Chilled out in Chiang Mai

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.

juice!

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??

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….

thai basil

making our own curry paste

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.

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.