Our last evening in Chiang Mai- Massage first, dinner next

The previous post in this series is here..

It took us a good two hours to come from the National park back to Chiang Mai city center.

San wanted to get a facial done and Goy was on the phone for us talking in Thai to get an appointment. There was a place near the night market called Peak Spa which was high end but strongly recommended by the couple. So we booked the earliest appointment possible at 7. They also called and confirmed that our laundry was delivered to our hotel. So we breathed a sigh of relief. We were dropped off at the Spa after Joy showed us exactly how to go from the center to the spa and back.

We had 40 minutes to spend before the facial and massage. Given San was going to be busy for an hour, what was I to do? Booked another massage.. this time it was the same one hour at double the price. Truth be told when you lie face down on a neck pillow and your eyes are closed and you are half meditative, the ambiance of the room doesn’t matter. Still booked it and it was a good decision.

We walked to the food court and San ate some Mango sticky rice. She had decided the previous day that she had to have it. After that I was sent to search for an earring she had lost post massage the previous day.. sadly could not find it.

We walked to Peak spa and came across this market that had a zillion elephants and other trinkets. They were also announcing a kick boxing match on the speakers.. it was interesting but our time was up. We showed up at the massage place, had the facial and massage in the same room and after an hour, started walking back to the center to find dinner. We checked out a few placed and decided Curry Express was the best bet. Had a fantastic dinner and decided go head back to the hotel.

We found another Tuk Tuk and were ready to crash in the hotel. Our legs were tired.

A very short video of the night market.

The next morning we were to start late and head to the airport starting at 10:30 AM

Dinner, massage and a tuk tuk ride

The previous post in this series is here..

After the Wat Phra Singh temple, Joy told us that he would drop us off at Raj Darbar, the most popular Indian restaurant in the area among his clients. After dinner it was a 5 minute walk to the night market. We could hang out there and get a Tuk Tuk to go to our hotel. Our hotel was a good 30+ minute walk at least from this area but a 4 minute Tuk Tuk ride along the same road.

We had a really nice dinner at the restaurant. The waiter was too nice and courteous. Came and checked on us every 10 minutes.

Walked around the night market and after 30 minutes decided to go for a massage at Cloud Massage. It was a full body Thai massage for 10 USD. The place was small but nice and the people were super nice. San and me both enjoyed the massage.. Was worried at one point that the full dinner was a bad idea before the massage.. but nothing bad happened. Would definitely recommend this place if you have an hour plus for a massage. Will also recommend you go before dinner..

We walked some more and San made a mental note of things she has to eat before leaving this place. There was no more room in the tummy for that evening. Got a tuk tuk and went back to our hotel. Given how we had started the day in a pharmacy, we were both feeling great. The herbal lozenges did wonders!

Here is a short video highlights reel..

The next morning we told him to just get me enough miini croissants and orange juice boxes and we are happy. We were to leave at 6:45 to a place that was 2 hour drive.

Siem Reap river park, dinner and a tuk-tuk ride

The previous post in this series is here..

Believe it or not, this is the 10th stop for day 3 of our trip. Our first day of sightseeing in Cambodia that started before 7AM and ended at 6:30 PM.

Our driver stopped near the river park that was just beautiful. Given the traffic we ran across to catch the view and came back to the car. We found that we could actually walk to this place from our hotel. Made a mental note to do that the following day. After this our driver showed us around the night market area and the central square with all the restaurants. He told us it would be a 15 minute walk to our hotel after our dinner or we could take a tuk tuk back for 1 to 1.5$.

It was a choice between Modiji’s Indian restaurant or Lotus Indian restaurant. We picked Lotus. The food and service was awesome. We did feel that the yogurt was interesting. Later we learned that yoghurt in Cambodia was made from milk powder. Dairy is not a concept there and cows are only eaten. Was thinking “little wonder then that all the temples are in ruins”.

Here is a video highlights reel..

After dinner we decided to take the tuk tuk to the hotel. We were going to be picked up by our driver at 4:30 AM the next morning to see the sunrise..

It was an exhausting day with 10 stops and non stop sightseeing, a fall that ended in a bruised leg that still had not been attended to.. just went back to the hotel, took two tylenol and crashed. The next day was going to be busy as well!