Chaing Mai

We arrived in Chaing Mai early in the morning and headed straight for the Mae Taman elephant camp. Once there we were able to feed and play with the elephants before the show began. The show started with the elephant bath time. Elephants are so cute and they were tromping through the water, filling their noses with water and blowing at each other and the people. After their baths, their riders took them up to the main stage for the “Elephants at work” show which featured them doing several tricks including kicking a soccer ball and making a basket with a basketball. Lastly, the elephants actually painted pictures with their tusks. It was amazing! This camp uses the show and sells the paintings to raise money to feed the elephants who eat several tons of food per day. After the show we were able to go for a ride on the elephants which gave us a great and unique view of the Chaing Mai country side. After the ride we rode back to camp on an ox cart. It gave a whole new meaning to the importance of being evenly yoked :o)

After returning to the camp for lunch we took a short ride down the Mae Taeng river in a flat boat raft. We had a close up view of the beautiful flora and fauna that is in full bloom in the rainy season.

After the ride we returned to our car and drove up the Doi Suthep Moutain. Halfway up is a beautiful spot for pictures. At the top we visited the Wat Prathat Doi Suthep which is a temple named after the hermit Sudeva who lived on this mountain before it was accessible by road. To reach the temple you must climb 306 steps with a staircase in the shape of a giant serpent. We cheated and drove to the top and walked down the steps!

Finally, we visited once last temple, the Wat Suan Dok where the ashes of Chaing Rai’s royal family are buried. Before this we stopped at Wawee coffee, a coffee shop set up by the mother of the King to bring fair trade Hill tribe coffee to a larger population. We ended that night at Tamarind village – an amazing hotel that mixed luxury with the traditional décor of the area.

That night for dinner we ate at a local restaurant recommended by our guide. It was very Thai and we were definitely the only tourist there, a fact exemplified by our waitress who stood at our table, pen in hand, the entire time we looked at the menu and then called her 3 co-workers to assist with understanding our English requests. The guitarist, who initially was performing Thai music, suddenly switched to a replica of American songs that we have heard every Thai musician since playing; John Denver – Country Roads, the Eagles – Tequila Sunrise and a few other folk songs that are only heard on Delila! It was amazing!!