The Cube

I relocated to Melbourne closed to 6 months ago, prior to my trip to Hokkaido and Chiang Mai but there wasn't any hint on this blog. It probably still looked like I am still living in Sydney. To be fair to Melbourne, the supposedly most livable city in the world, I'll start posting on Melbourne, not as a short trip but as someone who actually is staying in this city.

Melbourne, said to be famous for it's food, be it coffee, cafe, restaurant. So I shall start on some of the eating places I've been, on Little P's treat.

Izakaya Hachibeh
143 Bourke Street Melbourne VIC 3000
03 9078 9909

I am quite keen on finding some good Japanese food. If Melbourne is famed for its food, it should have some good Japanese food. Sydney has had some cheap but good ones. Sad to say, I have yet found one in Melbourne.

Initially I wanted to try Izakaya Chuji but it was closed for the holidays season when we wanted to go. I found another izakaya to try out - Izakaya Hachibeh. To be fair, the food are pretty good, but somehow I prefer the ones in Sydney, thus far.

Ume Chuhai - this somehow as very, very salty.

Buta Syoga Yaki

Spicy Nasu Soboro

Soft shell crab roll

Nasi Lemak... can do with one now...

Semi slaughtered tau fu fah...

Overweight banana fritters

Thought I'll break the monotonous of all travel posts with some other things.



Little P introduced me to this evil thing, and gave it a money back guaranteed seal. Said that if I don't like it, she would be glad to finish them up and refund me for it. Indeed I wasn't keen initially as I tried some chips on honey soy chicken flavour thingy in the past and I didn't like it. I didn't even finish the chips. Oh well, if something is not nutritious, it should at least taste good, isn't it? Lol.

Anyway, back to this baked not fried shapes - I finished it in 3 sitting (or should it spelled as seating?). The only consolation I could give myself is that at least it is baked, not fried. :D


 Side note: I'm peckish...especially on weekends...

My "refuge" for a couple of minutes

Despite my very lengthy posts, in fact it is so lengthy that I manage to break them into a few posts, I could give a very brief description if need to. I would put it down as 4 markets, 1 mountain and many temples.

This is the last "installment" of the markets. Warorot Market makes me feel like the market for everyday life. As in, it is not for tourist but more for people living in Chiang Mai, and I like that.

Warorot Market is about 2 minutes walk north from Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. It opens daily early in the morning and closes after dark.

As usual, I walked. The initial plan was to rent a motorcycle for the day so that after visiting Warorot Market, I could take the bike to Bosang Umbrella Village which was about 9 km away from Chiang Mai city.

I had even googled for recommended motorcycle rental place and such. The hostel I stayed at does provide motorbike for rental but does not include insurance, to which I was a little apprehensive. Not that I am a poor motorcyclist, but more so of worrying it broke down or worse, stolen.

After deciding not to go ahead with renting a motorcycle from the hostel, I walked towards the east side of the city again, towards Tha Pae Gate. I can't remember the name of the shop I went to, after all I ended up leaving without a motorcycle anyway.

On my walk to the motorcycle rental shop, a man came over and talked to me, telling me that he came from the south of Chiang Mai, asking where I came from and such. It ended up with him asking if I could spare him some money. Unfortunately for him, he has probably picked the poorest traveler on the street, it was my last full day in Chiang Mai and I didn't bring much in the first place.

After saying 'no' he slowed down but was continuing walking behind me. It could be that he was heading towards the same direction but I was uncomfortable with the thought that he didn't overtake me but following behind me. After a short while, I turned into one of the temple along the street (the picture above) and waited till he walked passed. He looked inside the temple when he passed but continued his walk. I was relieved and after making a short prayer, I continued my walk... to the motorcycle rental shop.


I was told to leave my passport as part of rental procedure, as guarantee. I refused and asked if there was any alternative. I was told I could pay a deposit of at least $100 USD (if I remember correctly) or 4000 Baht. I tried to negotiate by putting a deposit of AUD $50, that was the maximum I had with me but they told me, only USD or Baht. I politely told them to cancel the rental, as the lady has started to fill up the form as I actually brought much lesser than 4,000 Baht on my little getaway. Grin.


So, I was back to walking again, off to Warorot Market. There was a Chinese temple outside one of the entrance. It was said that you can buy almost anything from Warorot Market. If you are after something, look around and you'll probably find it in Warorot Market. Despite I have only uploaded three pictures, I can assure you there are more things on sale than just these.

Dried and Canned Food

Chilli goodness

Tea or Tea or Tea? LOL

Yummy colourful rice crackers

"Chap fan"

There are stalls at the back and side streets around the Warorot Market selling Hill Tribe products as well as textiles and cloth shops.



 There's also a flower market next to Warorot Market.




I didn't get the cooked dishes but grabbed some snacks to try in pretense that those food would be sufficient. Ha ha. Both snacks were very good but silly me didn't ask for the name in Thai. Darn.

Some sort of pie - 6 Baht each

Coconut Jelly Pie - refreshing and yummy

Coconut Yam Kuih 20 Baht for 5

Watermelon Shake 15 Baht

The watermelon shake was cheaper but not enough watermelon and ya, I forgot to take a snap till almost finished :P

I thought the snacks could substitute as lunch but who am I kidding. I left Warorot Market for Bosang Umbrella Village but had a late lunch after returning. I'll put up a post on Bosang Umbrella Village after this but lunch was a nice chicken noodle soup. Umm.. it was a hot day and noodle soup make me sweating buckets but it was worth it.

