Chiang Mai

Despite my hesitancy to like it, I’ve enjoyed the stay in Chiang Mai thus far.  It’s a lot bigger than I’d hoped, and it has all of the same tourist stuff as the other towns, but the weather has been pleasant, the food good, and there’s a nice river walk and night market that we’ve enjoyed.  

Doi Inthanon National Park was supposed to be our opportunity to get out in nature for a day while in Chiang Mai.  We hired a driver for $55 to drive us the 1 ½ to the park and were anxiously awaiting the beauty to unfold.  And it did, it just wasn’t what we were expecting.   We first stopped at a waterfall that was stunning, but it provided no hiking opportunity.  Then we went to the king and queen shrine that was enshrouded in clouds, mist and rain.  The grounds and view were probably beautiful, but we were unable to enjoy them because of the weather…and again no hiking was available.  On the way back to town, we stopped at park headquarters in the hopes of finding a short trail, but all we found were nice cabins, pretty streams, and a coppersmith barbet.  Finally, we stopped at another waterfall, which provided a short walking trail through developed gardens, but no serious hiking.  So our nature adventure was definitely filled with beauty, but not the outdoor experience we were hoping for.

 The following day we headed to an Elephant Sanctuary...a must while in Thailand.  Going to the elephant park is one of those things that you just have to do when you’re in Thailand, so we went to "Save the Elephants" and it lived up to the hype.  It’s a bit hokey, but when 10 giant freely roaming elephants fight and play with each other, and could charge at any moment there is a bit of exhilaration that is sure to accompany.  After an hour and ½ drive we arrived at the park and quickly began to feed the giants.  They picked watermelon, bananas, and rice balls right out of our hands with their powerful and dexterous trunks.  I’m not going to lie, I was a bit nervous at first, but soon settled in and felt comfortable handing the food to our new friends.  Despite all of our preemptive talk, Rosemary chose not to feed the elephants, and I don’t blame her.  I can’t imagine how overwhelming it must have been for her staring at the huge elephants.  After the feeding, we walked the grounds and met a few of the elephants.  We were able to pet them, and learn a bit about their history.  Most of the elephants have some sort of disability (blindness, broken leg, digestive issues, land mine wounds) and many were old logging elephants.  Touching the gentle giants and feeling their course skin was pretty special and something I never though that I’d do.  We proceeded to have our own delicious lunch full of all the Thai favorite dishes.  

After lunch, we walked in the rain to the river where our elephant was waiting for us to give her a bath.  It was pretty fun splashing water all over the elephant and she seemed to really enjoy it.  Rosemary on the other hand was more interested with playing in the river than the elephants around her, but oh well.  At one point, an elephant snuck up behind me and as a stepped out of the way, I left Rosemary stranded between two huge elephants.  Luckily, Andrew and Priscilla were there to pull her out of the way.  We concluded the day with another tour of the grounds where we watched a herd of about 10 elephants play, fight, eat, and protect their young.  This is where we had to be on full alert, as you were never quite sure when a giant would turn and run towards you.   

There were many heavy eyelids and light hearts as we drove back to Chiang Mai after our day with the elephants.

Luang Prabang

What a beautiful little city this is!  Situated on a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Mekong and Khan rivers, this little riverside town has all the charm and serenity of the best retreat villas in the world.  The pace of life, friendliness of the people, and natural beauty are hard to match. 

We arrived late, around 9:00pm, and went straight to our hotel.  MyDream Boutique hotel is set back from the Khan river about 100 meters upon a small cliff and is surrounded by beautifully manicured gardens.  There was some music across the river that was a bit loud, but the hotel concierge assured us that it was a wedding celebration of some sort, so we didn’t think much of it...it turned out to be a bar across the river, that thumped each night reverberating around our room...oh well, I guess nothing's perfect!

The following day, we lounged around the hotel, eating breakfast and swimming, before heading into town to see what it had to offer.  Borrowing one of the free bikes, we rode the short 15 minutes to the town center.  No horns, no crazy drivers, and wide roads were a welcomed change from the madness that we were used to in all the other Asian cities we'd visited.  The only challenging part was crossing the old bridge that had large cracks in between its planks waiting to swallow our thin bike tires.  Luckily, we made it across without trouble. 

Huge Sandwich $1

Once we entered the town our first order of business, per usual, was to get some lunch.  We stumbled upon a row of sandwich and smoothie stalls so decided to avail.  Anna and I each got a huge sandwich and large fruit smoothie for a combined $5, and they were both delicious. 

Wat Huangphon

After our fulfilling lunch we decided to ride our bikes to the most prominent Wat in town, Xien Thong.  Here we ran into quite a treat, outside of the usual beauty of the Wat, the King of Thailand’s daughter, the princess, was visiting the Wat at the same time.  An entourage of dignitaries, military personnel and media moguls accompanied her.  At first, we had no idea who or what all the fuss was about, but after some investigating we discovered that we were in the presence of royalty.  We felt obligated to greet her, and get a good photo, so we joined the other 'receiving women' until she exited.  Everyone noticed Rosemary, of course, and the princess herself gave a little nod in our direction.

Thai Princess

Reception line for princess

As we left the Wat, we rode by Phousi Hill and decided to do the 380-step climb, and it was well worth the trek up.  The summit provides 360’ views of the valley below displaying the beauty and isolation of Luang Prabang. 

$2 all you can eat

View from Phousi Hill

The relaxing atmosphere of the town, good food, night markets and bike rides highlighted the rest of our stay in Luang Prabang.  On our final day, I woke up early and went for a little bike ride.  This provided an interesting insight into how the city comes alive, and it allowed me to see some of the lesser visited streets and alleys.  This short ride was one of my highlights because it offered an excellent overview of the simplistic beauty that Luang Prabang has to offer.
As we were leaving, sadness befell us for we knew that Luang Prabang is a town close to our hearts.

Paper Making "Factory"

Rosemary's a hit at a local school

Morning Alms Giving

Mmmm Beer