Chiang Mai is a mix of old and new, east and west, traditional and modern. It is the capital of Lanna (Northern Thailand) and therefore plays a very important role in the culture of the region, but it's also a University town, bringing a fun, youthful energy into the mix. What it makes for is a laid-back, friendly city with interesting, creative people and places. It actually reminds us a lot of Austin, with a little more history.

Food plays a huge role here, which for us is always a good thing. It's as diverse as the population and while we did have to test out the SE Asian Tex-Mex at "El Diablo," the more traditional Northern Thai dishes are the ones worth writing home about. The street food is excellent and the locals are friendly and always willing to give you a taste - even if it's right off their plate. We had a group of Thais treat us to fried bananas after giving us bites of one of their own - granted, we were staring at it trying to figure out if it was a corn dog! One dish, in particular changed our lives forever. Khao Soi is typically a lunch-only dish, made with egg noodles and either chicken or pork in a savory coconut base (like a curry), topped with crispy fried noodles, lime, raw onion and pickled cabbage. Trekking Collective gave us the heads up on a small, unmarked coffee shop / Khao Soi guru just outside the Chiang Mai gate. We ate there three times during our stay and it would have been five if she hadn't been sold out on two of our visits.

From traditional Thai food to traditional Thai entertainment, we also caught our first Muay Thai fight in Chiang Mai. Muay Thai is similar to kickboxing, with more ritual. We got roped into the extremely touristy version of the traditional sport, complete with English announcers and a welcome drink. Always the tourist snobs, we were disappointed to see that the only locals were the coaches and fighters, but we had ringside seats and big beers and soon were up, yelling for our fighter with the rest of the Farangs. It's actually a really beautiful and brutal sport. Before each fight, the fighters walk the perimeter of the ring, running their gloves along the ropes to bless the space. They then perform a series of stretches, dance moves and bows to honor the sport, ring and other fighter. Then, the fighting starts. And, touristy or not, it was real. The fighters are well-trained athletes and are a lot tougher than they look. One of the perhaps not-so-traditional aspects was the "half-time show" when about seven of the "B Team" fighters came into the ring, were blindfolded and then beat the shit out of each other for 10 minutes. It will go down as one of the strangest things we've seen in Asia (along with two dogs we saw who were stuck together, butt-to-butt). At the end of the night's fights, we got to go in the ring and practice our moves which turned into another hilarious side show of tourists throwing drunk punches and off-balance kicks at one another.

Another show and first for us in Chiang Mai was the infamous lady-boy cabaret. Men in different stages of their transformation to become female dress up and lip-sync popular Western hits and show tunes. It's surprisingly very family friendly and we had such a fun time. Brendan was a good sport, even reaching into our "waitress's" cleavage to get his drink and collect our change while she/he flirted shamelessly with him. I spent most of the show looking for bulges (couldn't help myself) and admiring the ladies' toned bodies, perfect make-up and over-the-top outfits. It was definitely drag at its best, but with more believable ladies. Go girl!

On the opposite side of the fence and in the light of day, we also had some spiritual firsts in Chiang Mai, including a candid conversation with a Cambodian monk and being blessed by an elder in one of the holiest temples in Thailand, Doi Suthep. The mix of traditional and modern influences in Chiang Mai is really apparent in the temples and especially at the Buddhist University, where monks and novices invite foreigners to join them for informal chats in between their daily duties and studies. The point of the conversations is two-fold. One, to share knowledge about Buddhism, Thai culture snd the lives of monks to curious Westerners. And two, to practice their English and learn more about the Western world. Kosal, the 18-year-old Cambodian monk that we sat with was a great example of the old-world and new. He was so excited to hear that Steph worked at Facebook and mentioned that he had a page, but couldn't be friends with girls. Since monks are not allowed to come into contact with women (touching), Steph and I kept a respectful distance, and promised not to stalk him on the FB. While we were sitting with him, Kosal pointed out a group of monks who turned out to be lady boys! He explained that that is possible only in Thailand, Cambodia and other close countries would never be so tolerant. Just another reason to love this country.

Up on the mountain at Doi Suthep, we joined hundreds of Western and Thai visitors at Wat Phra That. The Wat is beautiful to look at and is considered one of the most holy temples in Thailand. It was built when a Buddha statue broke in half and, by a miracle, one of the halves was as large as the original whole. To honor the miracle and choose the perfect location to house the special statue, it was placed on the back of a sacred white elephant, who climbed up the mountain before stopping and circling clockwise three times to designate the chosen spot. Now, to honor the temple, visitors can walk three times clockwise around the original chedi, chanting a sacred song and offering blessings. Somewhat by chance, we ended up inside one of the alters, being summoned by an elder monk to come close and kneel. He then started chanting and showering (not sprinkling) us with holy water as a blessing. A little wet, but very honored to be a part of the ceremony, we received a white string tied around our right wrists to recognize and remind us of the blessing.

We stayed in Chiang Mai longer than any other Thai city and never got tired of it. It's unique culture, flair and flavors have made it one of our favorite cities in Thailand.