Ty Miranda, 127 YinD

At the beginning of 2016, I decided to become a vegetarian. Now, let’s not get into why or how or all that important stuff, but just know that I am a newbie on the veggie road of greatness. For the past five months, I have been struggling with food at site. I am on a steady diet of eggs, vegetables, and whatever the combination of the two I can find. But, then … “I found love in a hopeless place..” CHIANG MAI!

I knew that Chiang Mai was going to be great by all the vegetarian restaurant suggestions PCV Abby forwarded me. She had so many ideas, I didn’t even have enough time to get through all of them. However, this is why Chiang Mai is the vegetarian mecca of Thailand.

First of all, A Taste of Heaven is exactly that. Located near the southeast part of the Old City, A Taste of Heaven offers dreams and rainbows on a plate. I had hummus, pita bread, a black bean burger, and many samples from my friend’s Khao Soi. Wow. I wish I had more words. I don’t. I liked that the restaurant carried more than just tofu vegetarian options. I like being a vegetarian and I try to stay away from the tofu so it was nice to really have authentic veggie food. The restaurant also had smoothies, shakes, and ice cream, all vegan, all the time. If I could, I would move next door and be really happy for a long time.

Secondly, Chiang Mai is aware that vegetarians are real people. Although we had a famous vegan climber fail to climb Mount Everest this year, it doesn’t mean we, vegetarians/vegans, don’t count! Anyway, off my horse. In the Night Bazaar, you will find some awesome food areas and stands and it was great to see concrete vegetarian options that didn’t just include salad and fried cabbage. I got to eat a delicious vegetarian burrito for a 100 baht with guacamole on it! Jing Jing!

Thirdly, Chiang Mai has such a variety of vegetarian options. Do you want pizza that is able to compete with your friend’s meat lover pizza? By Hand can give you that. Do you want breakfast that isn’t just eggs and toast, Chiang Mai has it. Basically Chiang Mai is food paradise and I never want to leave. But, I have to go back to site.

If you are a vegetarian/vegan in Thailand, let Peace Corps Thailand Magazine know some of your favorite options and entrees at pctm.stickyrice@gmail.com. We would love to know more!