#2411: Wednesday, January 8:Chiang Mai without too many photos

Post 2411

- 9 years and 8 days since I started this blog -

  

Journal
(written Jan 5-8, 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 warn you now: This post will have few photos. Here's why: As this is my third time in Thailand, I'm doing a lot of stuff I wrote about the last two times. I have favorites now. I am still interested in expanding my experience, but I've also grown fond of a few places, particularly restaurants and clubs. I've also tapped into a scene mainly, but not entirely, populated by expats, so there's going where they are.

Instead, if you'll indulge me, I'll just write about a few things that are current.

I arrived on Saturday morning. The first time I got to play was Sunday night. This trip I've brought a bass with me, due to problems with the basses available to me on previous trips (they tend to be heavy and cheap, and occasionally missing strings). The Steinberger XL2 TT made its Thai debut at the Pub CNX, which is ironic, because the house bass there is a MusicMan Stingray, and is the best bass I've ever played in my foreign travels.

A few of my old friends come out. I know the Thai musicians in the house band, and my bass-playing best friend David got the call just that afternoon to fill in as house bass.

After the first song, he asked if he could play the Steinberger. Of course I let him - I had already encouraged him - and I have to say, I've never seen him look so happy playing.

I got my chance and backed up some guys, got to play with Thai guitarist, Chart, perhaps my closest Thai friend, and got to lead a few tunes. It's open air, on a clear, room-temperature night. It's perfectly pleasing.

Next night, I make this trip's debut performance at Boy Blues Club. This is where my musical experience in Chiang Mai started, two years ago. 'Boy' is a common Thai nickname, and doesn't mean what you think it does, by the way.

Boy gives me a big greeting and gets me on stage right away. Playing with the house band (led by Boy) usually means playing with the best musicians of the evening, so that was great for me.

But, let's rewind a second, to my cab trip to the club: It was uneventful and not memorable until I realized, after walking from the drop-off point, that somehow my phone was still in the cab.

That was exciting. I wasn't particularly worried about using the phone, because I had used an app to call the cab, I knew where it was, and who had it. I decided not to contemplate the odious complications of not having the phone for a day or two until I could recover it. I had created this particular adventure all by myself.

I'm at Boy Blues Club on a Monday. I'm going to play some bass. I'm going to see old friends I haven't seen since last winter. 

And that is exactly what ensues. I'm happily playing with old friends, making some good blues behind Boy.

In the middle of the second song, the cab driver who took me to Boy's walks up to the stage holding my phone (and his) over his head, big smile on his face. Possibly not as big as mine when I see him.

I remain the luckiest person I've ever known.

As the evening goes on, winds down, and the regulars are replaced by tourists, the music is less interesting. When a particularly soul-less version of Dock of the Bay starts up, I flee.

At lunch the next day, David suggests we can have a private jam that night. He has his guitar and bass amps at a coffee shop where he hosts an open mic, and there's nothing going on there. He and Harry (who we're also at lunch with) can play guitars, he can call a vocalist and a good drummer. To me, it's an irresistible opportunity to get a lot of playing time in with really good musicians.

It doesn't disappoint.

ME, Phil (vocals), David (guitar) and Harry (guitar). Not in the pic is Yves, the only member of the party I didn't know beforehand. Turns out, he's a really solid, good drummer, and that makes for an easy night for everybody.

I get to play one while the main vocalist, Phil, has a last cigarette. But when he takes his place at the mic, it really starts. We're at the back of the Hopf Café, a small, narrow place. Small, but they have Jameson's at the bar (I'm the luckiest guy I know), We're set up, in tune. Phil calls for 'Georgia On My Mind'. The intro is a little sloppy, but comes together behind the vocals, and just like that, I have goosebumps. It sounds really, really good. Phil is killing the vocal, and everybody is locked behind him. 

And then, on a nothing-doing Tuesday night, people start filtering in, and heading towards the back, where we're playing.

After a few more songs, I look out, and there are people three-deep outside the café.

Gotta love Chiang Mai.

Next morning, I take a walk over to the Tikky Café, one of my favorite places in Chiang Mai. I didn't get to eat there as much as I wanted to last time, because it had gotten so popular that there was always a long wait. This year, I'd decided to go early and more often.

I'm not as close as I was last time - the walk is about twelve minutes instead of five, but it's the first time I've been back to that neighborhood and it's fun. Only...

Tikky Café is gone. My happy mood dissipates for a moment, and then it occurs to me to look on Google Maps. Sure enough, the café has relocated. I call a cab.

The new location is in a neighborhood out of the old city, where I haven't been. It is a pretty long ride, about fifteen minutes, although slow-moving Thai drivers make it difficult for me to judge the distance.

But once there, I see that, for the most part, they've managed to keep most of the ambiance of the old place, and have about 50% more room.

Various members of the staff greet me with smiles. We're old friends, after all. The owner comes up and takes my hands in hers, smiling. I'm shown a table near the koi pond with no wait. 

Pretty as a picture. No, I'm talking about the mixed-fruit smoothie here at Tikky Café.

The great food, service and presentation (here, I have had the most beautiful salad I've ever eaten) are the same.

It feels like home. Again. My gratitude is limitless.

Food Comment

At the Fern Forest Café (where the selfie at the top was taken) for the first time after dark, and the setting is still lovely, and the food is very good. This is curried vegetables with pork and a fried egg. It was delicious.

The new Tikky Café still serves food that not only tastes good, but is gorgeous. This is the house special vegetables Penang (curried) with pork. Also pictured is the mixed fruit smoothie in the pic above. Not shown are a couple of americanos and a plain omelet with steamed brown rice. One of the reasons I love Tikky Café is that we both 'agree' on the definition of heat. The heat content of food is on a 4-point scale, with 4 being Thai hot and 1 being mild. Both Tikky and I agree on the definition of 2 and 3, and that is a wonderful thing. 

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