Tag-Archive for » chiang mai «

Busy in Every Department!

The girl walking on star

We are cutting back on travel trips for this year. We usually travel in the early part of the year – coincide with Lunar New Year, mid-year in May – avoiding crazy crowds in June school holidays, and year-end in October – coincide with my birthday.

We have a lot to do this year, not that we had lesser to do the years before, but this year is just overwhelmingly MORE.

The better time to travel this year after the Chiang Mai trip would be May, but we have so much on our plates now, we might not make any travel plan for the rest of the year.

What’s been keeping me busy? I say, every department!

On the health department, I have this crazy chronic eczema condition, which first occurred several days into the Chiang Mai trip. It’s been months now, but I eczema rash is visiting me religiously every night.

It prompted me to take stock in my health status.

Master Cleanse

My sister introduced me to ‘Master Cleanse’ program, and I had hoped it may help with the nagging eczema problem. I went through the Master Cleanse 10-days program, although it didn’t help with the eczema condition, it surprises me with other health improvements! I never imagined that eye-sight, complexion and joints pain could be improved! I wrongly thought that it’s natural to lose vitality as we age, and all the ailments are byproducts of aging. I cannot be more wrong.

This program opens a wide window of possibilities to improving health and quality of life.

The Vegetable Soup

The 1st day after the 10-day program ended, we were to make ourselves vegetables soup, so I searched for recipe online and found one. I didn’t know we could cook soup like that, of course you would know by now that I don’t exactly cook.

The soup is super tasty, and now I cook a big pot of soup once or twice weekly. Mike and mum love the soup I cook. On weekend, Mike and I would have the soup as meals for the day. The soup is not only nutritious but also filling since I use many potatoes.

Supplements for Health

Right, I become a tad more health-conscious than usual. I ordered some supplements online and they arrived yesterday. Many Singaporeans order through iHerb. Not only that they are a lot more affordable, they offer a huge range of organic products too. (Details of the products with prices are blogged on my other blog)

I have heard so much good things about Liver Detox, and so I am putting Mike on this supplement too. I have quit the regular coffee since the Master Cleanse, I have decaf coffee in place of that.

I have tried the Pero coffee today. I have to say that it doesn’t really taste like coffee, but more of a chocolaty flavored coffee. If you love regular coffee, this is not for you. I never really liked coffee, I like coffee with plenty of creamers or milk, therefore, I love flat white, or latte. I hate the acidic and sour aftertaste. Pero might just be the right beverage for me. more »

A Restful and Interesting Vacation to Kick-Start the Year of Dragon

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We started a restful and unexpectedly interesting vacation before kick-starting the year of Dragon.

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When we booked the room, we knew what we were getting ourselves into, we just didn’t expect a series of pleasant encounters and experiences while staying in a small and somewhat private compound of 4 independent traditional Thai houses.

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We’ve been needing a well rested vacation, to catch up with reading, and just physical and mental rest. Apart from achieving that objective during this vacation, we have enjoyed great company during our stay – from the exceptional hosts (young Chinese couple who speaks considerably good English and fluent Mandarin), and the 3 house-kittens and occasional visits of other cats from the neighbors.

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Bonus and lessons:
1. Our Mandarin ought to be improved; half the time, we paused in between sentences and tried to figure out the appropriate Chinese words to express our thoughts, while communicating with the hosts.
2. We have traveled to Thailand countless of times now, it’s a shame that we hardly knew the history, or culture of the Thai. From this couple, we learnt a tad more about Thai living, and also took an inside perspective into the Chinese culture.

By learning, we may then hope to understand the behaviors and attitudes of people from all over the world, and all walks of life.

more »

Chiang Mai, Thailand | 23 Jan, Day 5

We were up only at around 9am. Mike had the left over donut, I had toast with butter.

We walked over to the reception area to check out some day tours, and were quite interested in exploring Chiang Rai 1 day tour.

Mangoesteen

Mike decided to explore the city in the afternoon. I stayed in to read up the eBook on Fengshui tha I had purchased a few years ago, and never had time to read up since.

It was a while later that he came back, panting with sweat! It appeared that he got lost when coming back from Chinatown – I was relieved that he went alone, I wouldn’t like getting lost in such weather! – but he managed to find his way back. He came back with a pack of roasted chestnuts and mangoesteens.

