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Published: February 1st 2012
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Zipline adventures
Suzi loves the zipline We did not realize our train was approaching the station in Chiang Mai, so we drowsily grabbed for our bags and tumbled out of the train, fearing it might continue on with us still inside!Luckily the rush was not needed; Chiang Mai was the train’s final destination.We haggled with a few taxi trucks outside the station, and finally hopped in along with a guy from the UK and another from Vermont.We knew from the first taxi ride that Chiang Mai was a place we could spend a lot of time. Kostek said, “I could live here, it feels like the East Village.”
The following day, we ran into a great freelance local guide, who recommended a few authentic Thai places for dinner and live music. We enjoyed dinner at Mix, an east-meets-west fusion restaurant with friends we met in Sukothai that are from Switzerland.We then went to Monkey Club, where we were the only tourists in the venue.We met a few groups from nearby provinces, all who proclaimed Chiang Mai as ‘the best’. It was great to be in the midst of a rock and roll band belting out Thai hits.
Next day, we set out on a jungle
Rice padies
Enjoying the hike through the villages flight zipline tour not far from Chiang Mai.This was the best ziplining / abseiling we’ve done since our honeymoon in Costa Rica. Watch the short video clip of us tandem ziplining high up in the trees, it was so much fun.
We finished off the night by meeting up with the Swiss couple and enjoyed sharing stories of each of our days in Chiang Mai at a great Burmese restaurant.
On Thursday, we had a local tour guide and driver take us to the silk and Jade centers right outside of Chiang Mai. It was great to see the entire production / carving process from start to finish in person. The last stop was an umbrella factory where we had t-shirts hand-painted. After doing a bit of shopping at the umbrella market, we were ready to take on
Doi Sutep.
Doi Sutep is an amazing mountain outside of Chiang Mai, with a Wat built atop its pinnacle. The story goes that the King Nu Naone of the Lanna kingdom in 1368 let a white elephant decide where the temple was to be built.The elephant was let free in the jungle, climbed the mountain, and died on the top.This
Bamboo floating
We had more fun than Huck Finn is where Wat Doi Sutep was built.There is a tribute to the white elephant atop Doi Sutep.We were fortunate to go at sunset, when the Wat was pretty much empty, aside from Monks chanting their evening prayer.The Wat was lit up and glittered gold atop the mountain and we enjoyed the beautiful view of Chiang Mai city.
On Friday, we woke up early to try our culinary skills with a 6-course Thai cooking course.We met our chef, who took us to a local market and showed us how to pick the best produce for our recipes, including a whole pig head (not part of the recipie but surely a local market highlight).We had a great time making cashew chicken, spicy shrimp salad, minced pork and soy noodles, steamed fish in banana leaves, red curry with chicken and potatoes, and for dessert bananas in coconut cream.Needless to say, after the full 6-course menu, we could not eat a full dinner.We went out to a live music venue, Riverside, that our friend Heidi recommended. It was excellent.
On Saturday, we worked out at our hotel gym and hung out by the pool, catching up on relaxation and reading.We had a
Authentic Thai Rock
We were the only tourists there - a great time great meal at a local Pad Thai shop for about $2 USD with Tim, who we first met at the Koh Yao Yai island. The evening finished with a few games of table football (fuzz-ball) at a bar close to our hotel.
On Sunday, we met with Heidi’s friend Pim, who is editor of the Chiang Mai lifestyle magazine citylife-citylife.com. We feasted on an amazing spread at the Mandarin Oriental resort.Afterwards, we went to the internationally acclaimed
Royal Flora festival in Chiang Mai, and were impressed by exotic flowers and expositions from dozens of countries. The Royal Palace and garden was especially impressive.
At night, we met up with our friend and travel writer Tim, to experience the famous Sunday night market.The main old city thoroughfare becomes a pedestrian market, with miles of sights, sounds and colors.It was a lot of fun to pick up some special mementos of our time in Thailand, and especially Chiang Mai.We went to a few open-air food courts to sample local cuisine like quail egg wontons, Thai pancakes with chocolate, and chicken kebabs.
On Monday, we set out for a full-day trek in to the nearby mountain towns.We started the adventure with
a 45-minute elephant ride through the jungle.Check out the video clip of our time, it was a highlight!
Afterwards we went to a mountain village of people who emigrated from Burma.It was interesting to learn they identify unmarried women by white shawls, married women with light blue shawls, and elder women with black shawls, all the while men of the village wear burgundy shawls.
Kostek and I now have a burgundy and light blue shawl to remember our time in the village. We then hiked through the forest to a nice waterfall where I cooled off and Kostek read a book. It reminded me so much of Ithaca!We then hiked to another hill tribe village of people who emigrated from China.
We finished the day by a thrilling ride down a river on bamboo ‘pontoon’ rafts. Our guides were masterful in navigating the shallow and windy river on an 18’ bamboo raft, tied together with recycled tires, with only a bamboo rod to steer.It was great to have such a ride on such a simple raft!
In the evening we visited Riverside again for dinner and raised a toast to Martini's namesday and wished her good
Vistas above Chiang Mai
Atop Doi Sutep at sunset luck in her new position at Ernst & Young in Warsaw!
Our time in Chiang Mai was filled with many highlights; we extended our stay there by a day, and could have definitely spent much more time.
Next destination: Chiang Rai, Thailand.
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