Chiang Mai Day #4 Kennett’s Tour, or water day as it became affectionately known. Our mate Mr Kim came and picked us up. Let’s do something a little different today. Off we go to hot springs, and water parks. The hot springs are a fair jaunt out of town, but in some beautiful countryside of Thailand. This place is at Sankampaeng Hot Springs. Yep it is volcanic, yep it is smelly because of the sulphur, it’s very hot too. But a VERY cool place.
It costs about 110 Baht to get in a use the facilities – kids pool (full of dead frogs ha ha – that’ll team them to assume the water is fine and jump in), adults pool, leg dipping area, hot showers and even a place to buy raw eggs, pop them in little baskets and dip them in the pool to be hard boiled in 15 minutes. Delicious with a little savoury sauce. Let’s get in to Chiang Mai Day #4 Kennett’s Tour.
Here we sitting next to 2 of the natural geysers – no need for sit and wait for Old Faithful as these are constantly spouting boiling water up in to the sky.After a quick drip in the boiling hot mineral waters around the place, we decided it was indeed time for a foot massage. Bloody awesome. Mr Kim even bought me a beer, bless him.Here’s our geyser cooked hard boiled eggs, along with a lovely icy cold Chang. Yummo!This is the kids pool, way cooler than that others, but this is the one with all the dead frogs. Did no spot that until we were leaving. Yucks!Lovely luke warm pool, just don’t swallow the water Jude Jude!This old and very faithful – it goes non-stop.see our little baskets in the pool? This is 105 degree hot, straight from the source – BOILING hot.
Next we go off to the new water p[ark in Chiang Rai, called Tube Trek – see below though.
Not the best thing we have done on our trip this day, Chiang Mai Day #4 Kennett’s Tour. There seems to be no agreed charging mechanism – Mary paid a a different price compared to me, and Ollie different to Amy. Amy could not go on half the rides, despite being to do all the same rides in Singapore. The lazy river was about 2′ deep so you had to walk around. For food and drinks you can only use a pre-paid wrist band, and you can only top that up with cash – no cash, you are f*cked. A really really painful process. A place we surely won’t be rushing back to.
Still the kids had fun.
And believe me it was hot hot hot today.Just chilling!
Amy could not go on any of these rides. Ollie tried on a couple and they said only 4 at a time, er just add 4 single riders and you have 4, you dummy. So again this was just yet more annoyance about this place.It’s tuk tuk time on the way home – I took this photo to prove to my colleagues i was on vacation and could not join a conference call.Now to the highlight of the day. Dinner. This place will knock you socks off, The Service 1921. Read on.
Seriously how cool is this place, this is the restaurant in the Anantara Hotel, a 5* renovation in Chiang Mai, keeping the old Governor’s house, and converting it as you’ll see behind Mary and the kids. Without a shadow of a doubt some of the best food I have ever eaten, and when you think we had 6 main courses, 2 desserts, 2 beers, 2 cocktails, free nibbles, free palate cleanser, so of the very best staff ever, and amazing seat et. to be charged a little over $200 was mind-blowing.
It’s all themed on the secret services. SO much so that they have a special list of cocktails, and we had Golden Gun, and Gold Finger – yep actual gold flakes within the drink. Secret rooms that you’ll see soon. Fantastic display cabinets full if very cool stuff, made us feel like we were in the film, The Kingsman. What a genius place this restaurant is.
This truly bucket-list, or death-row. You simply have to come here and try the food. You have to!
Anantara Hotel, The Service 1921, 123-123/1, Charoen Prathet Road, Chiangklan.
+66 (0) 5325 3333 – make sure you do ring to book, as it was heaving the night before and this night we attended.
I’m liking it, I’m liking it!Menus and drinks lists get served in bound top secret manila folders. Check the display cabinets too. The eye for detail and coolness is on steroids.See what I mean about The Kingsman?Gold Finger and Golden Gun cocktails, see the gold flakes a glistening?Ollie goers with slow cooked beef shank in yellow curry sauce – BOOM!Mary goes for Nue Pad, or beef in oyster sauce with Spring onion. This was very very good.I tried the Tom Kha Gai. Up there with the best for sure, and I love the fact that they served it in paper. Yep this is not a bowl, its paper, sat on a little burner to keep it warm – genius!But to the highlight of the week from a food perspective. The Szechuan Poached Beef with cabbage and bean sprouts. This was massive, but we polished this off in no time. Absolutely one of the very best dishes I have eaten in my 49 years on this planet – it was just fantastic. I will fly back to Chiang Mai just for this. I had a good chat too with the Chef about this. DOUBLE BOOM, DOUBLE WOW!!!Very sad Daddy, now that I have finished it. See what I mean about the size, it was HUGE, but ALL gone. Oh my goodness, so so good.Here’s you James Bond cocktails, bloody good they were too. Yes that is circa $12 for a cocktail. Crazy cheap!We loved this place!
Uber cool!This was free, tofu skin with sesame oil, and some peanuts with a variety of things to fip.
A legend in the making, the Head Chef. All the way from China. I tell you mate, promise me you’ll keep pumping out that food and I will follow you everywhere.
Now some delicious dessert, fruit, jelly and coconut ice cream.I went with poached bananas in sweet creamed mild, what a great finish to the end of the meal.SO here is another one of the dining rooms, with a sort of bookcase at the back wall.Looks like any other normal bookcase right?WRONG folks, it is a hidden door. Let’s go explore.The gorgeous Amy showing that behind the secret door is a caged door.And now you’re in a completely new room, secret and secure for discussing those secret missions. Bloody brilliant!@SpencerCambell how do you fancy doing a B&B here? It is exceptional.
So there you go folks, Chiang Mai Day #4 Kennett’s Tour. A rather interesting day. One place that was very unique, one place I would rather never go back to, and one place I am planning to get back to ASAP. The more we stay in Chiang Mai, the more she opens her Kimono and shows off moire and more amazing things to do. I whole-heartedly recommend getting a friendly tuk-tuk driver, as we did, as you get to see the secrets that are a little off the beaten track. You MUST got to The Service, that actually is an order, and I just know 100% that you will – ENJOY!!!
