Chiang Mai Oh My

As we ate our breakfast of fresh fruit, toast with fresh pureed mango, and coffee under the paper lanterns, I was a little sad to be leaving Chiang Mai. It was such a welcomed change from Bangkok. Chiang Mai was smaller, more peaceful, surrounded by mountains, and filled with hipster and alternative shops and restaurants. Our hostel was really nice. Part of the common area was open air with a tree growing through it. Our room had one of the best showers I’ve ever been in. The restaurant served only vegetarian food. I said it looked like it would be the perfect place for a yoga retreat.
As soon as we got to the hostel from the train station we set our bags down, had a quick and spicy lunch, then headed off to Doi Suthep. As we got closer and I saw just how high up the top was I was pretty nervous. I’ve never hiked before and it looked impossibly high. It started pretty good and we only encountered one snake. The trail was marked by strips of monks robes tied around trees. We made it to Wat Palad after about a half hour. This was probably my favorite temple I have seen so far. It is surrounded by practically untouched forest and

bordered by a waterfall. It was so peaceful. Everywhere you looked there was a statue, shrine, or building. There were monks meditating and living in their traditional one person huts. The view from up here was pretty good. Our hostel gave us a little packet about the trail that said the next part was going to be much harder and it was not lying. The trail markings became fewer and the path was much steeper. In some parts we had to use our hands to pull ourselves up. I had to pause at some points because I was out of breath. After almost an hour and a half we made it to the top. It was pretty gratifying. There is a village of Hmong people living at the top of Doi Suthep. They

have some stands selling food, drinks, and goods outside the mountain-top attractions. They include Jade and Orchid World, _, the royal winter palace, and Wat Doi Suthep which we visited. After that long, tiring hike I was happy to drink some fresh coconut juice. We climbed another 306 steps to get to the temple. It felt the temple was adding insult to injury but I knew the steps were famous. We covered up, removed our shoes, and walked around the grounds. They were gorgeous and much different than the temples in Bangkok. Unfortunately, it was a zoo of tourists and the most crowded attraction we had seen yet. I couldn’t believe the view from the observation area and just how high we had climbed. Chiang Mai has long been an exporter of teak so some of the buildings and shrines were made of the intricately carved dark wood. We didn’t stay as long at Wat Doi Suthep because of the crowd and because we had to get to our cooking class.
After a shared open-back taxi we only had time to put our bags in our room, quickly shower, and grab a slice of toast with jam before we were being picked up for the next activity. Our hostel booked the half day cooking class for us. The school picked us and the other “culinary students” up and took us to the school. After quick introductions, we decided on a menu and our instructor, Gass, brought out a plate of ingredients. I thought it was just going to be an introduction to Thai ingredients but it turns out it was a welcoming snack. The plate contained chilis, leaves, ginger, lime, peanuts, a sauce, shallot, and toasted coconut. A pocket was made out of the leaf and pieces of everything else were placed inside. It seemed really weird and I wasn’t sure about eating the rind of lime but it all tasted great together. Gass took us out back to the garden to show us and let us taste different herbs, vegetables, and fruits. Then we all walked to a market to see more ingredients. We had some time to meander so I bought fruit and some Christmas presents. Finally, it was time to cook. First we made our stir fry. I made cashew nut chicken and Andrea made pad see uw. Gass informed us that pad Thai which is probably the most well-known Thai dish is actually not popular in Thailand. They both came out really well. Next we made spring rolls. Again, delicious. We broke into teams to make curry powder from scratch. I was on the red curry team and Andrea was on the green curry team. I selected khaw soi curry, a local favorite, so after the red curry paste was finished, a small portion was set aside for me to add curry powder and crushed peanuts to. Making curry paste in a mortar and pestle was hard work and I’m glad I had a team to share the work with. After a small but fiery taste of green curry paste Andrea switch to red curry which is made with dried, not fresh, chilies. We set our paste aside and went to the stoves to make soup. I made coconut milk soup and Andrea made tom sab. I really like tom sab but thought I should try something different. As advertised, the soup was a mix of sweet and sour. It was delicious and different. Finally, it was time for the curry. Mine was made with coconut milk, noodles, and fish sauce. Like everything else that night, it turned out well. We made so much food I couldn’t finish it all and I was exhausted from the hike earlier. I was shocked that my food came out as well as it did. All the recipes seemed so simple and easy. We got to keep a cookbook of everything we made plus all the other food options we didn’t make. We’ll see how easy everything is to cook on my own at home. I was so happy to get in my bed that night especially since we had an early morning the next day. We were going to an elephant

sanctuary!
The 6AM wakeup call didn’t seem so bad since I went to sleep around 9:30. The sanctuary sent one of the open back truck-like cabs to pick us up. We picked up 7 other people and drove for about an hour and a half outside of town. Along the way we had to stopped at a gas station and bought some snacks. We stopped again later because Andrea and another guest were getting sick from the bumpy ride in the back. They moved up front and the driver bought them some medicine. Once we got to the sanctuary, we were greeted by three elephants. The middle sized one tried to steal my snacks! Her trunk was so strong I couldn’t get them back. Someone who works there had to run over and help me. A volunteer who was there for a second day said the elephant was very naughty. I put my things down safely and went back to play with the elephants. We put on shirts made of traditional materials and patterns that were allegedly to tell the elephants we were friends and then fed them bananas and

sugar cane. We started with the grandma and two other adult females who lived in the jungle and then moved to the baby, teen, and mommies who hung out where we came in. The baby had to have his bananas peeled and the grandma wasn’t allowed to eat sugar cane because she doesn’t have many teeth left. The elephants were so funny and each had its own personality. The baby was clumsy, the teen was mischievous, and the mommies were so calm. We changed into our bathing suits and joined the elephants in a mud pit. The mud protects them from mosquitos and the sun. The elephants were really feeling it and I think we had more mud on ourselves then they did. Next we went to the river and the elephants became so playful. They loved the water. They rolled around, blew water out their trunks, and just wrestled with each other. We had a lot of fun too. Finally, the elephants went back to their respective areas and we went to hang out in a waterfall. Andrea stayed on the rocks but I swam across the river, limbed up rocks, and jumped off them. The current was strong but it was fun. After a very tasty lunch of yellow curry (yes, now I know the difference between them all), soup, and stir fried vegetables we found ourselves saying goodbye to our elephant friends. Our guides gave us purses made of the same traditional materials and colors that our shirts were made of earlier. Soon it was back in the bumpy car and back to the hostel.
After a little nap and shower we decided to walk around town. It was the most laid back thing we had done so far in Chiang Mai. We roughly followed a path from one of the guide books and stopped into two temples. We also did some shopping and stopped for massages. At less than $10 for an hour massage I don’t really think I need an excuse, but if I did it would be I wanted to prevent being sore from the previous day’s hike. Andrea bought some dim sum and we went back to the hostel. Both of us were tired again and we had an early flight to Phuket the next day. I really enjoyed Chiang Mai and I think we got to do some truly fun stuff while visiting. Tomorrow we leave for Phuket and being the island portion of our trip. It should be very relaxing.