Saturday, February 6
Today was our last day in Chiang Mai, and although we wanted to relax a bit after our amazing elephant adventures, I also wanted to see as much of this amazing town that I possibly could! Tina decided she needed a day to sleep in, but the Energizer Bunny inside me wanted to go, go go! So, I was up early and out the door by 8:30 in the morning in hopes of finding the perfect seat for the annual Chiang Mai flower festival parade (I figured I might as well watch it, we were staying so close you could hear EVERYTHING going on anyways haha). Lucky for me, walking a little funky and with a nasty gash on my leg from my fall, people eagerly let me sit on the curb in front of them...prime seats! We waited much longer for the parade to start than I think many of us had anticipated, but it surly didn't disappoint once it did!
Floats COVERED with flowers, traditional Thai dancing, local musicians, beauty contest contestants, and floral dragons lined the streets as we hung our mouths open with awe and what all they had created. The parade was not quite finished when I snuck away shortly after noon, 2 hours worth of parade and a grumbly tummy was enough to put me in search for food!
Afterwards I went back to hotel quick to grab Tina, and we were headed (gimpy and all) towards a market that my dear friend "Lonely Planet" had recommended for food and sightseeing alike! Lucky for us not only was Warorot Market massive, but it also connected to the smaller more local market Ton Lam Yai .... 2 markets for the price of one...yes please! Within the market someplace I grabbed a bite to eat and having no idea what I was eating {story of my life in Asia!} it was rather good; some type of broth with noodles & pork! {I'm not sure if I've shared my market wisdom with you yet! When I enter a market, I instantly look for the longest lines of local looking people, do a quick check to the stall (to be sure they are selling cat burritos or snake eyes lol) and then hope in line as well. When I get to the front I smile and hold up 1 finger, and low and behold my friends, that is how you order 1 of whatever their best selling item is!}
Around the outskirts of this market were dozens of people selling items made from handwoven fabrics, oh my word, if my growling stomach hadn't been so disrupted I could have stayed there drooling over their handmade goods all day!
After sufficiently filling our bellies and stocking up on market souvenirs we hit up a couple local temples including Wat Buppharam before heading to the Saturday Walking street (Wualai Walking Street Market) south of the city. Holy moley, I don't know if I've ever been to a market this before, this baby was huge! Food and hand made crafts lined both sides of the streets, and every couple of minutes there would be roads jutting off to the left or right with more goodies for you to check out. After more than 2 hours of perusing we decided that we couldn't possibly eat anymore, we didn't have a need for anymore hand carved elephant items, and we had more than covered gifts for everyone that we knew (plus some!) and that we had better leave while we still had a couple bucks to our name. We grabbed our bags, hailed a cab, and headed back to the airport (crash free this time!)....until next time Chiang Mai; until next time!
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