Asian Adventures - Chiang Mai, Thailand
First impressions coming in to the city are its totally different to what I was expecting. A lot less busy than I thought but my only Thai city to compare it to is Bangkok and that is totally crazy! Although different to what I thought I am certainly not disappointed. The city has a cool laid back and chilled atmosphere about it and I couldn't wait to explore it!
Like Sukhothai we were hassled again at the bus station by Tuk Tuk drivers, although they were offering us a ride to our hotel for 150 baht so we couldn't really complain.
Our hotel, The Small Hotel, was so lovely! Although anything was an improvement from our previous accommodation! The hotel only cost us £15 a night which was such a bargain as the room was great. The first thing we did was have a shower to wash all the ants from Pinpao Guesthouse in Sukhothai off us! We also sorted our laundry as we were in desperate need of clean pants!!
On our first night we went for a wander near our hotel looking for somewhere to eat. There were loads of bars and restaurants near by which was handy. We ended up going in to a small family run Thai restaurant. The food was good and a main dish worked out at about £2 per dish so dead cheap.
I had a Chang beer to drink. I'm not much of a beer drinker usually but I am getting slightly more into it as its so refreshing on a hot day and the wine here is hit or miss. Not being very adventurous with it though I can only handle the light beers.
For breakfast the next day we wanted a proper cooked one so found a cafe along the road from our hotel. I had eggs and bacon and Rory went with pancakes and maple syrup. We looked through the hundreds of leaflets we had acquired and decided on what tours we would book.
The weather was slightly drizzly after breakfast so we went to check out The Art in Paradise Museum. It had loads of paintings and drawings that looked so life like and when you took a picture in front of them it looks like you are in the scene. It was really clever. We had great fun taking multiple photos of us nearly falling off bridges in waterfalls, jumping rocks in volcanos and riding a gondola in Venice. Definitely something different to try out in Chiang Mai.
Thankfully when we came out the museum the rain had stopped and the sun was back out. We took advantage of this by going for a dip in our hotels small plunge pool to cool off after our sweaty walk back. We were the only ones in the pool which was just as well at it is pretty tiny. The view from it was lovely overlooking the city which obviously meant I had to update my Instagram page!
In the evening we went to The Night Bazaar Market for food and to look for bargains. Within the first five minutes of being there we ended up spending all the cash we had taken out for the night. It was so hard walking past the stalls as you just wanted to buy it all! I got some trousers, a kimono and a scarf. Hoping I can fit all my purchases from this trip in my bag!
We had booked a trip to The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary for the following day. This was something I was really keen to do and knew before we left on our trip that this was a tour I wanted to go on. We were picked up at our hotel by a truck and headed out on the hour and a half journey there. We shared the journey with a group of Americans who were all really friendly and fun to speak to. The worst bit of the journey was when we drove downhill on a tiny farm track where the truck just fit on the track. If we had gone off the road even slightly we would have been in a ditch! It was pretty terrifying. I couldn't look out the front and just kept looking at my feet praying we'd reach the bottom of the hill safely. The Jungle Sanctuary we picked was one that genuinely looked after the elephants and didn't allow any riding which is really bad for them. It was so amazing to see them up close - unsurprisingly they are absolutely huge!! When we first arrived at the camp we changed into traditional Karen tribe clothing and grabbed some sugar canes and bananas to feed to the elephants.
At first Rory and I were quite timid around them where as other people were getting so involved and posing for pictures with their trunks around them. After feeding them we bathed them in a mud bath. It was pretty weird at first as it was a strange sensation feeling mud on your feet as you made your way through the water. The elephants skin is surprisingly hairy and feels strange to touch as it feels scaley and hairy at the same time. We moved on to the river afterwards to wash all the mud off ourselves. One of the guys who worked in the camp was taking pictures which were going to be uploaded to Facebook. We got some great shots of us posing with the elephants whilst they sprayed water out their trunks.
The elephants seem totally at ease and the workers seem to genuinely care for their wellbeing.
In the afternoon we went for a Thai body massage. It only cost us £4 for an hour! It was very relaxing but also pretty sore at times as they are quite rough with you and stretch you in weird positions. There are hundreds of massage parlours in Chiang Mai. That night we dined on Thai food at John's Bar which had a rooftop terrace.
We had an extremely unlucky day the following day. Rory went down to a bakery beside our hotel to get us some breakfast but it was closed so went across the street to a supermarket. His stuff came to about 60 baht and he handed over 1000 baht but only got change for 100 baht. He complained to the shop assistant and tried to explain what happened to the manager but they weren't interested and he just had to leave it. The second thing was we went to find a guitar shop Rory had looked up on google. We walked for ages and eventually found where it was meant to be and saw it had closed down. We ended up in an area where locals lived and dogs just randomly kept barking at us on the street. We had to wait around until the coast was clear before we could dodge past the dogs and get back to the touristy part. The third thing happened later on in the day.
