After a day and a half of travel, we understandbly took a very leisurely approach to our first full day in Chiang Mai. I made breakfast at our Airbnb, we did a morning workout and then finally headed off to lunch at the well-renowned SP Chicken. I had first heard about it from Mark Wiens who I began to follow during my research of our Japan trip last August. Other foodies like myself have fallen head over heels in love with their food so we wanted to see and experience for ourselves. 

As it was a very warm, humid sunny day, we opted to skip the 37 minute walk and ordered a Grab. It cost 80 baht and the driver’s car had the A/C going full blast. Plus our driver was super chatty and mentioned a bit about some of the history and recent conflict in the area. For that history lesson, I gave him a 70 baht tip. 

When we arrived, we ordered a whole chicken to share, a plate of stir fried Chinese kale and a spicy lemongrass shrimp soup. The chicken was tender and moist and the other dishes we ordered were equally delicious. The greens was simply seasoned but the soup packed a bit of heat. We were surprised how quickly our orders came out and how rapidly we polished off the food. 

After lunch, we headed to Wat Phra Singh which was around the corner. Though it was unmanned, there was a box at the entrance which said it cost 20 baht to enter.

Not having any change, we gave 50 baht. It was our first glimpse at just how opulent the Buddhist shrines are in Chiang Mai. All the gold glistened in the sun. There were several structures and statues within the complex. Not having a guide to explain everything we opted to move on after walking around for about 20 minutes.

We considered walking 13 minutes to the next wat, Chedi Luang, but my husband was getting sunburnt and the hot sun combined with the humidity was starting to drain our energy. We took a tuk tuk for 100 baht and were dropped off right by the front. This Wat had a ticket window and it was double the cost of the prior Wat with many more people visiting. Unlike the last Wat, there was a stand with people providing free sarongs for the women and men who weren’t properly dressed. We headed to the first structure and walked into the temple which had many large gold Buddhas at the back. The decor inside was quite beautiful and ornate. Perhaps it was the heat and humidity or the setup being very similar to a church but my husband was overcome with emotion and expressed his feelings of gratitude for how his life had evolved. We sat down to take a moment and also because the fans were best felt if we were beneath the air flow.

After a few minutes, we headed out to see what else the complex had to offer. Behind the first structure was a large pyramid of sorts, reminiscent of Chichen Itza in the Mayan region but not as massive. Apparently at one point, it was a much larger structure but due to an earthquake what stands now is only half of the original structure. It was still pretty majestic and definitely has a great deal of presence.

Curious about the city’s history, we walked to the Three Kings monument 5 minutes away and went to the City’s Cultural Arts museum to get a better understanding of how the city was founded, why its location was considered to be auspicious and got a bit of background on all those who helped shape the city into what it is today.

Experiencing enough sightseeing, history and culture, we ventured to one of the main things Thailand is known for: massage. I had read about Lila Thai as a business which helped provide a trade and a job for previously incarcerated women so that made it my first choice for massage. We each got an hour and a half oil massage coincidentally during the afternoon’s downpour which we could hear from the massage room on the third floor. My masseuse pummeled my calves which made walking a challenge afterwards. 

Luckily, my husband wanted to head back to our Airbnb for a bit so we ordered a Grab and relaxed for about an hour before heading out for our final stop of the day: the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. We headed straight through to Mho-O-Cha seafood restaurant based on its 4 star ratings on TripAdvisor. It reminded me of the delicious and super cheap seafood place, D’Talipapa, we visited in Boracay. Sadly, it did not compare to the quality and flavor as the Filipino version but it was decent and our total bill was 1300 baht.

We were also optimally seated by a bit of color. 

After dinner, we strolled around the stalls and saw silk robes, scarves and ties as well as some interesting art and craftwork. We decided to stop at a fish spa as it had piqued our curiosity in Boracay but we didn’t partake. It cost 100 baht for 20 minutes so we each decided it was a good enough deal to try it. I literally screamed and laughed for the first few minutes because it felt weird and a bit ticklish. Eventually, we got used to it and began chatting it up with others who were equally curious or had tried it previously. An older Irish gentleman came over with his adopted Thai son. We discussed how 23andMe proved that my husband was in fact not Sicilian but was 39% British/Irish. The gentleman said that of course that was true as his coloring was similar to his biological son who apparently was sitting on a bench to my left enjoying his own fish spa experience. 

To cap off the evening and the day, Troy ordered a mango sticky rice dessert which he had seen on our way in. I think the big grin on his face shows just how much he was looking forward to the decadent indulgence. And that was how we ended Day One.