Temple of a million tourists

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Long and windy roads Part 2

Today we are off to Wat Prahthat Doi Suthep and the Zoo, we had planned on going to the Zoo on the same Day as the Tiger Kingdom however we decided it was too much for one day and the Zoo and Temple are on the same road so it seemed to make more sense to do them both together.

We had arranged with Noi (our driver from our Tiger Kingdom trip) to pick us up at 10am and he arrived right on time but with a different car an old Volvo that had seen better days as the Automatic gear box was slipping heaps when it had to kick back going up the steep incline in the road. After yet another close call by Colli we arrived to a very full and busy car park (seeing it was Sunday a holy day everyone and their dog was there) Noi dropped us off at the cable car part as there is 309 stairs give or take a few to climb up to the top and there would be no way that Colli would have made it, I think even the fittest of people would have a challenge on their hands. A quick ride and we reached the top to see beautiful Thai girls dancing to a local band with drums beating loudly and plenty of on lookers, We found a spot to take off our shoes to enter the Wat and have a look at all the locals giving thanks by lighting candles and incense before being blessed by the monks.

We made our way through the crowds of locals and tourists alike and admired the scenery and the great view of Chiang Mai before buying Buddhist amulets that represented the day of the week we were born on and having them blessed by one of the monks.

Although the Wat and view overlooking Chiang Mai were spectacular I would probably recommend giving this place a miss as it is far too overcrowded and touristy, instead go to one of the other equally impressive less commercialised temples that surround the city.

We made our way back down to where our Driver was waiting for us and off to the bottom of the mountain to the Zoo. It cost us 540Baht (about $18Aus) for entry to the Zoo and the Aquarium and a one way trip on the bus around the park hop on hop off to all the animal exhibits, First stop the Aquarium it was a pleasant escape from the heat and humidity outside. This is quite a nice place and well maintained pretty much like the ones back home. Saw some great fish and coral and the walk through tunnel were not too bad as it had salt water and fresh water tunnels.

The Zoo itself was much like zoos used to be back home a few years ago but from what we could see it appears to be going through up-grades to make it more compatible with today’s Zoo keeping standards around the world. The Panda’s exhibit was an extra 100Baht per person (95Cents Aus) and we were lucky enough to have them awake and eating, we managed to get a few photo’s before being overrun with Japanese tourists and local school kids on an excursion so we were out of there pretty quickly.

Overall it was not too bad the park was clean and the animals seemed happy and the exhibits are clean with plenty of room for the animals to move around, however the Elephant Exhibit took us back by surprise as one of the Elephants was chained up by his two front feet and could hardly walk where the other one was free to roam......very sad.
After a big day out and being in the heat all day we drove back to our hotel and thanked and paid our driver Noi 500Baht ($16Aus) for his services and made it back just in time for cocktail hour and a cool wipe down and off to the Sunday night walking market to grab something to eat and maybe a bargain as we have not yet shopped at all except buying a pair a sunny’s for Colli in Bangkok as she had left hers at home.

This market was selling a lot of local handicraft stuff and Hill tribes come down to sell off all their stuff as well, they were the only ones that would hassle you the most as they would be trying to sell their goods and would not take No for an answer. After haggling a great price for my place mats that I have been looking for here and at home we made our way through the crowd and saw some tasty looking corn on a cob BBQ so we bought 2 for 40Baht and made our way up and down looking for my favourite Sticky Rice and Mango but they had sold out......Bugger!

After getting some supplies from the 711 and grabbing a Tuk-Tuk to take us back to the hotel. We went to cool off for a while before going to Hagen Daaz for an overly indulgent and decadent dessert. We then finished the night in the usual way with a much needed massage.

Bye for now,
Paul & Colli

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Comments

[beryl]

Polar bears look amazing
glad you found most things exceptable at the zoo Polar bear looks great shame about the chained elephant hope this changes soon. keep enjoying