Chicken Noodle Soup 30 Baht

I thought I'll give those colourful drinks a try, I pointed to one which I thought I'll try but it ended up to be longan drink that was wayyy too sweet. Overly sweet that I couldn't finish. :(





Side note: I need a longer weekend!

The Segway looks fun...wonder if I would fall if I am on one

This... is the 3rd market - first being Saturday Wu Lai Market and second, the popular Sunday Night Walking Market.

This Night Bazaar is located outside of the moat area, at the east of the side of the city. I walked out of the east gate, Tha Pae Gate. This night bazaar is along Thanon (Road) Chang Khlan but unlike the Sunday Night Walking Market, Chang Klan Road is not closed to traffic. This Night Bazaar is open every day of the year, from dusk till around midnight, regardless of weather.

Wooden stuff

Street vendors set up their metal stalls close to dusk, and their are lined up side by side on the footpaths down both sides of the main road.

Blurry shot of Anusarn Market... not on purpose, unfortunately

There are also 2 other markets nearby - Kalare Night Bazaar and Anusarn Markets. All 3 of them selling mostly clothing, belts, shoes, jewellery, DVD's and CD's. One can see the similarity to Petaling Street in Malaysia, unlike the two weekends market.


Kalare Night Bazaar is an arcade style bazaar, there is also a food court inside this bazaar. The food court run on ticket system.

Likewise Kalare Night Bazaar, there were food stalls and restaurants located inside Anusarn Market. I had my dinner at one of the stalls in Anusarn Market. I feel food in the night markets are pricier comparatively to the Wu Lai Market and Sunday Night Market.

Duck Rice 40 Baht

Ok, it taste better than it looks. Fried Chicken 15 Baht

Yup, I had my usual customary one main meal, one snack and a cold drink shake. Lucky I wasn't staying in Chiang Mai for long term, or I would've become a fatty by now.

Rum & Raisin Ice Cream Shake 20 Baht

The ice-cream shake was not from any of the markets, but I caved in and got it on my walk back from the bazaar to the hostel. The shop's name was called "My Friend"

Among the 4 markets I've been (the post on the fourth market would be up soon.. hopefully) this is my least favourite. It feels overrated, somehow.


Side note: Super bao bao...

In the leaflet, this tour was described as

"Visit Thailand's highest peak, King & Queen pagodas, exotic birds, Tribal projects, Hmong and Karen hill tribe villages, 2 thunderous waterfalls combine with rural villages scenery, floral and green forest view."

A van came to pick me at the guesthouse at approximately 8.30 in the morning. There were already 4 other people in the van then. We set off after the van picked up another 5 person - 2 couples, one Caucasian and the other Asian, an uncle from Canada, a Thai lady, a young Turkish lady who works in Germany, and 2 Japanese lads.

I have a memory of a goldfish and can't seem to recall where the 2 couples were from, pretty sure they mentioned at some point. Oh well, I blame it on me forgotten to bring my travel journal exercise book to  jot down on details.

The Canadian uncle was traveling by himself as his wife had returned to Canada earlier due to work commitment. He was telling me that I should try the Khan Toke dinner with Classical dance, said he went the night before and it was very good. I guess I'll park that for the next round. The Japanese lads, name Kenma and Teppei. This I remember... as Teppei reminded me of KimuTaku's character name in Love Generation.

Anyway, back to Doi Inthanon trip.

Wachirathan Waterfall


From memory, our guide introduced this as the King's Waterfall. The water was gushing down, I could even feel the splashing water when I stood at the side to snap some photos.

Look! Rainbow :)

There was a short trail up at the side of the waterfall, however with the waterfall nearby, the trail was rather slippery. I only walked up a couple of minutes, as it didn't feel safe to walk by myself, and of course, there was time constrain as I joined a day tour.


Karen Hill Tribe Village

This village is not the Long Neck Karen Hill tribe village. But there wasn't anything exciting about this one either. The Turkish lady remarked that it feels like any other ordinary village. Actually, it feel like some made-up village for tourist. :(

Entrance to the "main site" of the village

We were brought to this main site, where there were three ladies making some scarves for sale.



There was a small hut that served as a cafe, serving freshly brewed coffee, I didn't try it though.

Sirithan Waterfall

As we visited the King's waterfall, so we paid a visit to the Queen's waterfall as well. This fall is about 40 meters high and originated from the Mae Klang River. This waterfall was said to be named by the Queen who came to visit the fall.




Doi Inthanon Summit Point

The Highest Spot in Thailand

Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand, named in honour of King Inthawichayanon, one of the last kings of Chiang Mai. Nowadays, it is a popular tourist destination. Aside from that, there is also a Royal Thai Air Force weather radar antenna on the summit.

The bus dropped us at a check point. Getting to the highest spot in Thailand wasn't difficult at all, it was only a couple of minutes walk from the check point where we were set down. Amongst the trees, there was an ancient temple and a stupa in which the ashes of King Inthawichayanon (after whom Doi Inthanon is named) are interred.



At this point, it started to rain but the bus was ready to pick us up at the other end. We were sent to our next destination from there.

Twin Royal Pagodas

At a few kilometers short of the summit of Doi Inthanon, the Royal Thai Air Force constructed two pagodas dedicated to the King and Queen.

King's Pagoda

 
The King's Pagoda is brownish in colour and the Queen's Pagoda is in purple.

Queen's Pagoda

 
I read that the pagodas are symmetrical and surrounded by a beautiful garden. The view from the pagoda were fresh and peaceful. 



There's even an escalator going up the pagodas if you are lazy to walk. :P

... that was the last stop of the day trip.




Side note: It sucks when wi-fi wasn't working. Glad it's back up!