's papers, because it is illegal for anybody to work on a tourist or retirement visa. That nobody's getting paid apparently doesn't matter.

No big deal. We are about two songs short of ending the night, anyway.

It takes me about the same length of time to say my goodbyes to everybody. It is very heart-warming. There are laughs and hugs and maybe some tears.


New friend Matthew, along with Harry, Aum, Mai, David and I then went up the street to Midnight Chicken (not its real name - that is something in Thai. No idea whether or not 'Midnight Chicken' is a translation or just a farang nickname). There, 100 Baht buys you a couple of dishes when almost nothing else is open (by law, all entertainment in Chiang Mai ends at midnight, so that's closing time for most bars and restaurants).

Aum, Matthew, Harry, Dave, Mai, and me at Midnight Chicken.

That is pretty much the end of Chiang Mai for me, this year. 

Next morning, I packed, called a GrabCar, dropped off my room key, and departed.

I was sad. Like I said, it seemed like the time raced by, was too short. I didn't really leave anything undone, and I discovered some new attractions, but also became aware of some real downsides.

More than anything else, my lack of language skills, and zero Thai language ability really inhibited me this time more than any of my other visits had. The majority of my friends are other farang, sure, but I do have some Thai friends, and their limited English and my non-existent Thai make communication difficult. I am bothered by this.

And the air quality. It was getting annoying towards the end of my trip in February of last year. Then, it seemed the annual crop-burning that creates terrible air pollution, which I had always been told started in March, started earlier, and just as I left, there were a lot of people, Thai and farang, who were wearing face masks to go about their day-to-day business.

This year, it started even earlier. I soon developed dry-eyes and a cough. Next time I go back, it will be in November, I think.

Those two things aside, I love Chiang Mai. I intend to keep coming back for visits as much as I can, forever.

When I get to the Chiang Mai airport, there is little fuss and not-too-long delays for Immigration and the normal security checks. My flight is delayed a half-hour. Not a problem for me, I have plenty of time to get to my connecting flight in Taipei.


I eat three of the ten pot edibles I've brought with me. I'll eat the rest when I get to Taipei. This creates a very relaxed, short flight for the more-uncomfortable smaller-jet first leg of my journey back to LA.

I'll end up sleeping for about six hours on the flight from Taipei to Los Angeles, a real blessing for me, as I have never been able to sleep on planes. I'm wasted, but I wake up feeling refreshed and surprisingly good, not hungover.

Something else to be thankful for, among the multitude of grace I feel every day.

Food Comment

Tikky salad with chicken and bacon. Tikky Café never disappoints, and they make the most beautiful food...

Scrambled tofu at Goodsouls Kitchen. This is an incredible-tasting breakfast that deliciously satisfies. First scrambled tofu I've ever really liked.

Finally, my last meal at Goodsouls Kitchen was this wonderful and tasty falafel salad. Dessert is that coffee-banana protein shake on the left. Pea protein is used. Although it sounded unpromising, I was assured by the waitress I would like it. She was right, of course.

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Thank you!

#2414: Eating and playing in Chiang Mai

Post 2414

- 9 years and 19 days since I started this blog -

  

Journal
(written Jan 8-10, 2020)

Read this once (it won't change for the rest of the trip(s): I'll be linking this post to Facebook. If that's how you got here, here's some background: About 9 years ago I started this blog as a food journal. I had a medical situation and needed to lose weight. Initially, that's all I did here: Journal my food intake and my weight. It contributed to helping me lose 20+% of my body weight in 6 months, and continuing has kept me on track since then. I started adding commentary after a while, but lately it has become infrequent. 

While I'm traveling, I let go of the weight-tracking and food journaling, except for the occasional food shot when I've eaten something interesting. And that's where we find ourselves now.

After a couple of days, my 'little sickness' culminated in about five minutes of light-headedness, during which I felt a little faint, then, back to normal, a good night's sleep, and all cleared up.

In fact, better. A couple of little things that had been bothering me (a cramp in my right calf, some neuropathic foot pain I sometimes feel) stopped being troublesome. I'm just lucky - or maybe it was Goodsouls Kitchen's Golden milk (turmeric tea and ginger) that did the trick.

I thought you'd like to see where I'm staying:

Because it is south-facing, my apartment house is in shade most of the day, which is good, because the afternoons have been unseasonably hot. Also, none of these windows or terraces are mine, room is in the back.

I woke up feeling especially good today, for no real reason. This happens to me a lot, actually. If you're the first friend I see, my being chipper and happy are probably annoying to you, but I have no alternative attitude to express.

Sorry. Not sorry.

I have gotten to the point where my life in Chiang Mai is just like my life at home. Eat, sleep, play. My bringing a bass with me this trip is paying off - just like at home, I pretty much get to play as much as I want.

My friends here are taking good care of me, providing me lots of opportunities for socializing and playing. The result is I'm spending more time involved with my friends than Chiang Mai's myriad attractions.

Not that it is possible to ignore where I am. It is not. This is an amazing place, and everything, walking around, eating, playing, even showering or going to the bathroom has a unique - if only slightly - Chiang Mai way about it.

