Water we waiting for?
In the beginning of September we found ourselves with a four-day weekend from school. This mini-break took the place of a holiday traditionally held in April, the Songkran Festival. (Original Songkran, also known as the water festival, was postponed due to Covid. Check out this list of things to do during the festival in the city where we live, Chiang Mai.) We wanted to do something fun but close to home. Maintaining the element of water, we went to Coco Kala for a little something we haven’t had in a while: pool time! Coco Kala was highly recommended for a few reasons: they have a pool, a creative drink menu, delicious food, spacious co-working options and they’re within walking distance of our house!
We hoofed it over with our backpacks full of promise: we each brought a fun book to read and relax our brains. we brought our laptops too, in case we needed to do a little work. We brought our calorie-free sugar alternative to add to the coffee we KNEW we were going to drink, based on what other Chiang Mains (say that like “Mayan” though) said. Everyone raved about their delicious, home-brewed coffee. Caffeine junkies that we are, we would not miss an opportunity to try some. And it was great! I have to admit, my coffee palate isn’t the most discerning, but I did like the fresh slice of orange they accented our coffees with. And so did the ants!
The walk from our house wasn’t long at all and before we knew it, we found Coco Kala tucked away on a dead end road. It was beautifully hidden behind a concrete wall that separated it from its parking lot. Unless you peeked through the gate, you’d be oblivious to the lush greenery that abounded on the property. We walked under low-hanging but well-groomed trees and flowering plants.
Hidden oasis
The pool came into view first, clean and empty except for about 30 rubber balls that floated lazily on the surface. They slowly bobbed along, moving only when the gentle breeze nudged them. If I was a cannonballing kind of girl, it would have been the perfectly serene scene to disrupt. Pool time could not come soon enough! Woven lounge chairs and ottomans lined the pool. We had the run of the place so we could sit anywhere and everywhere! Before we decided where we’d set up, we walked into the only inhabited room where the owner and her staff waited.
This is where the magic happened. In this one room, we would find coffee, wine, food and hospitality. We decided on some iced coffees and took a tour of the grounds so we could make a plan for the day. We saw the cabanas, where we would enjoy beverages and a snack or two or three later.
Business upstairs, party downstairs
We walked upstairs and scoped out the meeting rooms with their large boardroom-like tables and office chairs. We saw spacious co-working rooms that looked perfect for someone with a laptop and earbuds to be hip and productive in.
My favorite room is pictured to the right: it has space for yoga, lots of comfortable couches and a big screen TV. I daydreamed about coming back up to lay on a couch and watch something, anfything, in English. It just looked like the ultimate place for physical, mental and soulful rest. But I was still fixated on wetting my swim trunks. Wait, that did not sound right. I was just excited about pool time.
Where is the cabana girl?
Back downstairs from the comfort of oversized pillows, we ordered some snacks. We like to sample one common item at different places to see how they compare and when we spotted parmesan French fries, there was no debate. We also crave salads on occasion so we ordered a grilled chicken salad. Because we are adventurous, we also like to try new and interesting things. Coco has fried coconut and we have never eaten that before so we gave it a shot too.
The fries were hot and crispy, dusted with a healthy amount of parm and a little salt. They came with a garlic aoli-ish dipping sauce that I had to return to the magic room for a second helping of.
The chicken salad had a perfect ratio of proteins to greens. The lettuce was crunchy, the chicken hot and herbed. So good and so simple. It did lack a little variety in types of vegetables contained within but it was still delicious.
To the left, you will see fried coconut. At first sight of it on the menu, we were not sure if it was a dessert or a savory side dish. The barista told us it tastes like calamari. We love fried calamari! This sounded great! It did not taste much like calamari but it was still fun to try.
And it, too, came with a yummy dipping sauce that needed a refill before we were finished.
We did NOT wait a half hour before swimming!
I know, we are a couple of rebels, huh? Thankfully, neither of us got a cramp and we both survived pool time. In addition to defying what your mom told you for years, we floated and talked. We laughed and wondered what people back home were doing at that exact moment. The answer was probably sleeping, as we are twelve hours ahead of the states. After an hour more of lounging and drying off, we reluctantly slipped back into our Tevas and walked home. We were happy and refreshed, already thinking about our second visit to this wonderful place. For more beautiful pictures of the venue and to see some of their events, check out their Facebook!