Jerry Nelson's Journal: A Few Favorites

So I’m walking down the street and some students stop me and ask for an interview. Actually this is pretty common. They are studying English and this is their assignment; I’m easy to approach. One of the stock questions is What is your favorite (fill in the blank)? Everything I mention about Chiang Mai is either inside the old city or very close. I hope you enjoy some of my answers.

Favorite places to eat:

If you read past blogs you will know that Taste from Heaven and Silom Joy are two of my favorites in Chiang Mai. There are more! On Arak Road just past Soi 7 is Issy. The food is Korean / Japanese. I love the place for its convenience, food quality and price.

ISSY Sign

Robbie and Issy

Across the moat is Ruang Jai, an Isan restruant. Don’t look for signs in English, there are none. The food is Isan style very tasty and quite affordable. If you are not too adventurous try the grilled chicken with sticky rice on the side. If you are adventurous, it’s all great!

Ruang Jai

Where to stay:

For 350 baht a night (450 in high season) you can stay at the Pachkit House in Chiang Mai. It’s a great little family owned boutique hotel. I highly recommend you try them first. See http://www.pachkit.com/ The only down side is no pool. If a pool is important, the Anodard Hotel is a good idea. http://th.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293917-d632003-Reviews-Anodard_Hotel-Chiang_Mai.html Another fine choice, though a bit more expensive and again without a pool is the Parasol Inn, right in the center of old Chiang Mai. http://www.parasolinn.com/

In Bangkok I tend to stay at the Federal Hotel. Sukhumvit Road, Soi 11. Great pool, reasonable rates and a good coffee shop. See http://www.federalbangkok.com/

Favorite photographic subjects: Elephants, temples and people, especially old ones and young ones.

Pang Dow

Tamboon, Wat Pra Sing, Chiang Mai

Lunch Time

Favorite massage: In Chiang Mai try Lila Thai Massage. Their website http://www.chiangmaithaimassage.com/ will explain why they are truly unique. Bottom line: This business was established to help women re-enter Thai society, there work is excellent and the price is fair.

Best Dental Clinic: I’ve only tried one, Grace Dental in Chiang Mai. They do great work and the staff is friendly, cooperative and very professional. You can find them at http://www.gracedentalclinic.com/ btw. Thailand enjoys a fair amount of medical tourism business. Grace Dental is a good example.

Where to get photographic prints made:

In Chiang Rai go to Focus Digital lab; right across the street from the Chiang Rai Night Bazar.. I took 24 images to have printed. The color came out right on every single one of them. In other words they fixed what I didn’t, and they did it right. Further, the whole thing took less than 15 minutes.

This is not about Kodak vs. Fujifilm, I’m 5 years over that one. Kodak and Fujifilm both have excellent products, the difference in quality really depends on the lab. In Chiang Mai there is a Fujifilm shop on the corner between Lili Massage and the 3 Kings monument. They do a good job. Avoid the Kodak shop across the street from Wat Pra Sign. The work is shoddy. It costs more than the Fujifilm shop and while there are only three rude people in Thailand, two of them work there!

Your Favorite Photo’s taken by me: After this article was started and before it was finished, I was asked to submit a few images for a contest. That resulted in my selecting 60 or so and asking you to judge them. To my son Tony, a huge thank you for your keen eye and your candid words. The images are better, some much better because of your efforts! Many thanks to the rest of you who responded, even if my request was confusing! The favorite images ranked in the order you chose are at: http://s935.photobucket.com/albums/ad200/jnelson1944/JN_Top_60/ Below are a couple of my personal favorites that are not in the group that was judged. Enjoy.