Chiang Mai

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We arrived at Dozy House and were greeted by Gina, the lovely receptionist. She gave us loads of information on what activities to do around Chian Mai, and she had a great sense of humour, so we could have a bit of craic with her. She showed us to our room, which was lovely and spacious, with air conditioning (a must-have in Thailand!). We were starving, as we hadn't eaten a proper meal since 8pm the previous night. It was now 4pm. She recommended a noodle bar around the corner, so we walked down to check it out. Dozy House is situated in the old town of Chiang Mai, which is charming, quiet and chilled out.We had some noode soup in the noodle bar and then headed straight back to Dozy House to shower and freshen up, as Gina had told us there was a night market on the "Walking Street".

Before going to the market, we booked a trip to the Doi Suthep temple, which was on the top of a mountain just outside Chiang Mai. We were to visit it the following morning. We also booked a cookery class for the following afternoon, as well as a day trip to the Chiang Mai Elephant Nature Park the day after. Dave wanted to quickly Skype home, and Gina lent him her laptop. It was lashing rain outside and she said the internet cafe isn't great.

After that, we headed out in the rain (Gina insisted we take her umbrella) and made our way to the Walking Street. The market was great; with loads of souvineirs, clothes and food. This was such a calming change from the chaos of Bangkok. We strolled amongst the stalls for a while and bought a few things, before calling into a little restaurant for dinner. We had traditional Thai food and a couple of beers (Chang and Singha!). After that we walked back to the hostel, and the rain had cleared up at that stage. It had been a real heavy downpour!

The next morning, we woke early as we were getting picked up at 9am to visit the temple. There was another couple booked on the trip with us from Portugal, and their names were Luis and Eduarda. We instantly got on with them and chatted the whole way up in the car, which was a welcome distraction since our driver was doing mental stuff. The roads are really bendy going up the mountain and he kept overtaking other cars, so for most of the journey we were driving on the wrong side of the road! We got to the end of the road, where there were market stalls (so many market stalls) and a huge staircase up to the temple. Each side of the staircase was donned with a dragon. We spotted a woman selling little sparrows in tiny, spherical cages which you are supposed to open and let them free for good luck. They think of bloody everything.

We got to the top of the staircase where we saw the gate of the temple, and, beside it, a huge sign saying "FOREIGNERS 20BHT". At least here they were honest about ripping off the tourists, or "foreigners". We had a look around, and went into the main temple area, which meant we had to take our shoes off. It was extremely touristy, with photographers taking photos of visitors at the temple for money. It was noisy and busy...not what you would think a Budhist temple would be like! It was also beautiful, with lots of gilded architecture, a belfry, gardens and statues. Afterwards we headed back out and down the steps. We found our driver, who precariously drove us back to Dozy House. We were pretty hungry after our morning so we all went to the noodle bar to fill up. Dave was trying his best to master the art of chopsticks but was finding it difficult! Luis and Eduarda were leaving that evening, but we made plans to meet up with them in Koh Phi Phi later on in the week.

That afternoon, we got picked up for our cookery class, named Baan Thai. We arrived at the house (it was literally someones house), and our cooking instructor, Apple, explained to us that Baan Thai means "Thai Home". We all took a seat on cushions around a very low table, and after we all introduced ourselves, we were on our way to the market to learn about the ingredients that make up Thai food. The market was a feast for the senses; with extraordinary sights, smells and tastes. Apple taught us a few words in Thai (Kop kun ka means "Thank You") and showed us things like all the different kinds of chillis. The smaller the hotter! She showed us the oils they use in cooking like palm oil and soy bean oil. She showed us 3 different kinds of ginger, and 3 different kinds of Basil, as well as all the different noodles you can buy (Thai people eat alot of noodles). Once we got back to Baan Thai, it was time to start cooking. First course was soup. I did Chicken and Coconut, Dave did Hot and Sour soup. They didn't take very long, although we didn't have to prepare any of the food and we didn't have to clean up! We left the soups to cool while we did our second course- Apetisers. I did spring rolls and Dave did fish cakes. The spring rolls were surprisingly easy, and really tasty with sweet chilli sauce. Dave's fishcakes tasted really good!Next course was a stir fry dish. I cooked chicken and cashew nuts with rice and Dave did Phad Thai- the most popular dish in Thailand. They both tasted really good, but we were starting to get full at this stage! Last course was the curry. I cooked the Red Curry and Dave cooked a Green Curry. The only real difference is the chillies you use. We had to do a lot of preparing for this one. First we had to make coconut milk, which involved shredding coconut into a muslin cloth, filling a basin with hot water, then bundling up the cloth and kneading it in the water. The coconut just oozes out through the cloth, mixes with the hot water to make the milk. It smelled lovely. To make the curry paste, Apple nominated one of the men in the group to sit on a small stool, hold a mortar between his knees, and grind up ingredients with a pestle as Apple tossed them in. It was a messy job, there was spicy chilli juice splashing everywhere. After we made our curries, we sat at the small table and enjoyed them with the other cooks. Everybody seemed to enjoy their food. Once we were done, we got the bus back to Dozy House where we collapsed in a heap after a good feed!

