I should probably start with the best news of all: we have an apartment in Chiang Mai!
We move in tomorrow and it comes pre-furnished with bedding and all new Ikea-like furniture. Pre-furnished also means it comes with an awesome L-couch, which is pretty much what sold Julia on the place (so for all of you coming to visit, this is for you). AND it even comes with a mini kitchenette! (A hard find in Thailand as it's usually cheaper to eat out than to make your own food at home). So we'll have a fridge, microwave, sink, and mini hot plate/stove.
This is all in a fairly small area (it's a studio apartment), but they utilize the space well so we essentially have three tiny parts: a bedroom/bed area, a living room/couch area, and a kitchen/dining area (complete with table and chairs). Finally, we have a decent size bathroom and an awesome-sized (big) TV which has a place to hook up to our computers, making the internet our television!
We'll have wi-fi, laundry, and a fitness center at a little extra cost too.
It's in a nice area filled with cheap street food, convenient 7-11s and mini marts, bars, clubs, shops, cafes, and plenty of places to explore. It's also right by the Super Highway, which is what we need in order to easily get, well, anywhere, but more specifically to our school and back (which we will most likely do via scooter and it will be about a 15 min. commute). And we're right by the Doi Suthep mountains so anytime we need to get away, it's a quick scooter/tuk-tuk ride up the mountain for some fresh air and one of my favorite wats that we've visited so far, the forest wat, Wat Umong. It's here that we met Little Buddha, our chosen name for a friendly little black cat that we fell in love with (pictures to come). We're also right by Chiang Mai University, which we had a chance to visit during our apartment hunt. It's a beautiful campus with a bit of a college feel to the surrounding area, so we could head there if we wanted to jump into the student scene.
The real kicker is that all of this is well within our budget for an apartment so we have some wiggle room to save, live comfortably, and have fun.
Some news that some of you may or may not like: the leaser is offering the apartment at a cheaper rate if we sign a contract for a year, rather than 6 months. So to save money and to think positive, we are taking that deal. Which means we will most likely still be here at least until October of next year (crazy thought!).
We're so excited about this great find. But we have other things we need to catch you up on!
For example, Sunday Walking Street. Ah, how do I describe thee. Around 4pm to midnight every Sunday, vendors throughout Chiang Mai set up tents and the like in the heart of the Old City. It's like a mini farmer's market, upscale swap meet, Third Street Promenade all rolled into one. It's a must-see in any proper visit to Chiang Mai and we haven't missed one since we've been up here (which makes 3 so far). There are goods of all sorts, from wooden combs to instruments to dog clothes to artwork. The high quality and variety of items combined with the low prices makes it a great place to shop for decorations and souvenirs. And the food. Oh the food. I'll leave the pictures to illustrate the joy and wonder and deliciousness in that.
Be sure to click on the pictures to enlarge them so you can see the delicious detail. It also makes for easier viewing as it becomes a slideshow.
I'll be sure to get some pictures of the apartment once we've moved in! Also an address :)
We move in tomorrow and it comes pre-furnished with bedding and all new Ikea-like furniture. Pre-furnished also means it comes with an awesome L-couch, which is pretty much what sold Julia on the place (so for all of you coming to visit, this is for you). AND it even comes with a mini kitchenette! (A hard find in Thailand as it's usually cheaper to eat out than to make your own food at home). So we'll have a fridge, microwave, sink, and mini hot plate/stove.
This is all in a fairly small area (it's a studio apartment), but they utilize the space well so we essentially have three tiny parts: a bedroom/bed area, a living room/couch area, and a kitchen/dining area (complete with table and chairs). Finally, we have a decent size bathroom and an awesome-sized (big) TV which has a place to hook up to our computers, making the internet our television!
We'll have wi-fi, laundry, and a fitness center at a little extra cost too.
It's in a nice area filled with cheap street food, convenient 7-11s and mini marts, bars, clubs, shops, cafes, and plenty of places to explore. It's also right by the Super Highway, which is what we need in order to easily get, well, anywhere, but more specifically to our school and back (which we will most likely do via scooter and it will be about a 15 min. commute). And we're right by the Doi Suthep mountains so anytime we need to get away, it's a quick scooter/tuk-tuk ride up the mountain for some fresh air and one of my favorite wats that we've visited so far, the forest wat, Wat Umong. It's here that we met Little Buddha, our chosen name for a friendly little black cat that we fell in love with (pictures to come). We're also right by Chiang Mai University, which we had a chance to visit during our apartment hunt. It's a beautiful campus with a bit of a college feel to the surrounding area, so we could head there if we wanted to jump into the student scene.
The real kicker is that all of this is well within our budget for an apartment so we have some wiggle room to save, live comfortably, and have fun.
Some news that some of you may or may not like: the leaser is offering the apartment at a cheaper rate if we sign a contract for a year, rather than 6 months. So to save money and to think positive, we are taking that deal. Which means we will most likely still be here at least until October of next year (crazy thought!).
We're so excited about this great find. But we have other things we need to catch you up on!
For example, Sunday Walking Street. Ah, how do I describe thee. Around 4pm to midnight every Sunday, vendors throughout Chiang Mai set up tents and the like in the heart of the Old City. It's like a mini farmer's market, upscale swap meet, Third Street Promenade all rolled into one. It's a must-see in any proper visit to Chiang Mai and we haven't missed one since we've been up here (which makes 3 so far). There are goods of all sorts, from wooden combs to instruments to dog clothes to artwork. The high quality and variety of items combined with the low prices makes it a great place to shop for decorations and souvenirs. And the food. Oh the food. I'll leave the pictures to illustrate the joy and wonder and deliciousness in that.
Be sure to click on the pictures to enlarge them so you can see the delicious detail. It also makes for easier viewing as it becomes a slideshow.
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| Yummy variety of fruit juices |
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| Fried silkworm, fried giant water bug, fried short tailed cricket, you get the idea. |
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| The world's most delicious waffles |
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| Adorable bao! Or as I call them, manapuas. |
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| Ignore the greasy-sweatiness, it's hot and humid okay. |
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| Endless varieties of noodles |
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| Delicious fruit shakes. I love the way they have the ingredients in the cup, so you know what you're getting. And you just pick one and he adds some sugar water and blends it! He also had a system so that the ones on the bottom row (typically just one type of fruit) were the cheapest and they get more expensive as you go up. |
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| There are also some less-appetizing things, which are still probably delicious |
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| Julia's one non-food picture. Some adorable puppies (might have been drugged, but what can you do :[ ) |
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| Street sushi? Hmm... |
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| Quail eggs |
I'll be sure to get some pictures of the apartment once we've moved in! Also an address :)
Yum! Gotta try some of the Giant Fried Water Bug!!!!! (Not!). So glad Dad and I were there for you to bounce ideas off so you could know what you really wanted! Sounds perfect and fun and really hope we can visit while you are there! LOVE you! MOm
ReplyDeleteI wanna meet Little Buddha
ReplyDelete-sammers
The dog picture is beyond creepy.
ReplyDelete-Jess
Whee I'm so excited you guys found a place! It sounds perfect. So awesome! Also walking street sounds/looks amazing. Also I love all the pictures! Are they by both of you with your spiffy cameras? They're great. :] Also Ariel, I'm totes judging you on your sweaty-greasiness. Just so you know. :P
ReplyDelete