Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand) Tourist Guide


	S.P. Publishing Group Co., Ltd. 11/1 Soi 3 Bamrungburi Rd., T. Prasingh, A. Muang., Chiang Mai 50200 Tel. 053 - 814 455-6 Fax. 053 - 814 457 E-mail: guidelin@loxinfo.co.th

LIVING IT UP:
One Step from Heaven

Text: Jim Messenger.
Photos: Apirak

You can't get much closer than this. Without leaving the ground that is. And I don't know how many of you are prepared for solo flight. That thought makes me quiver in my boots, I don't know about you. Yet there are some places around Chiang Mai that are pretty close. One of these that I'd recommend you to check out is Rachamanka Hotel on Soi 9 Rachamankha Road in the heart of the old city.

It's veritably heaven on earth. Or close enough for those of us unprepared for solo flight. What makes it so can be summed up in one word: beauty. Inner and outer beauty combined to make this one of the unique places in muang and well worth your time and effort.

It's a boutique hotel with a lovely restaurant in a cozy setting down an unprepossessing soi, which has nothing much going for it except the white wall and the lions at the gate that make you think of a temple. Yet when you get there the space opens up to two buildings, one left and one facing with banners draped above some very interesting and ancient stone horses. Obviously not a temple, you think. And no, you've arrived in the courtyard of Rachamanka. To your left are reception and the guest rooms beyond. Before you are the restaurant and gallery above. Scattered about are some pretty interesting pieces of sculpture and art, some going back a long time. You might want to check them out.

The reception welcomes you in true Lanna style with a red laced vaulted ceiling, with four massive teak columns in imperial red guarding the surrounds. The feeling is serene, and brings images of some mandarin's yurt on the plains of Mongolia. The 23 rooms beyond all cluster about inner courtyards that mix and mingle and together transpire to make you feel you've dropped in to some scholar's retirement home in China. The way leads you eventually to a well-appointed library, where you could while away the hours scanning the thousand or so volumes there. Next comes the living room, all in classical white. Beyond that is the pool and other delights.

The guest rooms are superior and deluxe, each appointed with a slightly different look, because the furniture is antique, and each piece is different. For instance, the doors are all old Lanna, with ornate door handles and wooden bolts. The window blinds are of bamboo and reed matting covers the floors. The attention to detail is astounding. All the comforts of home in a classical Oriental setting.

But what of munchies? The resto and bar invite from their own building. The bar greets the visitors as they enter. Antique screens, lithographs and other works by twentieth century painters adorn the walls. The restaurant next door is a piece of work itself. Illuminated by large Lanna lanterns, decorated by nineteenth century paintings, with a large painted cloth hanging down from the ceiling. The inner restaurant and the courtyard al fresco adjunct are framed with antique Chinese tables and Ming Dynasty plates and wall plaques.

The focus of the cuisine is a fusion of three local cultures: Lanna, Burma and Tai Yai. Their new menu is just right for drop-in guests who just sort of want to look around, have a nosh, and check out their gallery space above the eatery. And now is the time because of what's on offer.

It's micro-fusion food with a difference. They offer three different set menus, one veggie, one meat and one fish with a display of virtuoso planning and combining that leaves you yearning for more. Try Gai Huk. It's a Tai Yai dish of chicken with fresh herbs. Now this culture's flavour blend goes to the herbal, wild plant variety. Combine that with say Krua Gung, a Myanmar dish made up of large sauted prawns in a base of coriander, tomato, shallot, ginger and chilly paste and you get aromatic flavouring. If you then go to something Lanna (local Thai) and eat Plua Pad Takrai, which is fresh water farmed fish, deep fried, served with a combo of lemongrass, spring onion, ginger and fresh chili, sauted lightly in oil, you then get a taste of the local (CM) food which has a whole different appeal. Got the idea? This refined culinary dance is on tap Now! It's a whole new way to dine.

I recommend an evening a deux or un, in the courtyard, dining next to caravan ovens of clay, slowly roasting their coals. In cozy comfort, candles abound, you watch as the chef unveils his magic meals, while above the stars of Northern Thailand whisper to the moon. Close to heaven? Closer.