Ahhhhh..... Ice Coffee

Ice Coffee, along with Ice Tea is very popular in Thailand.
The best, if you can find it, is still made the old fashioned way, filtered through a "sock".
Here in Hang Dong, just on the outskirts of Chiang Mai is "The Coffee Lady" who makes the best Iced Coffee around.
She'll customized it any way you wish (less sugar, more condensed milk, or whichever way you take your coffee) and always with a huge smile.
Her sidekick is always around helping, but rarely smiling.

Cooking while Traveling

I rarely try to cook while traveling, especially for a group.
It always smacks of "Two Fat Ladies" trying to trap rabbits in the field and cooking around tents and campfires for a bunch of boy scouts.

Although I have done it in the past, here in Thailand it always seem so easy just to grab something delicious on the street.

We're staying with our friends Malcolm and Pic at their lovely home in Hang Dong, just outside Chiang Mai. Our friend Ben, who is an excellent cook, has no problem cooking anywhere so on this occasion he chose to whip up some paella for our group of seven.

It of course involves shopping for a variety of ingredients, many of which are readily available, in fresh supply, here in Thailand. Then there are those few choice items needed for the success of paella which are a little more difficult to find.

The luxury of a fully stocked kitchen to work in always helps when cooking anywhere.

The finished product was delicious, served with fresh button mushrooms and green beans.
Well done Ben. I can say I helped, even if it was only a little chopping and cleaning up.

M&P's home, which was completed last year, is what could be called modern northern Thai.
Beautiful simple lines with Lanna flair.

Malcolm's orchids are scattered throughout the garden.

It's always fun to run into friends while traveling. This of course was a planned stop for us and we're enjoying every minute of it.

A day with the Elephants

A popular outing in Thailand, and especially in the north, is visiting an elephant camp.
Even if you're not into mahout training or riding you can usually go out to see elephants at one of the many elephant camps located on the outskirts of Chiang Mai.

Having ridden elephants in the past, we had no desire to do it again on this trip.
So we set out, with bunches of bananas in hand, to one of the local camps.
This particular camp was set up for mahout training. You can take a one day to week-long course for mahout training where you'll learn all about the elephants, clean and feed them, and eventually bond and ride them.

This particular camp had several mothers who had young with them. They stay very close to their mothers and will come running when the mother calls.

Bananas are a great treat for the elephants, swallowing them peel and all.

There are no working (logging) elephants left in Thailand today. There are still pockets living in the wild but the easiest way to see them is at the camps set up to train them for the tourist trade. It may seem cruel for some but for the most part, the camp elephants are healthier and safer than the few remaining in the wild.
As the voices for protection of these magnificent creatures grows, the more humanely they are treated in captivity. No riding platforms are erected on the elephants at this particular camp and the elephants here have plenty of free roaming ground.

Chiang Mai and a little business to take care of

Chiang Mai

For a variety of reasons, Chiang Mai is probably one of our favorite destinations in Thailand.
Thailand's second largest city is still dwarfed by the massive size of Bangkok but still offers a lot of charm and Thai culture for visitors.
One of our favorite things to do here is shopping for antiques. Lanna Antiques (shown above) is one of our "must" stops when in Chiang Mai. Although we're not currently in the market for more buddhas, you never know when something may catch your eye.

 The "Silver Temple" has been going through years of construction and there doesn't seem to be a defined end at the moment.

A break for afternoon coffee and evening mango with sticky rice.

Catching up with old friends from Sweden who coincidently visit Chiang Mai just about every year.
We first met about 10 years ago in the ancient capital of Sukhothai in central Thailand.

Then there's the more serious business of some minor dental work for Alan.

More CM Flower Fest and Parade

The second of three days of celebration of the Chiang Mai Flower Festival included a parade snaking its way through town, and yes, creating a massive traffic jam in its wake.

Prizes were awarded and presented to the winners the day before and everything was displayed beautifully for all to see.

Here we are with some of the very elaborate, flower decorated floats used in the parade.

It's the Annual Chiang Mai Flower Festival taking place this weekend (1-3 Feb 2013).
May be one of several happening during the year but we're glad this festival is going on now.

The Orchids are incredible and so many varieties we haven't ever seen before.

Hard to judge but there seems to be plenty of ribbons awarded.