We’ve been in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a wonderful, whirlwind 26 hours — and it is easily among our favorite places (so far) on our adventure. The food is fantastic, the accommodations luxurious (well, compared to the others along the way), everything is incredibly affordable, and the sightseeing — an elephant sanctuary and hiking the Doi Inthanon Nat’l Park – have been unbelievable.
First, the accommodations and food. Jackie booked us at De Chai the Deco Hotel. A small-ish, well-appointed and extremely comfortable hotel with a fantastic (included) breakfast buffet. Below are some photos.
We found a great local Thai cuisine restaurant about 10 min. walk from the hotel, and our meals a the hotel have been great too.
Incredibly Entrepreneurial. There were two things we heard are great about Chiang Mai: The Elephant Sanctuaries and the hiking. Unlike with our other stops so far, I had not done much (read: any) research or preparation to be able to do either of these activities. Fortunately, Thailand is incredibly entrepreneurial — after finding a seemingly reputable travel agency online at 9:45 at night, by 10:15 PM we had booked a full day tour of (1) an “ethical” Elephant Sanctuary (ie., where they care for the elephants and visitors assist with feeding, walking and washing (but not riding) the elephants, and (2) hiking the Doi Inthanon Nat’l Park trails. Both activities were incredibly enjoyable and wonderfully fulfilling.
The drive to the countryside: The elephant preserve and national park are over 2 hours away from Chiang Mai. The tour operator picked us up at our hotel and, along the way to the elephant sanctuary, took us to roadside fruit stands. Seeing Thailand’s natural/lush/mountainous beauty is almost enough to make one forget the global apocalypse we are wreaking on the planet (some pics below):
The Elephants. The elephant sanctuary — billed as an “ethical” sanctuary that allows guests to assist in the care/feeding/washing of the animals, but not to ride them — was a real treat for us. We “city folk” have not been this close to, let alone assisted with the care of, any large-herd animals before. The elephants were majestic, playful, and just a treat to be around. (below are just a few of the many photos we took)
The hiking. The second half of the day was spent visiting a shrine, and then hiking the Doi Inthanon National Park forrest/jungle trials. The scenery was breathtaking and the photos truly do NOT do it justice.
Finally, as is frequently the case with excursions like this, we met a number of “fellow travelers” — all of whom seemed genuinely nice. As I was wearing my “Canada” hat to avoid being tagged as one of the “those” Americans (the thought of anyone “assuming” we support Trump b/c we are from the U.S. makes me want to puke), a couple from Canada approached to ask what part of Canada we were from. We explained the Canada camouflage, and after some time together, they paid us the compliment of “wow, you really have the ‘Canada nice’ thing down!.” Our group included British, Germans and others from around the globe. One thing I have always enjoyed about travel is meeting, sharing a meal, and having conversations with other travelers we encounter” Often, we find people are like-minded (or similarly-adventurous) in many respects,, and sharing just a few hours of time together reveals just how similar we all are, irrespective of our countries of origin or background. It is also helpful for Max and Zoe to see how people from all over the world view travel as an essential part of a full life… something I think is really dawning on them.
Tomorrow afternoon we fly to Phuket to stay at a resort for some much-needed R&R… will be back again soon!
