Saving money by renting apartments

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Travel Hacking

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Accommodations, AirBnB, Chiang Mai, Paris, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Shanghai, Travel Hacking

While staying at luxury hotels can be quite exciting, nothing beats the feeling of coming home. Before we started our selfish year of travels, Mrs. Selfish and took tons of weekend trips, culminating in our once-a-year international trip over the Thanksgiving holiday.

While getting out of the States and traveling to new countries was exhilarating, it was also exhausting. If you’re from the States, vacationing is about three things: maximizing, maximizing, maximizing.

By the end of each international trip, we were more tired then when we had started. Coming home in itself was a treat – a chance to catch up on sleep and get back into the ol’ routine.

Traveling for a year straight is the same deal, except now there is no home to come home to. It’s exciting, but also tiring – not to mention expensive. Fortunately, that’s where apartment rentals come in.

Our loft in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

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The Best Cup of Coffee in Asia: Ristr8to in Chiang Mai

14 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Thailand

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Asia, Chiang Mai, Coffee, Food & Drinks, Ristr8to Coffee, Selfish Years, Thailand

I don’t know what it is about Asia but they sure do love their Nescafé (instant coffee) here. I personally find it quite disgusting but have been nevertheless drinking plenty of it to get my caffeine fix in the morning. When I found out that Chiang Mai had a fancy coffee shop, I knew that Mr. Selfish and I would try it.

We visited Ristr8to twice during our week in Chiang Mai. It was far away from our apartment but worth the trip. The coffee was perfectly brewed, had beautiful latte art, and was absolutely delicious.

The menu was a little intimidating at initial glance, but there are basically two steps to ordering coffee at Ristr8to. First, you choose the type of coffee you want – e.g., caffé mocha, flat white, cappuccino, etc. Second, you choose the type of beans – e.g., Ethiopian, Brazilian, blended, Thai, or decaf.

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Visiting the Wats in Chiang Mai

13 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Thailand

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Asia, Chiang Mai, Selfish Years, Temples, Thailand, Wat, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat in Chiang Mai, Wat Phan Tao, Wat Phra Singh, Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, Wats

Although the weather was hotter than predicted, Mr. Selfish and I still managed to tour the notable wats in Chiang Mai. First, we took a songthaew (a pick-up truck converted into a taxi) up Doi Suthep to visit Wat Phrathat. The elevation at the wat is about 3,500 feet, and I already had problems with my breath as we were going up the mountain. I have certainly learned that I am prone to elevation sickness.

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Riding Elephants at Baan Chang Elephant Park

11 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Thailand

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Asia, Baan Chang Elephant Park, Chiang Mai, Elephants in Thailand, Riding Elephants, Selfish Years, Thailand

One of my goals for this trip was to ride an elephant. This goal was accomplished at Baan Chang Elephant Park near Chiang Mai. This park is one of the more humane elephant parks in Thailand. You even ride the elephants bareback because putting a chair on the elephants’ backs hurt them.

You start the day by changing into denim shirts and shorts. Then, you feed the elephants bananas and sugar cane. I never realized before how happy and adorable elephants are. They were quite pleased to eat right out of our hands.

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Learning to Make Thai Food in Chiang Mai

10 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Thailand

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Asia, Chiang Mai, Cooking Class, Food & Drinks, Oriental Cuisine Thai Cooking School, Selfish Years, Thailand

Mr. Selfish and I have attempted to make pad thai on a few occasions. Each time, we failed miserably. I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the recipes we had used may have included ketchup. As a result, I knew that we would take a cooking class in Thailand and learn the proper way to make pad thai.

Since we had a week in Chiang Mai, we decided to take the cooking class there. Chiang Mai has so many cooking schools available that it is a bit daunting to choose a class. I ended up choosing Oriental Cuisine Thai Cooking School, because we had the option to make pad thai, as well as a curry paste.

We took a quick trip to the market to buy the ingredients and then headed to the chef’s home to start cooking. Our chef was knowledgeable and funny. She also took a shining to Mr. Selfish after he said that he liked spicy food. Of course, his food was crazy spicy by the end of the day.

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Browsing the Markets in Chiang Mai

09 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Thailand

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Asia, Chiang Mai, Market, Night Market, Ratchadamnoen Road, Selfish Years, Sunday Walking Street Market, Thailand

Mr. Selfish and I spent a week in Chiang Mai. We rented an apartment, shopped at a western grocery store, and cooked our comfort meals, such as spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese, and burritos. As a result, we didn’t venture around Chiang Mai that much. However, we did make sure to stop by the two notable markets in Chiang Mai – the Sunday Walking Street Market and the Night Market.

The Sunday Walking Street Market takes place every Sunday from 4pm until midnight. It takes place right in the heart of the Old City on Ratchadamnoen Road, which is entirely shut down to motor traffic. This market had tons of vendors from northern Thailand, and they all felt and looked like authentic handicraft.