Once back in the tourist area I wanted to get a Fish Spa where fish basically bite your dead skin off your feet. It felt really weird and was so ticklish. After it my feet did actually feel smoother.
In the evening we had booked a Thai cooking class with Bann Thai Cookery School. We were really excited for this and ended up having a great bunch of people in our group. We got to choose 5 dishes to make from a list we were given before we began. I chose fried rice, spring rolls, seafood coconut soup, green curry paste and then the rest of the chicken green curry. After we made our dishes we were able to eat our food. The group all sat at a big table trying our dishes along with some beers too.
After the class we each got a recipe book to take away with all the recipes we had made that night and extra ones which was a lovely touch.
After the class we went to The Night Bazaar and randomly bumped in to an Irish couple Mike and Judy who we had met in Bangkok. So strange! They were planning on going to The Lady Boys Show so we decided to tag along. It actually ended up being a lot of fun and the routines were brilliant.
It wasn't something we had planned to do but glad we went to the show as Chiang Mai is one of the best places to see the show in. We moved on after to a rooftop bar that had cushions for you to sit on around the tables and you had to take off your shoes before going up to the bar. It had a cool hippy atmosphere. We were all chatting away before we realised Rory had left our backpack, with my Ray Bans inside, at The Ladyboys Show! I was so mad! We walked all the way back to the show to find it was all closed up. There was no more we could do tonight we headed back to the hotel and messaged the show asking if they had found a bag. There wasn't anything really valuable in it apart from my sunglasses which I desperately wanted back.
We picked the worst day to go on a Jungle Trek! We were both slightly hungover and all we wanted to do was go and find our bag. We headed off early in the morning towards the hills. Being slightly fragile my breakfast consisted of a tube of Pringles. Probably not the ideal start to your day if you're going on a Jungle Trek! The trek was pretty difficult as we were deep in the forest on a tiny rocky path which was quite slippy. Rory was really regretting wearing his converse as the grip wasn't very good.
Before we reached the rocky path we walked along a grass area and Rory took a tumble which has probably been the highlight of the trip for me as he just got up and pretended it didn't happen! As it was on the grass area I knew he wouldn't be hurt so I was allowed to laugh!
After walking for a couple of hours we stopped off at a waterfall to cool off.
The current of the water was too strong for me and Rory that we struggled to swim out to the bottom of the falls. A French guy in our group had to pull us over. As soon as I let go of his hand I got pulled right back out to the edge of the pool! I decided I'd just sit at the side and paddle as I didn't want to try and get back in. We had a tiny bit more to climb then stopped in a hut for lunch. We got fried chicken and fried rice. The rain had came on quite heavy so it was good to shelter in the hut. After lunch though it was time for us to tackle the descent down to the village we started at. My legs were really aching at this point. On our way down we saw a lot of wildlife. My favourite creature we came across looked like a caterpillar but then when something touched them they rolled into a ball for protection. That was pretty cool to see.
As soon as we got back into our hotel reception and got wifi we checked whether we had a reply about our bag. Unbelievably they said they did find it and kept it for us to come and collect. I couldn't believe it I genuinely thought that was it gone forever.
On our last day we got completely ripped off by a tour company on a tour to The Grand Canyon. If you ever go whilst in Chiang Mai just get your own way there don't be fooled by a company putting on a tour of it as you really don't need it. One entrance fee was only 50 baht and a taxi was just 100 baht each way which is pretty reasonable. The Canyon was impressive to see and there was a zip line across the water I was desperate to go on since Rory doesn't like heights we never did any zip-lining trips so this was my chance to do one.
There were bamboo rafts in the middle of the water that we swam out to and relaxed on.
We had walked past a lovely looking Italian restaurant close to our hotel most days so decided to try it. The ally up to it had fairy lights draped from the ceiling and the inside was decorated with different vintage objects and had a set up in the middle for a band. I was excited to get a nice glass of wine as the local Thai wines haven't been great! I choose a pizza with pesto chicken and pickles - it was delicious!
It was nice to get dressed up and go somewhere a bit fancier for dinner. Afterwards we went to The Saturday Market and met up with Mike and Judy. The market was absolutely huge!! We managed to control ourselves and not buy anything as we had already bought a lot at The Night Bazaar. Despite being huge we ran into a couple from our cooking class and one from our trek. Must be the place all the tourists go on Saturdays! Judy convinced us to check out a bar Zoe in Yellow. It was packed! It span across two buildings and the street in the middle of them. We had a couple of drinks and danced for a while but don't think we were drunk enough to have steaming people banging into us all the time but it was funny to see the whole place filled up with travellers.
There are so many great things to do and visit in Chiang Mai.
