Taking a break from pickleball this morning, I hit up my local coffee shop. Once again, I drank a light roast Americano, while I did my Anki reps. After some programming at the co-working space, I had an excellent lunch of grass-fed beef bone broth and a tuna sandwich. The tuna sandwich was perfectly toasted and packed full of tuna, avocado, and mayo. This has to be one of the best tuna sandwiches I've ever had.
In the afternoon, I decided to get some culture and went temple hopping inside Chiang Mai's Old City. The Old City is in the shape of a square and surrounded by what seems to be a moat. The Grab car dropped me off at Wat Chiang Man, and then I walked to Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan, Wat Phantao, and Wat Chedi Luang, while stopping at a couple lesser known Wats along the way. Wat Chiang Man had a cool double dragon unicorn railing. Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan has a massive golden Buddha in its main temple. Wat Phantao had interesting dark teak wood architecture.
My favorite temple was Wat Chedi Luang. Started in the 14th century and finished in the 15th century, this temple is different than all the other temples I've seen in Chiang Mai. Made from ancient bricks, the giant temple has a calming sense of awe about it. The red, setting sun also gave the visit a nice vibe.
After the sun set over the temples, I walked past the east gate of the Old City called Tha Phae Gate. I made my way to Rotee Pa Day food stall, which I'd seen Mark Wiens visit on YouTube. These ladies are known for cooking their roti in pure coconut oil. I can appreciate this, since I've been eating too much food fried in vegetable oil. There was a bit of a wait, but nothing too bad. The only issue was the swarms of flying termites attracted to the lights around the food stall. I ate a chicken roti and banana with egg roti. The chicken one was nice and savory. The banana with egg one was absolutely delicious. It is up there with mango sticky rice for one of the best desserts I've had in SEA. The coconut oil with the banana was a magical combination.
I didn't let this sweet treat spoil my dinner, though, and continued onto the Night Bazaar. I found a nice market with many different food vendors with live English pop music playing in the center. I ate honey roasted pork belly and a chicken kebab, neither of which were particularly great.
Overall, I'm really enjoying Chiang Mai. I just wish the air pollution wasn't as bad. It looks like it might rain the next two days, so I might save the nature and hiking excursions for later in the week.