We started off our day heading out for breakfast for the first time since we arrived. We were low on milk and had not yet gone to the store so instead we headed to Choei Cafe and Bistro less than 5 minutes away. It had been on my list of previously vetted restaurants. The food and service had been rated to be superior and on our first night when we did nothing but go to dinner and get groceries, we had passed by it and noticed that nobody was dining there for dinner. Still, we weren’t dissuaded from trying it for breakfast.

We arrived a few minutes before opening time but the Open sign was already displayed. We took a few minutes to look at the menu as the breakfast options had both Western and Asian options but ultimately we decided to get a bit off of each menu.

The first to arrive was the chicken and rice porridge which was very similar to something I used to eat in the Philippines as a child. It had the look of oatmeal or grits as it had soft rice in it but had a savoriness that is common in soup and enhanced by the chunks of chicken. My husband was impressed with the flavor and ate it effusively.

He also ordered a veggie, chicken ham and cheese omelette as well as an Asian fusion pancake dish. The omelette tasted no different than one from home but the syrup for the pancake was not as dark as maple syrup. It tasted like a sugary corn syrup.

I ordered scrambled eggs which came with both thin slices of chicken ham and chicken sausage, three crispy hash brown triangles and a side of baked beans.

We also ordered citrus juice which tasted freshly squeezed and chilled. Choei Cafe is definitely more expensive than the standard street stall vendor but less expensive than American standards. For all of that delicious and filling food as well as a minute macchiato, it cost $25 for the two of us. 

After breakfast, we were picked up by the Mae Ping River Cruise. I had shared with friends that my husband was “watted” out from Friday’s outing. Lo and behold, the river cruise parking lot was behind a massive wat. We didn’t opt to explore but I took a few photos while waiting for the boat to depart.

We joined a small group of Asian tourists and a German couple on the boat.

We stopped off at an organic farm were allowed to wander around. We saw two women preparing their entrees for the cooking school on-site. To the left was the open-aired restaurant engulfed in the trees, rice paddy and gardens. There were signs and explanations in front of certain plants providing Information on their healing and medicinal uses. We were escorted to tables overlooking the river. A large Australian group of mostly teenagers and a few adult escorts arrived and they all had a very early lunch of traditional Thai cuisine.

We were served with sliced pineapple and watermelon and glasses of tamarind, ginger, lemongrass and lychee flavored juice before heading back.

Shockingly and sadly, we came across a dead floating body in the river. It gave the rest of the trip back a more somber feel. He looked to be in between his 50’s and 60’s and had a white plastic back floating above his chest with some items in it. It was a reminder that we weren’t living in a bubble despite being on vacation. People lived and died in Chiang Mai every day. We needed to be mindful, respectful and grateful not to be in his shoes. 

After the cruise, we headed to Vieng Joom On Teahouse. I had read on other blogs and city guides how beautiful and quaint it was inside. On the outside, it stood out with its Pepto Bismol paint but on the inside, it had a very different feel. There was still a great deal of pink accents interspersed throughout but it had a more exotic feeling with all the teas and accessories. On entering, you walked into the tea shop with bags of different types of tea, teapots and cups available for purchase and desserts in display cases beckoning you to sample them. The dining room opened up to the light as it was also riverside. The decor had a bit of an opulent Moorish vibe, with arched nooks carved into the walls and Moroccan inspired upholstery on the chairs and pillows 

I had previously purchased the tea and dessert portion of the meal on Klook but we needed a more substantial lunch so we ordered a few other items off of the vegetarian menu. We started off with pot of a combination of black and green tea accented with Jasmine. It was quite smooth and fragrant.

Then our main dishes arrived. The pesto sauce on the pasta was very rich and dense in flavor. It was definitely not doused in olive oil like in Italian restaurants. The mushroom roti, which was basically a quesadilla, was quite tangy and gooey and had a thousand island inspired sauce to dip it in or to top it off. Lastly the fresh crispy veggie spring rolls had a thin layer of scrambled egg as its outer shell giving it a unique spin making it more like a sushi roll rather than a tradition egg roll. Everything was quite delicious and though it had a similar and familiar foundation, the tea house built and enhanced the look and quality adding a different layer of taste and flavor to each dish.