I loved Chiang Mai and hope one day I can return.
Recommendations -
The Small Hotel - http://www.thesmallhotelgroup.com/smallhotel_chiangmai/
The Art in Paradise Museum - http://chiangmai-artinparadise.com
The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary - http://www.elephantjunglesanctuary.com
Baan Thai Cookery School - https://www.cookinthai.com
Zoe in Yellow - https://m.facebook.com/yellowbarchiangmai/
Like Sukhothai we were hassled again at the bus station by Tuk Tuk drivers, although they were offering us a ride to our hotel for 150 baht so we couldn't really complain.
Our hotel, The Small Hotel, was so lovely! Although anything was an improvement from our previous accommodation! The hotel only cost us £15 a night which was such a bargain as the room was great. The first thing we did was have a shower to wash all the ants from Pinpao Guesthouse in Sukhothai off us! We also sorted our laundry as we were in desperate need of clean pants!!
On our first night we went for a wander near our hotel looking for somewhere to eat. There were loads of bars and restaurants near by which was handy. We ended up going in to a small family run Thai restaurant. The food was good and a main dish worked out at about £2 per dish so dead cheap.
I had a Chang beer to drink. I'm not much of a beer drinker usually but I am getting slightly more into it as its so refreshing on a hot day and the wine here is hit or miss. Not being very adventurous with it though I can only handle the light beers.
For breakfast the next day we wanted a proper cooked one so found a cafe along the road from our hotel. I had eggs and bacon and Rory went with pancakes and maple syrup. We looked through the hundreds of leaflets we had acquired and decided on what tours we would book.
The weather was slightly drizzly after breakfast so we went to check out The Art in Paradise Museum. It had loads of paintings and drawings that looked so life like and when you took a picture in front of them it looks like you are in the scene. It was really clever. We had great fun taking multiple photos of us nearly falling off bridges in waterfalls, jumping rocks in volcanos and riding a gondola in Venice. Definitely something different to try out in Chiang Mai.
Thankfully when we came out the museum the rain had stopped and the sun was back out. We took advantage of this by going for a dip in our hotels small plunge pool to cool off after our sweaty walk back. We were the only ones in the pool which was just as well at it is pretty tiny. The view from it was lovely overlooking the city which obviously meant I had to update my Instagram page!
In the evening we went to The Night Bazaar Market for food and to look for bargains. Within the first five minutes of being there we ended up spending all the cash we had taken out for the night. It was so hard walking past the stalls as you just wanted to buy it all! I got some trousers, a kimono and a scarf. Hoping I can fit all my purchases from this trip in my bag!
We had booked a trip to The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary for the following day. This was something I was really keen to do and knew before we left on our trip that this was a tour I wanted to go on. We were picked up at our hotel by a truck and headed out on the hour and a half journey there. We shared the journey with a group of Americans who were all really friendly and fun to speak to. The worst bit of the journey was when we drove downhill on a tiny farm track where the truck just fit on the track. If we had gone off the road even slightly we would have been in a ditch! It was pretty terrifying. I couldn't look out the front and just kept looking at my feet praying we'd reach the bottom of the hill safely. The Jungle Sanctuary we picked was one that genuinely looked after the elephants and didn't allow any riding which is really bad for them. It was so amazing to see them up close - unsurprisingly they are absolutely huge!! When we first arrived at the camp we changed into traditional Karen tribe clothing and grabbed some sugar canes and bananas to feed to the elephants.
The elephants seem totally at ease and the workers seem to genuinely care for their wellbeing.
In the afternoon we went for a Thai body massage. It only cost us £4 for an hour! It was very relaxing but also pretty sore at times as they are quite rough with you and stretch you in weird positions. There are hundreds of massage parlours in Chiang Mai. That night we dined on Thai food at John's Bar which had a rooftop terrace.
We had an extremely unlucky day the following day. Rory went down to a bakery beside our hotel to get us some breakfast but it was closed so went across the street to a supermarket. His stuff came to about 60 baht and he handed over 1000 baht but only got change for 100 baht. He complained to the shop assistant and tried to explain what happened to the manager but they weren't interested and he just had to leave it. The second thing was we went to find a guitar shop Rory had looked up on google. We walked for ages and eventually found where it was meant to be and saw it had closed down. We ended up in an area where locals lived and dogs just randomly kept barking at us on the street. We had to wait around until the coast was clear before we could dodge past the dogs and get back to the touristy part. The third thing happened later on in the day.
Once back in the tourist area I wanted to get a Fish Spa where fish basically bite your dead skin off your feet. It felt really weird and was so ticklish. After it my feet did actually feel smoother.
