Chiang Mai
Dates: Dec 18-20, 2016
Route: Flew from Bangkok.
Chiang Mai is the more chilled and cultural version of Bangkok and a place we enjoyed more than the capital. It is the Melbourne of Thailand whereas Bangkok is the Sydney. We arrived late in the evening and immediately felt relaxed as we checked into our hotel and sipped on a chilled coconut. It is the perfect place to explore northern Thailand and has lush mountains, great weather, waterfalls, hiking, elephants, shopping and beautiful, ancient temples. It is also a city of coffee and tea shops and you can laze away for hours in these.
We stayed just outside the Old City walls and enjoyed the quite location of our hotel. The Old City is the main attraction here and is filled with all the must-see temples and fantastic restaurants and bars. It is a very walkable city and I would highly recommend this as the way to see all the sights. Chiang Mai is far cheaper than Bangkok and we pay about $60/night for the hotel and $40/night for AirBnB. We started our first day by exploring the Old City which was mostly spend in the 30+ temples that are there. Each temple features one or more unique idols of Buddha and all have their own charm and beauty. Some of the top ones to see are Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Chiang Man, Wat Sri Suphan, Wat Phra Singha and Wat Suan Dok. Interspersed among the temples are many small cafes, restaurants and small shops that sell all manner of handicrafts and unique things. While we are not big shoppers, the ones here are unique and interesting enough to warrant your time. Another simple pleasure is to sit in the beautiful garden of the cafes and sip organic coffee or Thai iced tea. Old City is just that perfect combination of things that you can easily spend two day here and come away relaxed.
There are two other things of interest in Chiang Mai that is worth doing. The first is the Night Bazaar which runs every evening from 18:00 – 23:00. There is no exact start of end to this market but it’s rough center is the intersection of Chang Khlan and Loi Khro roads. This is just like all the nights markets all over Thailand but seems bigger and has more of offer including fake shirts, carved animals, art, lamps, handicrafts, sunglasses, luggage, shoes etc. There are many bars and restaurants around if you need a break during your retail therapy. The other thing to experience, especially after all the walking, is a 90-minute foot massage. For about $10, you will experience bliss and relief from your aches unlike any other therapy. There are many massage parlors about so just look for the happy feet signs.
There are two other things of interest in Chiang Mai that is worth doing. The first is the Night Bazaar which runs every evening from 18:00 – 23:00. There is no exact start of end to this market but it’s rough center is the intersection of Chang Khlan and Loi Khro roads. This is just like all the nights markets all over Thailand but seems bigger and has more of offer including fake shirts, carved animals, art, lamps, handicrafts, sunglasses, luggage, shoes etc. There are many bars and restaurants around if you need a break during your retail therapy. And after all the walking, find a massage parlor and get a 90-minute foot massage. For about $10, you will experience bliss and relief from your aches unlike any other therapy.
The other experience we did was take a cooking class. We found the Thai Kitchen Cookery Centre not far from our hotel and booked a class for about $30 each. This included going to a shop to pick out the ingredients, an explanation of each and an overview of the dishes we were going to make. We chose Tom Yum soup, green curry, spring rolls and Pad Thai. We spent over 3hrs making each from scratch and then had them for lunch. It all turned out very well and we got a cookbook to take home.
On the 3rd day, we went to a local elephant park that is just outside the city and about an hour’s drive. You must be careful in which one you select as there are many that abuse their animals or treat them badly. Most hotels can refer you to a reputable farm. Upon arrival, we were given clothes to change into as we would be getting muddy. We were assigned to a middle-aged male named Tong D and we started by feeding him his morning meal of leaves and plants. After, we had to brush him down and then take him to his favorite mud pit where he proceeded to douse himself and us in mud. This was followed by going to the river for him to bathe and finally having lunch along with him. We are both lovers of elephants and this was a day well spent caring for one.
