The One About Relaxing
I find when I am on vacation out of town I feel really guilty doing nothing. I figure I paid to be somewhere new, so I need to spend as much time as possible seeing the sights. Today broke that pattern.
I got a call in the morning from the Thai Farm Cooking School. I had emailed them late last night to see if they had a space in a class before I leave town. A friend who used to live in Thailand recommended the course and I have seen so many wats in the last few days that it was time for a change of pace. It turns out that they did have a space for tomorrow, but they only hold your spot until noon unless you pay, so that gave me the impetus to get up and moving. I planned to go there to pay and then wander over to the Chaing Mai Women’s Correctional Institution where they train some of the women to be masseuses (this is Thailand after all) to see if I could get a massage (yes, another one). I found both places with relative ease, but had to wait two hours before my massage, so I sat down in the attached restaurant for some brunch (Pad Thai and iced honey lemon juice). I knew when I left my hotel that I might have some down time, so I brought some school work and a notebook (I wrote about my ex-husband’s mother whose birthday was today- she was such a great person and I miss her), so the time passed quickly.
The massage (all two hours of it) was great! Not a fancy place, but clean, spacious, and she did a great job. I might have even dozed off twice. I stopped off at an organic tea and coffee shop on my way home for some iced tea and spent what was left of the afternoon reading.
I then planned dinner- knowing that tomorrow night I would be eating leftovers from my cooking course I wanted a “local” experience. I looked online and settled for Arun Rai (also known as Aroon Rai) an open air cafe specializing in Northern Thailand cuisine.
I had the omni present papaya salad and tasty local sausage.
Happily this left me with just enough room to grab a mango with sticky rice on the street. I paid less than $5 for everything.
Tonight will be an early night. I will be picked up by the cooking school at 8:30 and look forward to another edible adventure. I think I am getting the hang of this relaxation thing!
Ms. Victor Reads 
I think the idea of cooking school sounds great. I hope you enjoy the experience. It’s sounding like this slice was a relaxing day. A massage sounds great!
What a delightful day! It sounds like a very nice balance between relaxing and taking advantage of your visit to an interesting place. And it included some delicious treats as well!
Yes! Glad you found something engaging to do. I think relaxing is more about getting to do what you want and not being on someone else’s schedule. I find that doing nothing for hours can become stressful.
My vacation mode is finally kicking in, too. Sounds like you are doing it right!
That cooking school sounds like so much fun!
Oh my goodness! What an amazing experience. I am so impressed with how you “vacation”. I have no problem with parking in a chair and reading. I should probably call on you to plan my next vacation! Enjoy!