I’m back on a motorbike and back in the mountains. Ahhhhh!!

Traveling in cities takes a toll. I did Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and then Chiang Mai in succession. Enough city-ing for me on this roll through SE Asia.

Chiang Mai is, well, Chiang Meh. The temples are cool, the Saturday and Sunday night markets were enormous, but aside from that…..there are hotels, massage studios, restaurants, 7-11’s, pot shops and tattoo studios. Kind of a yawn.

Until yesterday. I signed up for a full day cooking class at Thai farm cooking school held at an organic farm. Yes!!!! Jackpot!! It was SO fun! And delicious!! We stopped at a market to check out local ingredients and then drove an hour-ish out to the farm.

Ratha was fabulous! Fun, knowledgeable, and energetic. She kept us incredibly busy from 8am to 4 pm without a break!! We chopped, stir fried, boiled and ate.

Invite me over, I’ll make you Thai dinner!!

The day was a joy. There were nine of us in all. Lorenzo from Italy, I think, will visit Green Climbers Home next week. Several of us were Americans along with a family of 5 from Israel. The other solo female traveler, (Kate) just became an airline pilot and had spent several weeks riding a motorcycle through Vietnam. My sista!

After class, I picked up my spiffy motorbike for an early morning launch. I had a tattoo appt far out of town. The tattoo is great, and even better is the route I am now following to the highest peak in Thailand.

Tomorrow I get to spend the entire day in this luscious, tropical, national park: Doi Inthanan. Thailand’s highest peak is central, (2565m/8425ft) and has waterfalls, native villages, hiking trails and I will soon find out what else!