Rainy Chiang Mai, Ramen noodles, and Canadian people

(Day 9)

Today was a stay-inside-because-it-is-extremely-rainy-out type of days. Basically, I went from Julie's to the next door internet cafe to update my blog, and then I went back to take a nap.

The rain up here in Northern Thailand is surprisingly chilly. I was freezing! But I found it beautiful nonetheless.

After my nap, we decided to go get a massage, and then try out a Japanese Ramen restaurant that was listed in Lonely Planet. The massage wasn't too far from Julie's, but the restaurant was on the other side of town. To our bitter dismay, the massage parlor had closed shop at 5pm. Being the stoics that we are, we didn't let such a misfortune affect our inner peace. With the rain pouring down upon us, we began walking towards the restaurant. It didn't take long before we changed our minds about walking and flagged down a taxi.

The Ramen noodle restaurant was extraordinary. The restaurant's name, Ninja Ramen, made me feel really cool just to be inside. I, along with most of the other guys, ordered Ramen noodles with a pork bone broth. We ordered the medium size, which came out in a bowl that appeared to be the size of a fish tank. It was absolutely amazing! One of the best dinners I have had in my life. We had great conversation over dinner. We also had a lovely young waitress who was embarrassed by her lack of English skills. I wish she could have felt my embarrassment for my lack of Thai skills so she didn't feel so bad. When this particular waitress asked for our orders earlier, Arrio asked her a question about what was in the Ramen, and she quickly ran (with a blushing grin on her face) to get help from the chef.

After a great meal, Dalton and I ended up meeting some really great people. Nadine and Keaton. Both are from Vancouver, Canada and have been traveling in SE Asia for a couple of months already. The were both extremely kind. Nadine tried to show us a great place to get crepes covered in Nutella (one of our favorite desserts in Thailand), but the shop was closed for the night. We walked to the night bazaar and found a substitute.

Dalton, Nadine, Keaton, and I stayed up playing Jenga and talking. I retired to bed around midnight.