In the evening we had booked a Thai cooking class with Bann Thai Cookery School. We were really excited for this and ended up having a great bunch of people in our group. We got to choose 5 dishes to make from a list we were given before we began. I chose fried rice, spring rolls, seafood coconut soup, green curry paste and then the rest of the chicken green curry. After we made our dishes we were able to eat our food. The group all sat at a big table trying our dishes along with some beers too.
After the class we each got a recipe book to take away with all the recipes we had made that night and extra ones which was a lovely touch.
After the class we went to The Night Bazaar and randomly bumped in to an Irish couple Mike and Judy who we had met in Bangkok. So strange! They were planning on going to The Lady Boys Show so we decided to tag along. It actually ended up being a lot of fun and the routines were brilliant.
It wasn't something we had planned to do but glad we went to the show as Chiang Mai is one of the best places to see the show in. We moved on after to a rooftop bar that had cushions for you to sit on around the tables and you had to take off your shoes before going up to the bar. It had a cool hippy atmosphere. We were all chatting away before we realised Rory had left our backpack, with my Ray Bans inside, at The Ladyboys Show! I was so mad! We walked all the way back to the show to find it was all closed up. There was no more we could do tonight we headed back to the hotel and messaged the show asking if they had found a bag. There wasn't anything really valuable in it apart from my sunglasses which I desperately wanted back.
We picked the worst day to go on a Jungle Trek! We were both slightly hungover and all we wanted to do was go and find our bag. We headed off early in the morning towards the hills. Being slightly fragile my breakfast consisted of a tube of Pringles. Probably not the ideal start to your day if you're going on a Jungle Trek! The trek was pretty difficult as we were deep in the forest on a tiny rocky path which was quite slippy. Rory was really regretting wearing his converse as the grip wasn't very good.
Before we reached the rocky path we walked along a grass area and Rory took a tumble which has probably been the highlight of the trip for me as he just got up and pretended it didn't happen! As it was on the grass area I knew he wouldn't be hurt so I was allowed to laugh!
After walking for a couple of hours we stopped off at a waterfall to cool off.
The current of the water was too strong for me and Rory that we struggled to swim out to the bottom of the falls. A French guy in our group had to pull us over. As soon as I let go of his hand I got pulled right back out to the edge of the pool! I decided I'd just sit at the side and paddle as I didn't want to try and get back in. We had a tiny bit more to climb then stopped in a hut for lunch. We got fried chicken and fried rice. The rain had came on quite heavy so it was good to shelter in the hut. After lunch though it was time for us to tackle the descent down to the village we started at. My legs were really aching at this point. On our way down we saw a lot of wildlife. My favourite creature we came across looked like a caterpillar but then when something touched them they rolled into a ball for protection. That was pretty cool to see.
As soon as we got back into our hotel reception and got wifi we checked whether we had a reply about our bag. Unbelievably they said they did find it and kept it for us to come and collect. I couldn't believe it I genuinely thought that was it gone forever.
On our last day we got completely ripped off by a tour company on a tour to The Grand Canyon. If you ever go whilst in Chiang Mai just get your own way there don't be fooled by a company putting on a tour of it as you really don't need it. One entrance fee was only 50 baht and a taxi was just 100 baht each way which is pretty reasonable. The Canyon was impressive to see and there was a zip line across the water I was desperate to go on since Rory doesn't like heights we never did any zip-lining trips so this was my chance to do one.
There were bamboo rafts in the middle of the water that we swam out to and relaxed on.
We had walked past a lovely looking Italian restaurant close to our hotel most days so decided to try it. The ally up to it had fairy lights draped from the ceiling and the inside was decorated with different vintage objects and had a set up in the middle for a band. I was excited to get a nice glass of wine as the local Thai wines haven't been great! I choose a pizza with pesto chicken and pickles - it was delicious!
It was nice to get dressed up and go somewhere a bit fancier for dinner. Afterwards we went to The Saturday Market and met up with Mike and Judy. The market was absolutely huge!! We managed to control ourselves and not buy anything as we had already bought a lot at The Night Bazaar. Despite being huge we ran into a couple from our cooking class and one from our trek. Must be the place all the tourists go on Saturdays! Judy convinced us to check out a bar Zoe in Yellow. It was packed! It span across two buildings and the street in the middle of them. We had a couple of drinks and danced for a while but don't think we were drunk enough to have steaming people banging into us all the time but it was funny to see the whole place filled up with travellers.
There are so many great things to do and visit in Chiang Mai.
I loved Chiang Mai and hope one day I can return.
Recommendations -
The Small Hotel - http://www.thesmallhotelgroup.com/smallhotel_chiangmai/
The Art in Paradise Museum - http://chiangmai-artinparadise.com
The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary - http://www.elephantjunglesanctuary.com
Baan Thai Cookery School - https://www.cookinthai.com
Zoe in Yellow - https://m.facebook.com/yellowbarchiangmai/
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