After much debate, I decided to do a weekend trip to Chiang
Mai for a second time. I really should have stayed home to work on two final
projects, but whatever. I’m on exchange and I only have so many trips left to
take before I return to dreaded Canada and cold temperatures.
We arrived Saturday morning and had a chill first day. We
took a cooking class Saturday afternoon and I learned to make chicken satay
with curry dipping sauce, traditional Chiang Mai noodles with red curry paste,
and Pad Thai. It was actually really fun and our teachers were so nice. We got
Thai cookbooks to bring home so hopefully I can actually make some of this when
I get home. After that we went for massages and beer, and then headed to the
Saturday Night Market. It was extremely crowded but I got super cute elephant
shorts and tank top. And I love markets regardless of how crowded they are. We
thought a Muay Thai fight would be a fun activity for that night. And it was
pretty fun, until we realized most of the fights were fake. We were betting on
them before we realized that, however, and I won a solid 20 Baht (about 85
cents lol).
Sunday morning was a slow start, and we basically wasted the
whole morning. That afternoon, two of the guys went off for a river boat tour that
I did on my last trip here. So me and one other guy found an insect museum we
wanted to check out. It was very interested, as they had bugs from all over the
world along with several other types of artifacts. We had the entire place to
ourselves to explore which was an added bonus. We then met up with the others
at the Royal Park Gardens where we rented bicycles and drove around the gardens
to a few hours. We got there in the late afternoon so it wasn’t crowded at all
and we were free to ride wherever we wanted. They had different garden areas
for certain countries, and I found the Canadian Gardens, which consisted of
Totem Poles and a giant Inuksuk, but unfortunately no maple trees. The whole
garden is absolutely beautiful and huge. I would highly recommend going for an
afternoon. It was relaxing and great to see. I also enjoy riding bikes whenever
I can, so it was so much fun for me.
Sunday night we headed for Chiang Mai’s famous Sunday Night
Market, where I got a shirt that I had originally wanted from my last trip here
but never actually bought. Everybody came home with a few souvenirs that night.
We then went back to the same bar we hung out from our last trip here for a
beer and to watch some of UFC 193. We watched Canada fight Poland in the women’s
division, and ironically, one of the guys I was with is from Poland. We also
noticed that the fighters’ last names ended in the same suffixes as both of our
surnames! So of course we had to out money on the fight and cheer on our home
countries. Canada unfortunately lost, and I lost 100 Baht (~$4). But it was a
fun night regardless.
Monday was undoubtedly my favourite day of this trip and
probably my favourite day of my entire 4 months in Asia. I finally got to see
the elephants! We went to Dumbo Elephant Spa about an hour outside of Chiang
Mai where we, along with 4 other people, got to spend the day interacting and
playing with 4 elephants, one of which was 3 months old. In the morning we
learnt a little about their history and lifestyle, and then we fed them and
led them through the jungle. After lunch, however, is when the real fun began.
We had a mud fight with elephants! We brought them to this huge mud pit to cool
them down, and we were covered head to toe in mud. The only area of our bodies
that wasn’t covered was our eyes. I’ve never been dirty like that before but it
was so much fun. Our guides loved every minute of it too, as they kept pushing
us in so that we were fully covered. Even after the elephants were cooled down,
we stayed in and had our own little mud fight. After the dirtiness, we headed
to the river to bathe the elephants. We were all given a bucket and were simply
instructed to throw as much water as possible on the elephants. They loved it.
They were lying right down in that river with us as we scrubbed them clean. Of
course, the mature adults that we all are, we couldn’t resist our own water
fight as we tried to clean the mud off ourselves. I fully felt like a child
again in those moments, and it was some of the most fun I’ve truly ever had.
We then fed them some more after bath time, and of course
played with the baby (his name is Dumbo). He is adorable, and so playful. He
likes to charge at you, and loves to get on his belly so you can rub him tummy
and legs. Even though he’s 3 months old, he still weighs 250 Kg and can easily
take you down. The guys particularly enjoyed trying to hold him back as he
charged at them. He’s a tough guy for sure. But he would never hurt a fly. None
of them would. They were happy as clams all day. I was actually so sad to say
goodbye to them. It was truly one of the happiest days of my life. I highly
recommend Dumbo Elephant Spa to anyone looking to do an elephant trip in Chiang
Mai. They don’t allow riding there, and they use no hooks whatsoever. They
understand that elephants aren’t meant to do tricks and shows and provide
entertainment for humans. They are so humane with the elephants here; it was
magical to see how they interact with them and how the elephants interact with
complete strangers. They are truly loving creatures.
Our guides for the day were also so amazing and helpful. We
were supposed to go back to Chiang Mai in the tuk tuk with the other 4 people,
but one guide was driving his truck back into the city and asked if we wanted
to join him. So we sat in the bed of his truck for half the ride, and enjoyed
the wind blowing through our hair as we raced down the mountain. Halfway
through he stopped and invited us to eat with him at this small local
restaurant. I’ve never experienced such hospitality in Thailand before, it was
incredible and he was so kind to us.
Tuesday we awoke early at 5:30 to try and catch a 7am bus to
Chiang Rai. The bus was already full when we arrived so we waited around and
took the bus at 8:30am instead. As soon as we arrived in Chiang Rai, we caught
a mininvan to head to the Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar
all meet in the river. It wasn’t as cool as I originally thought it would be,
but still cool to see all three countries, especially since I’ve visited all
three of them already. The coolest part was definitely where you can clearly
see the rivers mix in front of you. You see the brown water from the Mekong
River run into the blue water of the Kok River. We didn’t have much time to stay
as we had to catch the minivan back to Chiang Rai and head straight for the
airport to get back to Bangkok.
All in all, it was another great weekend and another great
trip I’ve had whilst here in SE Asia. It’s finally starting to hit me that my
time is almost up as I get back to Bangkok to finish final projects and
start studying for final exams. It’s a sad thought, as I might never be ready
to leave my life here in Thailand behind.
~Ally
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