- The Sunday night market is a must see for the plethora of shopping, but get there early or you'll be drowned by a sea of tourists.
- Our new monk friends Chhunni and Remmy spoke with us about their faith, then showed us around Wat Suan Dok and the Forest Temple.
- Come over to our place when we get back into town. We'll cook you up some delicious Thai dishes that we learned in cooking school.
- We adopted and cared for two elephants, Lucky (Tania) and Mai Phu Thong (Craig) for an entire day. We even checked their poop to make sure they were healthy. Fun, huh???
The "sorry, this one is realllllllly long" version
After 3 weeks lounging around the southern Thai islands, it was time to head north to Chiang Mai, which is famous for the plethora of temples (Wats)(what up Sasa!!??), laid back vibe, and incredible food, both to be eaten and learned. No more lazy days on the beach, or snorkeling trips, or scooter riding. It’s now time for mountain living, Thai style.
On Thursday, we took a ferry from Koh Lanta up to Koh Phi Phi and onto Phuket where we stayed for the night before our early flight to Chiang Mai the next morning. After the overnight ferry from Koh Tao to Surat Thani, we realized that we never again want to mess with overnight traveling through Asia. And we wanted to get a quick glimpse of Phuket before leaving the south.
We stayed at the Lotus Lodge, which is a little guest house about 1km off of the beach, owned and operated 6 months of the year by a German fellow named Stefan. He spends the on-season in Thailand, and the off-season back in Germany making rope courses for tourists who are visiting the Alps. It was a very laid back place filled with laid back Germans visiting one another at each other’s doorstep. Stefan drove us into town so we could grab a bite to eat and see the beach. Since we were on the northern end of the island, intentionally so so we could have a quick drive to the airport the next morning, we didn’t experience the madness which is Phuket, but we could tell at the ferry terminal how inundated it is with tourists.
Now onto Chiang Mai…
We landed into Chiang Mai and found our way to our hotel, Ban Kong Rao, which was just northeast of the city square. And the central part of the city is actually a square, edged by a worn down yet gorgeous brick wall, wherever it is still standing. Needing a dose of home, we headed to the mall to see Avatar in 3D, which blew our minds. The special effects, the story, the 3D animations, everything about the movie left us wanting to see it 3 more times, hopefully once in an IMAX theater (for those of you back home that got to see it in IMAX, foo on you!).
Before the movie, we of course passed the time by eating pizza and getting massages. Tania opted for the burly ladyboy (not a derogatory term at all, just the common name for Thai men who opt to dress/act like women) while I chose the tiny 70 year old woman. Well, Tania got an amazing massage from her person while I got annoyed by my lady tickling me, the 7 year old kid in the chair next to me who was playing WWF on his PSP with the sound on, and the beeping new age music seeping from the speakers. As you can tell, not the best massage I’ve ever had, but my faith in Thai massages was renewed when Tania’s ladyboy noticed how disappointed I was with my lady, and took over for the last 3 minutes, which was enough time to do more for my neck and shoulders than the last 4 masseuses have been able to do combined. It was then that I realized I need to get male masseuses if I’m ever going to make a dent in my knotted-up back.
On Saturday we met Vanessa’s monk friend Chhunni and his teacher Samantha for lunch at Chuni’s wat, Wat Suan Dok. Chhunni is 28 and from Cambodia, and already has wisdom enough for a lifetime. While Samantha gave us recommendations for what to do in Chiang Mai, Chhunni gave us a peak at what Buddhism and being a monk is all about. He even rode with us, and his monk friend Remmy, over to another Wat, known as the Forest Temple. It was fascinating to spend time with these two and hear first hand why they decided to become monks, as well as everything they’re taught about the faith. Tania jotted down lessons like the 4 noble Buddhist truths, the 5 golden rules, and many other ideas that we can implement in our lives to constantly improve the way we live.
Tania with Chhunni and Remmy at the Forrest Temple
The following day we headed into the center of town and did a little, okay a ton of shopping at the Sunday night market. It was plenty busy when it opened at 4pm, but as the sun went down, the streets filled up with what seemed to be every tourist in Thailand. We couldn’t even move down the street without bumping shoulders with someone, or barely stepping on a vendor. As hectic as it was, it was still an amazing experience, one we topped-off with an incredible Italian dinner.
Tania after a successful trip to the Sunday night market
Monday it was time to get to some cooking. We joint 20 or so other pharang at a local cooking school to make a wide array of Thai dishes. Anywhere from Phat Thai to curry paste to curry soups to dessert, we split into separate groups so we could learn as many recipes as possible so when we come home, we’ll be ready to cook ourselves the dishes we’ve come to love so much while in Thailand.
Craig at the Baan Thai cooking school making some Phat Thai
Then of course we got massages to unwind from the stressful cooking school. :)
On Tuesday we enjoyed the room and got a late start on the day because the highlight of the day was to enjoy sunset up on the mountainside at Doi Suthep. After taking a taxi to the zoo, we jumped into another taxi with a friendly couple from Singapore and climbed up the steep hill, hoping not to fall out the back of the truck.
Once we arrived at the wat, we were greeting first by 100 or so steps up another hill, then by a golden temple swarming with Buddhists there to worship at this beautiful shrine. After a stroll past the emerald Buddha and prayer bells, we ended up at the viewpoint overlooking the whole of Chiang Mai. We stayed a while and took in the view until the sun set, enjoying it all while listening to Tania’s “sunset meditation” mix on her iPod. You can’t beat a little M83 while the setting sun casts beautiful colors across an ancient city.
Heading down the 100 steps was much easier than heading up, but getting down the hill proved to be a pain because of the taxi drivers trying to take advantage of the fact that we were stuck on this mountain. That was until we were saved by a tour bus full of generous French people who talked their tour leader into letting us catch a ride with them down the hill. A big mercy buckets goes out to our new friends.
We wandered around the night bazaar area near the river on Wednesday, which was a pretty uneventful day besides the comfort food lunch and stroll through one of the nicest hotels we’ve ever seen. The meal was full of buffalo wings, Philly cheese steaks, and French fries. The hotel was named the Chedi, and if you have some money to blow while in Chiang Mai, we recommend you stay at this elegant retreat.
Our stay in Chiang Mai was capped off by maybe the best day of the entire trip, caring for our own elephant for an entire day at Patara elephant farm. Tania adopted Lucky, a 7 year old baby that was just the right size for her. I adopted a 37 grumpy lady named Mai Phu Thong, who ended up being sweet as pie by the end of the day. We brushed then washed them in the river, we fed them, we inspected their vitals (sweaty toe nail beds, wagging tail and ears, and yes, smelling and squeezing their poop to check for proper digestion), we rode them all day, and then Tania got an extra special kiss from Lucky for being the group’s MVP of the day.
Craig riding bareback on Mai Phu Thong
Such a fascinating experience with such amazing creatures. And in an important refuge for previously abused animals. It was definitely a day we’ll never forget. And not just because of the poop.
And that was our time in Thailand. Our visa expired the next day, meaning we either had to cross the border into Mayanmar to extend the visa, or head to Laos for a week. We opted for the latter because of the horror stories we’ve heard about Burma. We will miss Thailand for so many reasons, and not just the delicious food, friendly people, and gorgeous landscape. This country has a soul that can’t be described, and it’s one that will call us back very soon.
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