My last night in Chiang Mai. Today was packing, see my friend Pong, make coffee, and head to the mountains to see Doi Suthep Temple once more. I wasn’t so excited about going there at first, something kept calling me, so I went and was amazed once more.
This morning, I took the coffee roasted with Iwan in Bali four days ago and visited my friend Pong at Cafe Libernard. She ground the Kintamani beans and we started sampling. First, espresso was made with them. Then espresso was made with her blend. Then cappuccino made with her beans and then cappuccino made with the Kintamani beans. Then, a cappuccino made with double shot Kintamani. Oddly, I had no adverse caffeine reaction!
Oh, did I forget to mention I had two Americano’s for breakfast with “Mom” at her restaurant before, yes, before the coffee tasting. I had a pretty good range of coffee experiences this morning!
They are looking for ways to grow their business and I spent quite a while with her son brainstorming possibilities.
Tomorrow morning, at 10:00, I get picked up by the mini-van for Laos. Yesterday, I took the “red car” to Arcade Bus Station to look at local bus to Laos? I couldn’t find anything that looked possible? Once back at the hotel, I learned the driver took me to the wrong side of the highway. Rather than repeat the journey, I booked a ticket here. It’s more expensive, more comfortable and promises to get me to Huay Xai. Of course, I’ve also read that the border closed at 6:00 and the bus might not be there by then so it should be interesting.
I’ll pick up some snacks in the morning for the long day. We are expecting to arrive at 8:30 tomorrow night.
I’m posting a few highlights of my stay here. There are a lot of temples which are amazing. I visited the Puhping Palace, summer get away for the royal family. The Flower Festival was going on when I first arrived. I’ve met a lot of people here and am actually ready to move on. My highlight was cooking classes and the visit to the mountains today. However, Chiang Mai is a city and I’m ready for a quiet time in the hills of Laos.
Once I leave for Laos, I don’t know when I’ll have internet connection again.
When you show a flower person all this ,I almost could not breathe….Unbelievable pictures ….the amount of roses at the Palace —-WOW….. Why is the coffee business such a big thing there ????All the coffee grown ????? I can not Thank-You enough for all the pictures…The one of you was really good!!!!