Chiang Mai, brought to you by: Internet Cafes!

Charnice and I have been in Chiang Mai for two days now. We arrived Thursday morning, checked into our guesthouse, and immediately took a nap. The weather has been sweltering - it's difficult to go outside during the height of the afternoon. Last night we met up with Jordan, who's been taking a two week course to get certified in Thai massage. We went to dinner with her and two friends from that class at a place called Maykai Dee's, vegetarian Thai restaurant with amazing pumpkin hummus (seriously - doesn't sound delicious but it is).

This morning, at Jordan's suggestion, we went to a place called Art Cafe for breakfast. It was divine - the food here is cheap and so good I may never leave. Speaking of food, we're going to take a cooking class - granted, already had an informal one courtesy of Salilla and her boyfriend (which I have been unforgivably lax in not posting), but this one will teach us how to make green curry, pad thai, spring rolls, papaya salad....mmm. Lots and lots of food, basically.

For most of today, Charnice and I just wandered around inner Chiang Mai. The city used to be walled-in, surrounded by a moat. It's expanded since then but the moated part is the inner city, where we are staying. It's a square about a mile on each side - easy enough to walk in one day. When the heat got too much, we went to the Prison Spa. Not kidding about this - as part of a rehabilition/work release deal, the women's prison here trains inmates scheduled for release in different skills, one of them being Thai massage. The fees go to the masseuses so they have some money for when they get out. It was the most entertaining massage I've had here. They put on hip-hop music, as opposed to the usual relaxing instrumental music, and one of those not giving a massage started dancing. Kinda had to be there, but they were funny. Still not the best massage I've had here, that honor goes to Wat Pho - but since that's basically the top massage school in the country? Not surprising.

And now, we're headed out to meet Jordan and more friends for dinner at yet another cafe - this trip has been fabulous so far, despite the heat and the disturbing amount of roaches I've encountered. I really like Chiang Mai - it's much smaller than Bangkok, nowhere near as noisy, and a lot prettier.