But this trip will largely be remembered for the music. 

Thursday night, I had a 'gig' with my friends, 'The Dudes'. A note about the name: Guitarist-singer Oliver Benjamin is the founder of 'Dudeism' (google it). Also, it's appropriate.

Gig? Just sit around the table in the corner of the restaurant and have fun. We're paid in beer (technically, you can't work on the typical residence visa and definitely not on a tourist visa (my hand's raised).

Weird and wonderful gig. The whole time we're sitting around a table. The whole night happens from a corner table in the tiny CU Corner Bar.

The gig is fine. Fun. And not just for the players. We have a spill-into-the-streets crowd enjoying the whole thing.

We all love playing together. That's what it's about, right?.

Friday morning brings the Chiang Mai Expats Club breakfast. This is an every-other-week event that takes place at one of Chiang Mai's nicest restaurants. It is also the best breakfast buffet, bar none, that I've ever been to, and I go to every one that occurs whenever I'm here for it. I've never missed one since I've been coming to Chiang Mai. This is my fifth, and this trip's only opportunity.

The restaurant is right on the Ping River, just outside the walls of the old city. The first time I went, I sat at the newcomers table, and got great information that helped me solve a phone problem, but also and more importantly, gave me the information that there was an open jam at Boy Blues Bar at the Kalare Night Market not too far away. Every Monday night. I've never missed one of those, either.

That intro to Boy's, in turn, was how I first connected with the music scene in Chiang Mai.

This is my third plate at the Chiang Mai Expats Club bi-weekly Breakfast Buffet at the River Market. This is not just the best breakfast buffet I've ever known, it is a beautiful restaurant in a beautiful location. That's the Ping River in front of the food. It is a beautiful, placid spot.

And this is what is behind me at the River Market. It's all just beautiful.

That night, at Hopf's Café/Café de Buddha's open mic, I had one of my best nights of jamming - just an extraordinary opportunity to play and share good times with good musicians.

I had an opportunity to do an acoustic set on my own, and then the jamming started. And I played most of the next two-and-a-half hours. So many songs, so many musicians. Some jams were quite extraordinary.

Back to the wall, head down, crankin' out the groove. I was in fine form, taking on all jammers' calls. And the Steinberger is singin'.

I came away from that night exhilarated.

Saturday I get to see an amazing performance by Willie and Dave, this time with a really good drummer. I've played with Oo on every trip I've had here. After playing Johnny B. Good with him the first time we met, he came up to me after, and showed me the bass line he'd actually wanted me to play by tapping one finger on my forearm in eighth-notes. We laugh about that. But he was serious.

About the name, Oo: Thai men I've met seem to all have one-syllable nicknames, and multi-syllable real names. Oo is actually Chatmatee Ketsuvan. Why is he not, 'Chat'? I don't think that's any of my business.

Willie (l) and Dave (r) with Oo hidden behind at the kit. The Cha Cha Bar is a great place to play (I've played there a few times in the past) because it has a stage, a real PA and even a good sound man. 

Here are a couple of vids from the night:

When I post these videos up, several people think I am playing in it. I wish. This was a memorable night of music. Well-played, well-organized (even the unrehearsed impromptu parts) bit of ensemble playing. Willie is worth hearing on his own, but the support of a pro rhythm section was a wonderful add.

On my way home, I pass a wot that is all lit up (unusual for after midnight), and curious, I investigated/trespassed just a bit.

It turns out there was a midnight worship(?) ceremony going on. Or maybe a class.

From the outside...

Sunday night there's another date with 'The Dudes'. But first, I spend some time with the gang at a small celebration for Oo's birthday. It takes place at a restaurant in the same wide alley as Zoe in Yellow, Chiang Mai's most famous party/singles bar, which is surrounded by other bars, kind of an alcoholic mall for getting down in Chiang Mai.

Some good food is served, and there's liquor available, but it's too early for drinking, and later, I'll be drinking at Freedom Bar (that's my pay), but aside from a glass of wine to toast Oo, I refrain. We walk to the parking lot and smoke a joint instead of the available Thai liquor.

The cab driver gets lost a few times on the way to Freedom Bar, and when I get there, Yves, the drummer, tells me there's a problem with the gig: Apparently, the owner's not there, and nobody told the manager there was going to be a band. He has to leave, and he's closing the bar. Meanwhile, there are already people gathering for the show. Harry shows up, then Oliver. There are negotiations. There are phone calls. I sit apart and catch up with email on my phone.

Finally, my friend Took, guitarist extraordinaire, comes in the bar, assesses the situation, and makes a call to the owner, who, it seems, is his friend and also his landlord. Upon realization that there are going to be people coming, thirsty people coming to his bar for the show he forgot he booked, the owner, Freedom, agrees to come to the bar and keep it open.

We set up quickly, and the evening starts. Lots o' fun. Lots of friends. A really good night.

The Dudes (Harry, me, Ollie, Yves and Phil) in action at Freedom Bar.

After-show jam, with my favorite Thai guitarist, Took. It was really hot, and I do mean the music.

That's the last few days of music. It's been an entirely great time.

