Chiang Mai - Thailand

June 3rd - 6th, 2016

Negotiating a ride to our accommodation took a couple of tries before we were happy with a price and jumped aboard a Sonngthaew (another style of collectivo) where a few other travellers were already seated. I had to laugh at their naivety when they said there wasn't room for us...there were only 6 of them in there....I may have commented that you'd fit another 5 people in there which they clearly didn't believe but we new to be true having already experienced it and more. We were dropped off at our hotel only to find that it was the wrong one out of a chain all with the same name, but luckily the lady on reception was able to organise a lift for us to the correct hotel and after waiting 10 minutes for someone to show up, we checked in, showered and got ready to go out and explore the city.

Chiang Mai City has a really vibrant feel to it, there's something to see around every corner with markets and temples dotted throughout along with many bars, restaurants, cafes, shops, tour agencies and massage parlours lining the streets. It's hard to go hungry here with so much food on offer everywhere you go to suit all tastes and budgets as we discovered, finding ourselves in a vegan cafe where I ordered more of the Spicy Papaaya Salad we'd had the previous day and Andy ordered a Pad Thai, both were delicious and gave us the energy needed to sightsee for the afternoon.

We went to see Tha Pae Gate on the Eastern side of the old city which is built within patchy walls and a pretty moat and houses the majority of the tourist sights as well as the majority of tourists themselves, though luckily this being the low season it wasn't as crammed as we feared. After looking at the elaborate gates set within the ancient walls we walked on to see one of the many markets within the city, Somphet Market turned out to be a lovely little produce market which we looked around slowly, trying to guess what the multitude of odd looking fruits and vegetables might be and what the brightly coloured packets of spices may contain. After we'd seen enough we returned slowly to our hotel, it being really hot and muggy with rain clouds gathering overhead, we decided to get our laundry done before it started to pour. After a couple of false starts at different places, we finally found somewhere to put our washing on and whilst it was in the machine, went for dinner at a little street side noodle stand which smelled amazing and enjoyed noodle soup amongst the locals. Dinne3r finished and washing done we managed to get back before the worst of the rain started and spent the evening deciding which tours to book for the next couple of days.

Today we got up bright and early ready for our pick up at 8.30 which was to take us to our Thai Cooking Class which we had booked the night before after much deliberation, there being 20 or so to choose from! Arriving at the school we were greeted by the owner and sat down to coffee and nibbles while the days course of action was explained to us. First we had to make our choices of what we wished to make, there being several options for each course, then we were taken to a local market where we learned about all the different ingredients used to make Thai dishes, the many vegetables and spices we had been pondering over the day before were named and inspected and with the help of our hosts we gathered up all the bits necessary for our lesson. Back at the school our goods were whisked away by the helpers and we got stuck into our class, preparing ingredients into different piles on plates, grinding, chopping, smashing and generally having a good time whilst learning how to make our dishes. The best part of course was eating them afterwards and after the first courses had been consumed we eagerly went back to our stations for round two. The group was a small one, just 6 of us in total which was lovely as we got to know each other somewhat, so with 2 instructors and 2 helpers running round, we definitely felt well taken care of and had plenty of individual attention and time to ask as many questions as we liked. Nothing felt rushed, yet the day passed quickly as we all enjoyed creating these delicious dishes with so much ease that we felt confident we would be able to try them at home.

With full bellies we declined a lift back to our hotel, preferring instead to walk off some of the food and on the way dropped in to an office to make arrangements for our tour the next day. Once back at the hotel we had a rest before getting ready to go out dancing, having discovered there was a monthly salsa party on at the Shangri-La Hotel the other side of town. A 20 minute walk later and we could hear the music that brought smiles to our hearts and toes and had a truly excellent night's dancing in a superb venue with some very unexpectedly talented dancers.

Our last full day in Chiang Mai and we'd decided to blow the budget for a tour to the Elephant Nature Park, something we'd wanted to do for a long time and were very excited about. An 8am pick up and an hours drive (with educational video on board) brought us to the reserve which is home to around 70 rescued and rehabilitated elephants. First stop was to our table at the Park Head quarters, this was where we were to meet at various points throughout the day and it soon became apparent how popular this tour is by the number of other tables set up for other groups. As there is no government funding, this rescue centre relies solely on tours, volunteers and donations to keep going and keep supporting not only the elephants, but the local people who work here as guides, mahouts, drivers, cooks, cleaners etc. Finding that we were sharing the park with in excess of 100 other tourists wasn't as terrible as you may think knowing for starters what good the money they supply is doing and also the park is huge and everything is well timed so you're not caught up amongst too many other people at any one time but are given your own space to be with the elephants. We got to feed some elephants with chunks of watermelon and give them a scratch and a pat as well as take a million photographs. Our guide was very informative on the elephants, each ones individual history, the park, what it does and how it operates and many other aspects of elephant life which we didn't know. The elephants in the park are there for life, none of them suitable for release in the wild, even the babies which were born here due to the rescued mothers already being pregnant, rather than them having a breeding program, are destined to a contented, safe life here. Walking from one group of elephants to another it is amazing how these social animals form their own little families without interference from anyone else and how they all seem to get on with their day to day lives quite happily. A wonderful sight was watching a small family, 3 adults and a 4 year old 'baby' play in the river, sinking under the brown water with just their trunks sticking out, rolling about in the mud and generally enjoying life before getting out to dry off and scoop dirt over themselves to protect their skin from the sun. We were also lucky enough to see a new baby, only 40 days old with his mum, nanny and sister in a large enclosure where the youngster seemed intent on escape and it was all the other three could do to contain him, much to everyones amusement. The highlight of our day (apart from the amazing buffet lunch!) was being able to join in with an elephant's bath time in the river! Aligned either side of her with our buckets we had a wonderful time sloshing water over the great grey back, enjoying the spray that bounced back to cool us as much as the water must have cooled her. She let us know when she'd had enough by simply walking out of the river back to her Mahout (elephant trainer). Each elephant in the park has their own mahout who cares for and watches over them every day, as all the animals are domesticated to some extent they have strong bonds with these people who, unlike former masters, treat them with kindness and respect. Leaving the centre at the end of the day we relaxed on the way back thinking about all we had seen, not just elephants, there is a herd of water buffalo there as well as a dog and cat sanctuary which rescued hundreds of animals from the floods in Bangkok a few years ago and is trying to re-home them where possible, even going so far as to fly them to Europe and America when people are willing to adopt them. A really worthwhile experience and worth every penny, we spent the end of the day avoiding the rain then heading out to the vast night market that encircles an entire block and sells all the usual souvenirs plus many tasty looking treats, but we managed to avoid buying anything except some yummy bits for dinner, making a perfect end to the day.