We finished off our experience with the three tiers of sweets.

On the top tier was a tradition buttermilk scone and a not-so-traditional strawberry scone with a bit of butter and jam to accompany them.

On the middle tier was a blueberry cheesecake with little chocolate butterflies on top of the small sections of cream.

On the bottom layer were chunks of papaya, mango, Apple and cantaloupe. It was about a $50 meal so definitely not Thai prices but the setting and relaxed vibe had a heightened luxury so it definitely set it apart from our standard day-to-day fare.

After a brief workout back at the Airbnb, we were picked up by The Home Massage & Spa. We scheduled a 2 hour deep tissue oil massage.

On arrival, we were greeted with a cold compress and cold tea. Our feet were washed and we are given slippers to walk into our massage room. Inside, the room had its own bathroom complete with a shower to go with the two beds. Just like at Lila, we were given black plastic underwear and I was given a very thin shower cap. My massage was far improved from Friday’s experience. Though she did start stretches on the feet and calves, it was just a way to start warming up the body. She did pressure points on the back first which is the type of massage we were used to. What made it uncomfortable was my arms were in a touchdown position for most of the time. Also, there were a few instances when she was using her elbow to rub up and I felt it was too close to my spine. Similar to the therapist of Lila, she worked on my chest but I was properly covered up with a thin layer of material and she worked on the periphery and she also worked on my belly but with a bit more finesse.

After the massage, we were given a hot tea and peanut butter cookies.

With tip, it cost $65 which was more than double what we paid for our hour and a half massage at Lila, and it’s still a fraction of what we would normally pay and the setting was more private and a bit more upscale. However, we felt that the massage was still lacking. We were both hoping for it to be less expensive, for the massage therapists to incorporate more hip and flute work during the treatment, for the massage bed to not be so stiff and for elbow usage used less frequently. Though the technique and bedside manner were significantly better than our experience at Lila, it still didn’t warrant a return visit or a solid recommendation.

Hunger pangs were knocking so we had the spa’s driver drop us off at Sunday’s Night Market. After spending an excessive amount of money by Thai standards for the majority of the day, I wanted to have a more traditional frugal dinner experience so we made a beeline into the alley for Lert Ros which is a seafood restaurant quite well known in those parts. Upon seeing the exterior and the display of exposed fish, my husband asked “is it safe to eat here?” To assuage his apprehension, I showed him that TripAdvisor had over 800 4 1/2 star reviews for the restaurant though I honestly could not blame him. It was definitely rustic and looked to be a large hole in the wall. The “kitchen” looked to be all outside, with the grills covered with large pieces of fish. It was surrounded with a mishmash of both food and kitchen supplies. I proceeded to seat us inside, at a table right underneath a fan.

We ordered a large red snapper, grilled shrimp and a coconut lemongrass chicken soup with some beer and sticky rice. Not surprisingly, the food was sensational and was a great value costing us 550 baht which is $18USD. Lert Ros just goes to prove that you can’t judge a book by its cover and also simultaneously and concurrently, how social media can help make or break a business. By the time we left, nearly every table was occupied mostly by Asian women and a few Asian men, some of whom were clearly of the upper echelon. 

We ended our evening by walking at the Sunday Night Market for a bit. Having been to one nearly every night, the Sunday Night Market definitely had some unique items to purchase. I bought a painting on a canvas for 200 baht which is the equivalent of $6.51 USD. Being Asian myself I did negotiate him down from 250 to 200 but I wanted to be respectful since he was in the business of selling his artwork. I also bought some unique bookmarks: 6 for 10 baht or 3 cents.

As we could feel a few sprinkles and the sky was looking ominous with the street vendors adding their rain covering and the night market was getting more crowded with each passing minute, we decided to head back. We still needed to make a pit stop at the store to get more supplies for the week. Also, we needed to run a second load of laundry as the oppressive heat and humidity caused nonstop sweating throughout most of the day. More importantly, we wanted to be rested as Monday we both go back to school. On to the next phase of our vacation!