Chiang Mai Thailand
Our next stop was Chiang Mai, the largest city in northern Thailand. We had decided to stay there for a month, to rest a bit and explore at a much slower pace. You have to check an official web site (http://thaiembdc.org/visas/ or https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/thai-visas-americans/), but basically, when you fly into Thailand, you get an entry stamp at the airport which is good for 30 days. You can get an extension by departing Thailand for one day and re-entering, this is known as a visa run. For more information, Google is your friend. There are dozens of blogs and sites dedicated to this issue.
Chiang Mai had a very laid back atmosphere and people are really friendly. I made more friends in one month then anyplace I have ever visited. It is a city well known to digital nomads, a term used to describe just about anyone who can work remotely on their computer. Everyone was so helpful and willing to network and collaborate, it was one of the most positive environments I've ever been in. It's a pretty cheap city to live in, most places are walkable, and the weather is wonderful, at least until burning season in late March. That's when the farmers burn the fields before planting new crops. By then, not only is the smoke so bad you can't breath, but the weather begins to turn hot. I'm told Dec through early March are the best times. The Thai people are very warm and friendly and most spoke English. Thailand is known as the Land of a Thousand Smiles and it's true.
Chiang Mai was once a walled city, complete with a moat surrounding it on 3 sides and the Ping River on the 4th. Today, these walls are partially intact or have been rebuilt. The moats now have pedestrian bridges, covered in flowering plants. Old City is a vibrant community with so much to see and do. There are charming little side streets with quaint coffee shops and cafes; lodging from basic hostels to boutique bed and breakfasts; and of course, massage parlors everywhere. We found two fantastic restaurants, one owned by a friend of Caron's, called Dash (http://dashteakhouse.com/). The food is amazing, the outdoor garden a wonderful place for an evening meal, and the Noi, the owner, (with her son Dash), is the nicest lady! She was there on the night Caron took me and ended up inviting us to her house for a pool party. We were joined by many other expats she befriended. Noi is one of those wonderful people who just instantly befriends strangers and makes you feel like family. The other restaurant is called Faces, which also has a sweet little outdoor garden for dining and another section around the corner for coffee with friends, or quiet little nooks for working. (https://www.facebook.com/thefaceschiangmai/) .
There are over 300 Buddhist temples in Chiang Mai and I probably saw every one as I wandered around the city. Everyone had their favorite hangout and I saw a different area depending on who I was meeting. I found a free self guided walk which I consulted whenever I had free time.
I did 2 cooking classes, one from Yummy Tasty Thai Cooking https://www.facebook.com/Yummytastythaicooking/. We made curry paste from scratch and it's a lot harder then you think. First you chop up an assortment of roots, vegetables and seeds like ginger, lemongrass and coriander. Now comes the hard part, you have to grind and mash them to a paste using a stone mortar and pastel. Of course you could use a blender, but that's not how they do it. Let me tell you, it takes a lot of muscle to grind, mash, grind, mash until you get the right consistency. And when I say right consistency, it means when you think you have it, the chef will tell you you're about 20% there, keep grinding. But the end result, like everything we cooked, was amazing. The atmosphere was like going to a friends house for dinner, it was a small group and lots of fun.
The second class, http://www.thaifarmcooking.net, was on a farm, where we picked fresh ingredients from the garden. This was an all day cooking and eating marathon and by the 4th of 6 dishes, we were stuffed. We got an hour break to go explore, but almost everyone found a shady spot under a tree and took a nap.
Caron found a resort with tree-houses http://www.chiangmaitreehouse.com/. It sounded like such a cool idea, we booked an overnight and were not disappointed. All the tree-houses were hand made by the owner, initially for his family. Ours was a cabin on the ground, but it was very secluded with a stream behind it and a cozy little porch in front and in back. The cabin had a double bed in the main room and a smaller one in the loft. I chose the loft because it looked kind of cool. Honestly, it was one of the most comfortable beds I had slept in in months! It was like a soft nest in the rafters.
We spent the first afternoon relaxing. The next day we took a walk to explore. As we were walking down the mostly deserted road, we saw a group of 3 women ahead of us, scanning the trees. They were obviously hunting something, so we hung back to watch. They each had a very long pole with a bag attached to one end, and at least one lady had a long knife stuck in her belt. When they started walking again, we caught up to one to see what they were doing. Unlike almost everyone we had met, this lady was not at all friendly. She actually scowled at us and shooed us on. I gather it was some kind of fruit they were looking for. They reached up into the trees and knocked it into the bag, that much was at least obvious. I'm guessing the knives may have been for snakes. Or annoying western girls who bothered them.
