Although Bangkok was a thrilling start, it was quite a busy
and hectic metropolitan city so arriving in the quieter, more subdued Northern
city of Chiang Mai was a welcoming experience. In our loosely mapped out itinerary we decided Chiang Mai
would be one of our favorite places and there were many things we wanted to do
in and around the city so we planned to spend about 5 days here and let me tell
you, I could have stayed months! Between the friendliness of the people, the
ease to get around the old city, the affordable and delicious street food, the
endless options of outdoor activities and the overall laid back vibe I could
see how some of my friends have called this city home for months on end.
Accommodations in Chiang Mai are quite affordable and conveniently
located in and outside of the old city walls. Our guest house, Sri Pat, was not
as social as some of the other more hostel-oriented houses, but was a great
location inside the old city and the owner was an elderly lady who was eager to
show us letters from her friend in Chicago once she learned where we were from,
it was very sweet. We spent our first day doing a lot of walking in the old
city exploring the streets and getting our bearings. We were especially stoked
for fresh fruit and veggie juices on nearly every corner! Later we decided to treat ourselves to
our first Thai massage ($5 us dollars for one hour!). I had never experienced
traditional Thai massage and absolutely loved it, it was quite painful, but in
a good way. We compared it to a human foam roll (for athletes out there who
know what I’m talking about) combined with someone almost doing yoga stretching
for your body, amazing! That night we met up with a friend of mine, Lindsey,
from high school who I haven’t been in touch with in years that just happened
to also be traveling through Chiang Mai at the same time…ah the power of
facebook! It was a blast and such a treat to reconnect with old friends on the
other side of the world.
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| juice! |
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| a fun reunion |
The following day we set out on what has to be one of my
favorite experiences from the entire trip; an elephant park. Baanchang Elephant
Park is a lush 250 acres about 45 minutes outside of Chiang Mai in the hills.
The owner started the park in 2004 to rescue elephants that were being
mistreated and exploited in Thailand. Currently, there are 21 elephants at the
park. Tourists can visit the park and spend the day learning about how the
Mahouts (trainers/caretakers) communicate with and care for the animals, feed
and bathe the elephants and enjoy a leisurely ride up through the jungle.
Although seemingly gentle, elephants are actually quite aggressive animals and
it was fascinating to learn about communicating with them. The elephant that
Kelsey and I rode and bathed, Nomi, was so beautiful and sweet we didn’t want
the day to end…plus how sweeeet are those outfits??
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| bath time |
The following day we went with our guide from the Elephant park
on a trek through the jungle up to a beautiful waterfall where we had a chance
to spend some time relaxing and swimming followed by rafting. We returned to
Chiang Mai later that evening and braved our way through the super-touristy
night market where we picked up more than our fare share of gorgeous textiles
and souvenirs and tasty $1 pad thai.
The following day, we signed up for a half day cooking class
with Siam Rice Thai Cookery school. The morning consisted of visiting one of
the largest local markets to shop for ingredients, followed by step by step
instructions on cooking a soup, noodle dish and curry. We even pounded our own
curry paste! As someone who enjoys cooking and learning about new foods and
flavors, I loved every minute and it is true, it always tastes better when you
make it yourself. We couldn’t even finish our last curry dish after enjoying
soup and noodles, but luckily as part of the day you receive a cookbook with
all of the recipes so I’m eager to cook up some delicious Thai dishes.
Although, I have a feeling it might not be quite as easy without the expert
guidance and personal wok stations….
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| thai basil |
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| making our own curry paste |
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| delicious |
Following cooking school, we visited the Doi Suthep temple
on top of the mountain just outside the city. Even though the weather wasn’t
exactly cooperative, it was still a beautiful visit and the view of the city
from the top is quite breathtaking.
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| view of Chiang Mai |
On our last full day in Chiang Mai we finally had some time
to practice yoga and we were excited to join the 2-hour Ashtanga class at
Wild Rose Yoga that my
friend Lindsey and her friend Margot had been attending all week. (More details
on the class in a following post). Following yoga and another delicious meal,
we packed up our bags and headed to the airport where we would be leaving
Chiang Mai, certainly bittersweet, to head south to the Andaman coast for an
overnight in Phuket followed by beach time on Ko Phi Phi.
