Chiang Mai
- Amy
- May 23, 2019
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 14, 2019
CHIANG MAI
15th - 19th May 2019
15/05/19
After a swift flight, we finally arrived in Chiang Mai! We checked into our accommodation for the next 4 nights at Hug Hostel, just outside the main square of the city.
We then went out to explore the city, walking for ages, managing to get lost before we found a food street and got some curry for lunch. We also found a little lady on the road and booked our elephant adventure for in a couple of days.
In the evening we went up to the rooftop bar and met some nice people, played cards and had a few drinks. I had my first Singapore Sling which was delicious!!
We then went to a street not far from our hostel and had some street food for dinner. I had Pad Thai of course and had some of the nicest vegan spring rolls!
16/05/19
And now for a very exciting day of cooking! At 8am we got picked up by Sammy from Sammy’s Organic Thai Cookery School in a fancy ‘VIP’, as he stated, vehicle. We soon learnt that we were actually the only ones that would be cooking today at the school which was initially disappointing. However, we decided that actually we were very lucky to have a one to one cooking session where we could actually learn how to make the food properly. Always turn a negative into a positive!
After driving about an hour outside of Chiang Mai into the beautiful countryside, we soon arrived at Sammy’s farm where we would be cooking.
He took us on a tour around the farm, and explained the different ingredients we would be using that was home grown on the land he owned.
We also got a banana and some rice crackers that were delicious. I still can’t get over how nice the tiny bananas are here - they are 10x more flavoursome than the ones at home!
We soon began our cooking...
We learnt how to make 5 dishes, beginning with red curry, then vegetable broth soup, followed by Pad Thai, spring rolls and mango sticky rice for dessert.
I was really excited to learn how to make Pad Thai in particuar as I had eaten so much of it and still wondered what it was made from. I was also really keen to try mango sticky rice as we had seen it everywhere... it wasn’t my cup of tea though so I won’t be ordering that anytime soon!
Our meals were absolutely delicious and both Sammy and his wife helped us cook - it was so lovely as we were able to get immersed in their family as it was just the two of us.
Halfway through the day, traditional of Thai culture, we had a siesta after lunch and chilled in the hammocks surrounded by the most beautiful scenery. It was lovely getting out of the city into the countryside!
Sammy also had the best toilet ever, it even made it to TripAdvisor which he was very proud of... and I can see why...
What a fabulous day of cooking where we also came away with a recipe book - expect some great meals when we’re home!
When we arrived back to our hostel mid afternoon, we chilled for a few hours and then in the evening headed out to the night markets (my favourite thing ever!!!!!!!)
We literally spent hours walking around the stalls, purchasing a few things, bartering and just enjoying the buzz of the night life. Like I said on a previous post, we particularly love the cities at night as they come to life!
On our adventures we found some amazing food markets with every kind of food you could possibly want in little stalls - what a treat! One market had live music that we sat on hay bails to watch. We had such an awesome day!
17/05/19
Both of us can safely agree that this was one of our favourite days of the trip! At 11am we were picked up by an open back truck and driven an hour and a half out of Chiang Mai into the jungle to Chiang Mai Elephant Home. We did a lot of research before we picked the elephant company as some are known for being cruel to the elephants. However, after a look around, as well as looking at reviews, we picked one and were very pleased to see that the elephants were free to roam around and move as they pleased and not forced to stay with us.
We began with a buffet lunch where we had some delicious curry and then proceeded to make vitamin balls for the elephants. Made out of sugar cane, banana, rice seeds and lots more, we used a pestle and mortar to grind it all up and then put it in an empty banana skin to feed to the elephants.
The most exciting part was our scrub like outfits that we had to wear in front of the elephants. Better get used to me wearing them, as I’ll have scrubs on for the foreseeable future haha!
We went down and began to feed the elephants with a tub of banana and sugar canes. The baby elephants were particularly naughty as after only a few moments they had stolen most of the food I had intended on feeding them by hand haha! They had two little babies and four adults in the sanctuary that they were looking after.
Now for the best part! When the elephants stomachs were full, we got into our swimming gear and gave them a mud bath, getting ridiculously muddy ourselves as the elephants kept on spraying us, haha!
Then we went down to the river to wash them, and ourselves, off from the messy events and of course managed to get sprayed by the elephants a lot. I guess they were just helping us get clean (maybe, haha)! We honestly had so much fun and it was nice to see that the elephants were happy roaming around as they pleased.
Again, I wish I could add videos as we have some ridiculously funny ones of being in the water, however, those will have to wait until we get home (which is very soon now)!
We had more photos with the elephants as we were drying off in the sun afterwards and they kept on giving us kisses where they suction your cheek with their trunks. This was something they learnt sadly when they were used in the circus and they still know how to do it, however, it was very funny for us and not a lot of people can say they’ve been kissed loads by an elephant!
We got cleaned up and said goodbye to the elephants, then headed back into the city by open back truck - not the comfiest of rides I will say! We’re still keeping our fingers crossed that the sanctuary we visited was kind to the elephants - however the elephants did look happy so that is really good!
Later in the evening, after a little chill in the late afternoon, we headed out to the night markets again because we loved them so much! Honestly my favourite part of Chiang Mai!
We didn't buy much this time, just had some dinner and walked around the stalls. Our room was dark and people were sleeping when we got back so Megan and I were classy and sat for ages on the bathroom floor chatting haha! What a lovely day!
18/05/19
Temples, temples and more temples! Today we ventured out into the city, wearing long articles of clothing so we could visit the beautiful temples of Chiang Mai. However, throughout the day the temperature got up to 38 degrees Celsius and the humidity was ridiculous so we were sweating profusely.
We visited a little restaurant for a late breakfast/early lunch which was curry - great fuel for the day! Then we visited two big temples. We’ve discovered that two temples is enough for one day!
The first temple we visited had a section that women were not allowed in because they menestrate and it is believed to break the serenity of the space. Men! Ridiculous! However, we were allowed to go into the main part that was beautiful...
The more temples we see, the more they begin to look similar haha! Our second temple was just as beautiful but this was in the middle of the day where we continued to sweat horribly!
Later on, we walked back to our hostel and funnily enough met a new girl in our room who was from around where Megan lives too! Crazy how many people we have met that are from that area. So of course, we visited the night markets again with her. Except this was a different one where it is only on on Saturday nights and was huge! We found a little vegetarian stall for dinner and went around the stalls trying not to buy everything haha! Finishing our time in Chiang Mai on a good note.
19/05/19
Off to Pai!
- A
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