There are a lot of elephant sanctuaries in Thailand and everyone says what a wonderful experience it is, so of course I had to give it a try. I went with my friend Anja and we chose Doi Inthanon Elephant Park, inside the national park. https://www.facebook.com/doiinthanonelephantpark.9/
because we heard it was one of the more ethical sanctuaries. The night before our adventure, I felt a sharp pain in my knee, (in the patella area - the upper knee). I figured I pulled something and would need to keep an eye on it, but it seemed fine to walk on. Besides, the elephant park was non refundable. All was well till they parked the van at the top of a huge hill and said we had to walk from here, it was too steep to drive down. Well, my knees are adverse to doing downhill in the best of conditions. I hadn't walked 5 minutes when I realized something was wrong and getting worse. To make a long and painful story short, by the time I got to the bottom I could barely put any weight on my knee at all.
One of the guides stayed with me for the 30 min it took get to the bottom. It would have been a really interesting walk had the pain not been so bad. My escort had been a monk for 10 years, then joined the military. I had my own private monk chat but sadly I was too focused on the task at hand to think of any good questions. The monk chat is an opportunity for westerners to join a group of monks in the temple and ask questions. It's quite popular with the tourists, most of whom know nothing about Buddhism. It give the young monks an outreach opportunity as well as a chance to practice their English. By the time we finally got to the bottom, the rest of my group had already met and fed the elephants. There were 2 adult females and a 6 month old, very adorable, baby. The rest of the group went on a nice nature walk with the elephants while I stayed behind. At this point, I could barely walk and was really worried about how I was going to get back up the hill.
When they came back, the guide handed me a bag of sugar cane stalks and brought me over to meet the elephants. I hobbled over, determined to experience as much as possible. They were standing on one side of a flimsy wooden pole and I was on top of a little berm. Of course they knew I had treats and 3 elephant trunks reached out to greet me. Had I been able to stand on two legs, all would have been fine. They were 2 greedy ladies who demanded I give them the sugar cane faster then I could get it out of the bag. The baby walked right under the wooden pole toward me, but fortunately, her attention was diverted by the other guide. She couldn't eat the sugar cane, he had something softer for her. The other two were so pushy with their trunks, I was afraid they were going to topple me right over. I couldn't back up any farther because of the hill. The guide was busy taking pictures and obviously didn't realize there was a problem, probably because I was laughing like a hyena at the absurdity of the situation. I finally got rid of the treats, the ladies backed off a bit and the baby came over. Now that they weren't trying to kill me, I got the opportunity to pet all three of them. The took turns checking me out with their trunks, what an odd sensation. Their skin is about what I expected, very thick and rough with thin prickly hair pointing up.
After a nice lunch for the guests, it was time for a mud bath for the elephants. By now my knee was painful, very swollen and stiff. Fun times. The pond was close enough for me to hobble part way to watch, but most of the group joined them in the thick brown ooze. The adult elephants laid down and allowed people to rub mud on them, but the baby was rolling around in it like a happy little kid. Next they went to the stream to rinse off, and again, the baby seemed overjoyed at the prospect of a bath. This time the whole group joined them and everyone was splashing around and having a great time. I admit, I wish I could have joined them. It was really hot and the water looked so cool and inviting. The group was mostly young people and of course the girls all had on bikinis. One girl in particular was wearing a thong bikini and almost every single picture I took of the elephants had her bare ass in the air as she bent over at the knees to scoop more water. I wish I had noticed and moved to another location, but she was standing between me and the elephants and I was at the top of the hill, on the only part of the ground that was level.
The stream was down a steep path that the elephants and people had to walk up. No problem for everyone else, but the baby seemed to struggle a bit. No worries, mom just pushed her right up with her trunk. It was so cute to watch. The baby was surprisingly agile, able to get down and roll around on the ground. At lunch, Anja showed me some video of the baby throwing herself in our guide's lap, to snuggle like a puppy the moment he sat down. She was quite friendly and seemed to really like all the attention she got.
After swimming a bit, it was time to head home. I had asked a few times, how they planned on getting me up the hill and the guide kept joking that I would have to stay there and work till my knee was better. I admit I was getting pretty annoyed, I thought they didn't understand that I was seriously injured, even after requesting they drop me off at the hospital instead of my apartment. By this point, my knee was so stiff I couldn't bend it at all and could barley put any weight on it. Ultimately, they decided I had no choice but to walk part way back up the hill, but they could get a smaller truck closer to the bottom and drive me to the top. With the help of a walking stick and holding onto some rails, I made it to the small truck and I think the rest of the group was grateful not to have to climb the larger hill.
I had planned a few more excursions, but with my injured knee, I decided to take it easy for my remaining time in the city. When my departure date arrived, my knee was back to a normal pain level. I used the crutches for my next 2 destinations and they were a great help in the airport. I usually got a ride in either a cart or wheel chair and I went to the front of the check in, security and immigration line. Eventually I ditched them though, I had enough to carry and didn't need them anymore.
Link to Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KuxUtxxKlpAXUTfR2
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