CHIANG MAI, THAILAND • JAIBOON

Okay, I know I've been severely lacking on the "blogging my favorite coffee shops" front. So here's the first in a long string of posts about what Chiang Mai is highly known for in Thailand and SEA: cute cafés. I visited Jaiboon one morning on a work errand out toward San Kamphaeng, having seen a poster advertising it at one of our favorite restaurants, Rustic & Blue. 

It was pretty obvious that the two places have a similar vibe: so much green, it was like stepping into a secret garden upon entering the courtyard where the "cabin" was hidden. Twinkle lights spread out across the yard, ready for the sun to set, though it's a little dang hot for that at the moment.

Inside consists of little details like paper flowers and cute embellishments. Stamps and postcards, hand drawn posters, etc. The menu is a doodler's dream, and the cake display boasts a great selection of amazing desserts. I've had the red velvet cake, and Lyna and I ordered the lemon coconut cake this time: both wins.

It's easy to lose track of time here. The light is dreamy, and you feel like you're on a retreat instead of in the middle of a highway filled with auto repair shops and the like. The coffee is delicious and smooth, the atmosphere takes you out of Chiang Mai, but the Thai feelings stay with all the cute little Asian details. It's worth the drive, and worth a second (or third) trip out of the city center.

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND • THAI ORCHID COOKERY SCHOOL

Last month, my parents planned a surprise visit to Chiang Mai! It was quite last minute, but they hopped on a plane mid-March and were here for almost a full week. Planning for my parents was easy: the laid-back fun stuff, only. Per the recommendation of my roommate, Katie, I booked a day cooking class through Thai Orchid Cookery School.

The class is run by Aey and her husband, who live in the old city in Thailand. You basically cook in the courtyard of their home! It's a cute setup, and each person has their own work station. Aey has a large selection of dishes to choose from, and you get to pick one from each category: spring rolls, soup, curry, stir-fry, dessert. I chose fried spring rolls, tom kha gai, panang curry, cashew chicken, and a banana cake.

After the first two courses are explained, prepared and enjoyed, Aey took us to a nearby market (which happens to be one of my favorite markets in the city. It's so colorful and organized!), where she explained all of the fruits that are different from what we Americans are used to. Our class that day consisted of entirely Americans, and we had a blast joking and enjoying each other's company while we cooked and tried new dishes.

Aey walked us through each dish regardless of what we chose, so we were able to see everything made the correct way. It was always pretty fun to walk back out to our work stations are see that our places had miraculously cleaned themselves and all of the ingredients for our next dish had appeared magically. If only all cooking happened this way.

While waiting on our desserts, we sampled some Thai fruits together: pomelo, a rose apple, and durian. If you don't know much about durian, here are the facts: it smells pretty bad, so hotels don't let people bring it inside. It's the most expensive fruit in Thailand. It's creamy (yes you read that correctly), and I probably won't ever eat it of my own accord again.

I didn't really tell my parents we were doing this until after they'd already arrived. They were both a little skeptical, but ended up enjoying themselves more than they thought. This is quite literally one of the most fun things I've done while living here, and it was such a blast to be able to share it with my family. If you live in Apex, NC, look out for my mom's new Thai restaurant.

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND • KHAGEE

Khagee is definitely in the top three for me as far as my favorite places to kill time in the city. All three of those places have two things in common: white bricks and coffee. Khagee is a place I'd seen several times driving by, and when my good friend Alex came to town, I didn't have an excuse to drive by again without stopping.

Khagee is a natural yeast bakery, and I can tell you from extensive research that their breads taste incredible. The bagels are amazing: blueberry is delightful, and their salmon bagel sandwich is as good as any I've had before. My parents have tried the carrot cake, and Alex ordered a berry dessert the first time we went. All amazing.

The lighting in this shop is top notch, the enormous windows let in all the light from the bright street, so the lights in the ceiling go completely unused, since I'm pretty sure the shop closes before the sun sets. The green that appears throughout in a few little spurts is as refreshing as the blasting A/C, and the little details here and there like the little tattooed man sitting on the espresso machine make this place just quirky enough.