I have only five more full days in Chiang Mai. I will play four nights, but Wednesday night I have a special dinner planned. 

Then it's back to LA to complete my seventieth swing around the sun, and head off to Cuenca, Ecuador.

But I'll write one last post before I leave Chiang Mai to tell you about all the new stuff I have to be grateful for.

Food Comment

Reform Kafe's wonderful coconut and mushroom soup is spectacularly complex and flavorful. 

Goodsouls Kitchen's healing breakfast of Golden milk (turmeric and ginger tea) and mushrooms and rice.

Coffee and banana protein shake, which should not have been as delicious as it was, and a falafel salad at Goodsouls Kitchen.

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#2413: Pics from Chiang Mai

Post 2413

- 9 years and 14 days since I started this blog -

  

Journal
(written Jan 8-10, 2020)

Read this once (it won't change for the rest of the trip(s): I'll be linking this post to Facebook. If that's how you got here, here's some background: About 9 years ago I started this blog as a food journal. I had a medical situation and needed to lose weight. Initially, that's all I did here: Journal my food intake and my weight. It contributed to helping me lose 20+% of my body weight in 6 months, and continuing has kept me on track since then. I started adding commentary after a while, but lately it has become infrequent. 

While I'm traveling, I let go of the weight-tracking and food journaling, except for the occasional food shot when I've eaten something interesting. And that's where we find ourselves now.

I'm a little sick. I have a cough, my throat's a little sore, maybe a low fever.

Coincidentally, David and Harry are sick, too. And Ollie says he's been sick twice recently. Apparently, it's something going around, being spread by farang musicians. I don't know any Thai musicians that are sick, but then, everybody seems to be carrying on like normal, sick or not, so how would I know?

Anyway, it isn't stopping me or even slowing me down.

Today's post is going to be devoted to photos I've taken over the last few days.

I went and visited two new wats that are very close to where I'm staying. Here are pics:

I also went to the Sunday Night Walking Market, always a blast. This time, I was primarily there for dinner. I just wanted to buy lots of little things to eat. Mission accomplished.

There were a few new things at the market for me: A couple of pageants with children performing traditional Thai dances. There were also some older kids and young adults doing more modern karaoke singing. I'm guessing these may also have been some updated traditional songs, but for me it was like having ice water thrown on me after the warmth I felt as I was thrilled with the beauty of these children's performance.

 

This tiny, very young Thai performer was so graceful and serious. Completely captivating. I wish I'd gotten a picture of her big smile after she left the stage.

The Sunday Night Walking Market is huge. And popular and crowded. And colorful. Here are some random pics as I walked through:

This was interesting. These sculptures are made with sawdust and paste. I was amazed by the detail and lack of grain in the (painted) result.

The area of the Market, about a half-mile of street and along the side streets,  encompasses some very beautiful wats. They are beautifully decorated. Once you get past the stalls in front, they provide a moment of peace and refuge. 

Even though I've been playing a lot (almost every night), I haven't been able to get any pictures or videos of a performance. Monday night I finally got a chance to sing a couple of songs at Boy Blues Bar, and it went over so well, Boy kept asking for another song - I ended up with the longest set of the night.

It is gratifying to me to get a chance to sing. For more than five decades, I have been a bass player, and for most of that time, never got a chance to sing (or lead a set). My singing has always been relegated to open mics, which is fine, I don't write and I don't have enough songs I can sing and play bass or guitar to do more than that.

View of a small part of the Kalare Night Market from behind the stage at Boy Blues Bar. There are a number of permanent buildings within, Boy Blues Bar is on the roof of one near the center. The Kalare Night Market is a huge covered market that operates every day, opening in the late afternoon.

This trip, I am more focused on the friends I've developed here than the sights. Because as you move around in this town, the exotic sights, sounds, smells are everywhere, are in the background of everything you do, everywhere you go. For the people in Chiang Mai, they are not exotic. They are the way things are here.

I try to be aware of everything, not take anything for granted. Being aware of everything is, of course, not possible. Taking anything for granted is foolish.

I am living here much the same way I live at home. I am, for the most part, doing the same things. Believe it or not, it makes me appreciate home more.

It is important to me to express my gratitude for all that I am able to do, without forgetting that it is all based on luck, not virtue.

Food Comment

From Baan Buri Café: Massuman seafood curry, spring rolls, brown rice and salad.

An interesting and delicious take on bacon and eggs: omelet-style scrambled eggs draped over a mound of brown rice and topped with bacon. From the Cat House Restaurant.

Khao soi, Chaing Mai's official dish. It's a curry noodle soup. This one has pork added. It cost 40 baht ($1.32). From Khao Soi Khun Ya. When your restaurant is named for a dish, it had better be good. It certainly was. 

When I wasn't feeling so well, I went to my go-to, Goodsouls Kitchen, and got their wonderful turmeric tea preparation, Golden Milk. Mushrooms and brown rice was my choice for a main dish.

Lemon, lime, mint, ginger smoothy. I remember it was good, I don't remember where I had it.

From Reform Kafé, an absolutely incredible coconut-mushroom soup. There was so much flavor. A new favorite there.

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Thank you!