Magical Chiang Mai
After some lackluster stops in Thailand, we had high hopes for Chiang Mai. We had on good authority that this would be more our vibe, and had plenty of time to find out as we made this one of our long stops (26 days).
Our arrival coincided with the beginning of Thailand’s annual Songkran Festival. While celebrated all throughout Thailand, and the region, we read that Chiang Mai had the “wettest” celebration. What the hell that meant, we eventually found out.
Songkran is a water based celebration of the Thai new year. It is marked by cleansing ceremonies, celebrations, and alms giving. What that meant in reality is the most epic region-wide water fight you could ever imagine. You can read more about that in our Carpe Diem post.
In short, we spent 5 days wandering the streets in pure joy and celebration with the locals and couldn’t help but smile and laugh with everyone anywhere we went. Songkran was a once in a lifetime experience that really embodied why we travel.
But there were still so many other amazing experiences in Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai also included a special appearance from Ma and Pa who, with some convincing, caught a last minute flight to join us (after the Songkran festivities were over)! We did some other amazing things with them. Ma summed everything up nicely for us in her blog post but here is our added take:
Thai cooking class at Grandma’s Home Cooking School. This half day excursion included a trip to a local market to learn about staple Thai ingredients, and a trip to the garden complex where they had a variety of ingredients growing and chickens roaming. We each cooked 3 dishes: a soup, a noodle dish, and a curry dish + were treated to Mango Sticky rice for dessert. This was one of the best organized events we have ever done (from a logistics and experience perspective). So well done and managed. Viv was honestly a little skeptical about the more than 1000 all 5-star reviews but after doing it, we know why. Also, a huge shoutout to our Instructor, Joy, who was amazing and hilarious.
Visit to the Elephant Nature Park elephant sanctuary. Another absolutely magical experience…Of all the amazing things we have done, this was the one thing I don’t think I could have enjoyed as much had Ma not been there because of her lifelong love for elephants. We specifically chose this place for its reputation as an ethical eco tour. They don’t allow riding or other questionable practices and are focused on natural behavior and rehabilitation for elephants that have been mistreated or injured. Our visit included a walk on the park grounds walking alongside elephant herds. We got to feed and learn about each one’s unique story and circumstances. They don’t let you touch the elephants unless the elephants touch you first, and we were grateful that these curious animals wanted to interact with us. We were led around by Bee Bee who seemed very much at one with the elephants and could tell you about their history, personality, and you could just tell how much she loved every single one. If you have more time you can even volunteer at the sanctuary where you can stay overnight and participate in care duties for the elephants, water buffalo, dogs and other animals they have taken in.
A day trip to Chiang Rai. We also took a day trip north about 3 hours to Chiang Rai where we visited some famous and very popular temples: the White Temple, Blue Temple, and Goddess of Mercy. None are ancient temples per se but all embody unique art and architecture and are each beautiful in their own way. The White Temple had a lot of modern pop culture references embedded throughout. The Blue Temple had some very ornate and decorative skulls and other artistic pieces. The Goddess of Mercy had a 20+ story statue and viewing platform at the top where you could look out the structure's eyes.
After Ma and Pa left, we continued to enjoy the city for another week or so, including an early morning day trip to the tallest peak in Thailand, Doi Inthanon.
That day started at 3:30am so we could make it to the lookout point by sunrise. I’ll let the photos speak for itself but we were treated to cooler weather, a 3km loop hike to some gorgeous vistas, and a lovely visit to the Twin Pagodas all around the tallest point in Thailand. At 15 degrees C when we got there, it was definitely the coolest weather we have experienced since leaving England in January.