Perfect afternoon

Mike continued reading Steve Job’s bio on his iPad; I stayed upstairs to read and nap.

The quietness that is a rare thing in Singapore

Generally, I don’t do small talks well. Although the owners of this resort had been very friendly and easy-going, they were not intrusive. Apart from the fact that they were busy with the work, they tried to leave us alone to enjoy this old city.

Kitchenette

The cat with a keen interest to read about Jobs

The cats in the compound were extremely friendly. One of the cats hopped up on Mike’s lap while he read. So, the cat was curious about Jobs too!

Sleeping after reading a few lines

Or not… He fell asleep in the cozy cuddle.

Don't mess with me!

Narrow lane

We headed out to have dinner when the sun began to set, and the temperature lowered.

Dinner

We had dinner at Cafe de Thaan Aoan, situated near our hotel.

Clear soup tom yum

The clear soup tom yum.

Clear as water, tastes like it too

A little bland for my taste.

Chicken with basil leaves

Chicken with basil.

Chicken with cashew nuts

Chicken with cashew nut.

After dinner, we walked to the minimart to top up the beers and snacks.

Mike mentioned that he would go for the tour on his own. I was resistant to the idea of day tour because they happened in the day when the sun was at the hottest.

This was the typical relaxed pace. Say, returned to basics?

The man was out to hunt for food – well, not exactly the hunting-hunt, it’s more of the urban hunt, you know what I mean?

The woman stayed home to work on the domestic stuffs – of course, that was limited to washing dishes and laundry, we were on vacation, what were you thinking??

We eat, sleep, played with cats, talked nothing too constructive or productive. Ah… Life is good!

 

Chiang Mai, Thailand | 22 Jan, Day 4

Lil flower...

We got up at 8:30am to a very cold temperature, and had breakfast. I decided to do laundry using the self-service washer in the compound.

The hosts and their cats

Chiang Mai Summer Resort is operated by the lovely couple, Ju Wei, and Junlan, and it is safe to say that the little 3 kittens co-own the resort too!

A small notebook – handmade notebooks sold in various places including the night market – is left in every villa for the guest to leave some thoughts, feedbacks, and for me to doodle on!

Swing

Mike’s blackberry ‘died’ on him completely. While he went out to the IT Mall to see if repair service was available; I stayed in to read up some materials on the iPad.

I love the unique furniture and decorations that the owners picked out for the resort. The swing that is made from a tree is one of my favorites.

Room

Interestingness

Lana-style lodgings are not uncommon, however, it is the attention to details that sets a world apart from the rest. more »

Chiang Mai, Thailand | 21 Jan, Day 3

Come and play with me..

Had a very good sleep, and only woke at 8am. We had breakfast downstairs. Even though we were provided with coffee maker, we preferred instant coffee since we are not familiar with coffee maker that uses filter. The owners gave us bamboo sticks of steamed glutinous rice, it is probably a common Asian food, but it was new to me.

My solo keyboard was behaving quite erratically since the ‘spill’ accident. We borrowed the screwdriver tool set from Ju Wei and opened up the keyboard. I took the drastic measure to rinse the keyboard – but avoiding the microchips  and battery – thoroughly under running water, and dried with hairdryer.

While Mike used his notebook downstairs, I stayed upstairs at the reading corner to write the travel journal.

Meow meow, always pondering

The weather condition in Chiang Mai is quite drastic from day to night. I decided to stay indoor till the sun was setting, I figured that it was the only way I could truly enjoy a vacation. Hot sun doesn’t only fry my skin and hair, it has the horrifying power to fry my patience and mood dry too.

My plush meow was much neglected since I had real cats to play with.

Read a book

It was so comfortable to have some personal time alone. I spent the afternoon trying to repair the keyboard and watched television programs.

Besides the sound of nature, the environment presented a very peaceful sensation. It was perfect for us. The common problem with busy city people is that we are so used to packing our time so tightly, often, we sabotage our vacation which is supposed to help us take a real break from the hectic schedule.

I planned to catch up with my reading; I ended up with catching up with the much-needed sleep and rest – exactly what I needed most.

Lunch

Mike went out to Cafe de Thann Aoan for lunch; I had fruits instead.

Sleep well, I will stand guard

By rushing, we miss the small things that make this world beautiful. By pacing down, we see the beauty of nothingness, and the chance to capture the trivial moment that makes a difference in our lives. more »