I fell in love with the magic of Thailand on my first visit here in 2004. The huge diversity in this amazing country means having a very different kind of holiday experience every time I come here if I so wish. Tropical beaches, gastronomic havens, meditation and spiritual retreats, nature reserves, tropical rain forests, stunning mountains, vast trekking areas, ancient civilizations, endless shopping and markets, all added to the best value and the friendliest people on the planet... I rest my case.
Bangkok
We arrived in Bangkok intending to stay just a few days. Bangkok
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| The Grand Palace in Bangkok |
is fascinating, huge, hot and diverse but the friendly Thai welcome is not as easy to find in the tourist spots as it is away from them. It is advisable to be aware of the cost of transport to different places and the exchange rates or unscrupulous drivers and dealers will soon part you from your money. Before arriving it is a good idea to have a map and familiarize yourself with the distances to whatever sites you wish to visit from your hotel. This city of almost 10 million people covers a vast area and the road system is good though traffic jams are notorious. The sky-train is also excellent and takes you from the International airport right through and across the city.
After a couple of days visiting the magnificent
Grand Palace and Wat Pho, we traveled north to Chiang Mai. This part of Thailand is much more mountainous and the people are very laid back. Chiang Mai is Thailand's second largest city with less than 200,000 people. Many Thais and ex pats like the cooler temperatures which is a feature of the higher altitudes. Chiang Mai is also home to thousands of temples and pagodas which makes it a very attractive destination. The north also has a rich tribal culture which gives it a colorful array of artwork, clothing and hand crafts. Food here is cheap, delicious and healthy. We also found our first examples of reasonably priced imported wines since arriving in South East Asia...happy days!
Change of scene in Chiang Mai
After the hussle and bussle of Bangkok it was a relief
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to arrive in the laid back atmosphere of this friendly city. The old city centre is contained within the city walls and moat, and was around 20 minutes walk from our hotel. We stayed at the 3*
www.pornpinghotelchiangmai.com and enjoyed relaxing swims at the pool and a delicious buffet breakfast every day. There is an open air rooftop bar which is great to watch the evening sunset in. The hotel is located right at the night bazaar and we were spoiled for choice with an abundance of restaurants, traditional massage, markets stalls and shops.
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| Flower Girl |
We particularly like our vegetarian experience at Taste from Heaven
http://taste-from-heaven.com and they also have a cookery school and offer home delivery which we didn't get a chance to check out unfortunately. We also loved the local food in www.lemongrassrestaurants.com/chiang mai/ where hundreds of visitors have left their comments on the walls proclaiming it to be the best Thai food in the whole country. This along with The nearby Red Lion can be found on Loi Kroh Road just behind the bazzaar. We enjoyed the music at the www.redlionpubchiangmai.com too! For great live music check out www.boybluesbar.com just around the corner.
On our second day we treated ourselves to a body scrub and oil massage at the local
www.spadesiam.com We got two-for-the-price-of-one for around $30 each and slept like babies after our 2 hours of pampering!
The Golden Temple Doi Suthep
For sight seeing, a trip to the
Golden Temple at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is well worth the effort. The beautiful 14th century temple is overlooking the city but remember, as with all temples in Thailand, to wear long shorts and cover your shoulders out of respect. The final 300 step climb can be done by tram for a small fee or on foot. An additional temple is being contructed and we delighted our families by writing a sweet blessing on a couple of roof tiles which will join thousands of others at a permant home on the temple overlooking Chiang Mai.
www.chiangmai-chiangrai.com/wat-phra-thart-doi-suthep
The Elephant Nature Park
Many visitors to Chiang Mai take a trek to one of the Hill Tribe villages or visit a wild life santuary.We heard about a local woman called Lek Chailert who runs a sanctuary for abused and traumatised elephants at the Elephant Nature Park. www.elephantnaturepark.org We had heard some stories about other parks masquerading as rescue centres but actually money making business and we were keen not to visit any where there was mistreatment. We certainly weren't disappointed!
The Elephant Nature Park is home to 30 rescued elephants from calves up to a sprightly eighty year old female. The park was also home to 400 dogs rescued from the floods in Bangkok, many of whom have now been rehomed. Some terrible stories are told of traumatised animals injured or cruelly treated by their mahoots so it is a real treat to see them wandering around freely with no chains or humans riding them and no humiliating circus tricks. We were collected from our hotel and driven my minibus to the sanctuary around an hour away. Our guide was very familiar with each elephant and their history.
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| The Ellies love their daily swim |
We got to feed the elephants twice during the day, were treated to a huge buffet lunch and free water and snacks. The highlight was definitely taking the beautiful elephants tothe river for a bath. Watching them play and submerge in the water was magical. We got to throw buckets of water over them too which was so much fun though a few of us were on the receiving end of mis-thrown buckets of water too! A lift back to our hotel at 5pm finished off a magical and unforgetable experience. We had thought the $75 cost was a bit steep but on reflection the fun packed day was great value and to know that our cash contributed to the elephants upkeep was worth every penny, and of course we have the memories for a lifetime.....
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| Beautiful Thai style home tucked away in the hills |
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| Monkey Business in Chiang Mai |
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| Bath Time for the Elephants at the Nature Park |
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The huge Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho in Bangkok
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