Thailand Part III

Hi All, If only our trip to Thailand had been as long as it has taken me to post about it. Picking up where I left off, we left Sukhothai on January 11. It was another long bus ride, this time to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is the third largest city in Thailand and was once the capital of the Lanna Thai Kingdom. There is a pretty large ex-pat community in Chiang Mai, both Brits and Americans. We spent three days and four nights at the Vieng Mantra hotel, a pretty much western style hotel.

Our room, as I think all in the hotel did, overlooked the pool.

Our first full day in Chiang Mai was VERY FULL. We started off with a trip to the Chan D Elephant Camp. Elephants have long been a big tourist draw in Thailand. Unlike in the past, the elephants are in elephant preserves where they are better cared for and not used for giving tourists endless rides. Our time with the elephants was spent learning about them, feeding them and giving them a bath before they were sent back out to forage on their own.

Susan feeding an elephant

Now my turn

One should never take vitamins on an empty stomach. Same is true for elephants so after feeding them here I am mashing up the elephant's vitamins with good stuff that makes it like dessert.

After breakfast it's time for their two part bath. Part one is a mud bath.

That look on my face has nothing to do with the elephant. It has everything to do with the handful of mud one of the elephant handlers put down the back of my shirt.

Part two of the bath is a dip in the river to wash off the mud. See that guy on the far left? He's the one that put the mud down my shirt. It may take years, but I'll get even!

After the elephant visit we took a bamboo raft ride down the same river. It only lasted thirty minutes or so but it was a nice quiet ride. After the raft trip we stopped for lunch and then went on a three hour hike to Doi Inthanon Waterfall. Actually there were two waterfalls on that hike. It was a little more difficult than we thought it was going to be, but we made it.

Waterfall 1

Waterfall 2

At the end of the hike we were exhausted. Our transportation for the day was some benches in the bed of a truck. This for four couples. You wouldn't have thought you could sleep with those arrangements. But if you're tired enough...

The next morning we took it easy, did some shopping and walked around eating street food. In the afternoon we had scheduled a Thai cooking class with the Thai Farm Cooking School. They picked us up at the hotel took us to a market where they gave us a tour of all that can be found there. We didn't buy anything as they grow most of what they prepare meals with. Each of us chose what we wanted to cook and eat for our three course meal.

Thai Farm Cooking School

Here I am, ready to go out to the garden and do some harvesting. Not really. We did go out to the garden but they had already harvested our ingredients.

Susan is cooking with gas.

Our favorite dessert, Mango and sticky rice. This one made by our instructor. Ours looked nothing like this.

The third day in Chiang Mai was all about gardens. The Queen's Botanical Garden, an Orchid Garden and a Butterfly Garden.
The Queen's Botanical Garden

The Orchid Garden

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And one picture from the Butterfly Garden. There were lots of butterflies but this post is getting long.

On the way back to the hotel we made several stops at different handicraft villages. Hand painted umbrellas, jewelry and silk. Lots of silk.
And for a lighter look at how things work in other countries. We've seen this exact thing in Vietnam and Cambodia too. At least it's not a metal ladder.

That pretty much takes care of Chiang Mai. By far the highlight was the time spent with the elephants. Not only for our time in Chiang Mai but for the entire trip. Next stop Krabi. I'll try to get that done without quite such a long delay. No promises though.
Take care.
Brian