The next morning we were up early to be picked up for our next trip. Today we were going to the Chiang Mai Elephant Nature Park; a refuge for elephants who formerly worked in the now illegal logging trade. The park is run by a lady called Lek who is passionate about elephants. Not only is she giving them a place to stay since their unemployment, she is also trying to break tradition and train elephants on a "positive reinforcement" system. The traditional elephant trainers (Mahouts) would "break the spirit" of the elephant by beating it if it did something wrong- negative reinforcement. Lek's training methods involve rewarding the elephant if they do something good and ignoring bad behaviour. I was skeptical of elephant refuges in Thailand, as I did a bit of research, and alot of places that claim to be refuges for elephants who were badly treated, actually take them from the wild and use them for tourism... which isn't good conservation in my mind because numbers are low enough as it is. However, I asked around my colleagues at the zoo, and the unanimous positive reaction came from people who had visited Lek's park. So we decided to pay a visit.

On the bus there, we met our guide for the day. Her name was Gong, but preferred to be called "The Gongster". She had a great sense of humour and was really friendly. Gong showed us a video on the bus which told us all about Lek and her life, and the work she does. The hour and a half journey didn't seem too long; and by the end we were well out of Chiang Mai city and up in the mountainous forests of Northern Thailand. On our way we spotted a line of elephants walking on the road past our bus. They had people sitting on their backs. The Gongster explained that there will be no elephant rides in Lek's park- for that to happen you need a serious amount of control over the elephants which involves negative reinforcement. I was pretty happy there wouldn't be rides anyway...I'd like to think I have a healthy fear of animals!

We arrived at the Park and it was buzzing with visitors, staff and volunteers. Volunteers stay there from 1-12 weeks and help out in the daily running of the park. The Gongster explained to us about the dogs that were roaming around the park. There were loads of them. There were big floods in Bangkok last year, and the dogs were rescued and brought to the park. Most of the dogs were very friendly and liked to be petted, except the "Gangster Dogs" which had red collars to warn people not to touch them. The first activity was feeding the elephants. We stood on a balcony which was tall enough for the elephants to put their trunks on. They used their trunks to grab food off us. It was great to interact with them and be so close to them, but we were concious of so many visitors pushing in to take photos...it was a bit mental! Even though we were told to stay behind a black line, there were still parents pushing their kids over the line beside the elephant to get their picture taken. We soon realised the imortance of staying our side of the line- one of the young males, Jungle Boy, put his two feet on the balcony and hooshed himself up onto it. He grabbed the water hose, indicating to his Mahout that he wanted a drink. It was scary at first but then everyone laughed nervously!

We then took a stroll out into the park where the elephants lived. It looked lovely, with lots of trees for shade and plenty of space. One male elephant was shackled to a pole under a shelter. He was in must which is a condition males get into when they are ready to breed. They become very aggressive and dangerous. We then spotted 3 females standing in the middle of the open field. The Gongster called them Charlies Angels because the 3 of them always hung out together. We got to get really close to them and even touch them. It was a bit strange being so near elephants with no barrier, like they have at home in Dublin Zoo. The Gongster showed us the vet clinic, which was pretty basic. We headed back to the main log building and had some lunch which was all vegetarian (animals are not food- apparently). The lunch was really tasty and just what we needed after a busy morning. We chatted to the other visitors, who were from all over the world and travelling also.

After lunch it was time to wash the elephants. This was a terrifying prospect for me, as you can't run very fast in water. We walked onto a bridge that led from the main building and stretched over the park. The elephants walked under the bridge and into the river. We headed down to the river and were handed small buckets. We filled the buckets and threw the water over their backs- they loved it. One elephant got so chilled out, she lay down in the river as people washed her. The elephants left the river and we went back up on the bridge, to take a look out over the park. One mahout was hosing a mud wallow, and the youngsters rolled in it to cool down. We headed down to meet Chang Yim, an elephant at the park who is famous for giving out kisses in return for bananas. We waited in the queue, and when it got to me, i stood next to him and he walked away. I can't even pull an elephant. The Gongster took this oportunity to explain park policy- if Chang Yim decides he's had enough, he will not be forced. Eventually he came around after a little break and gave me a wet, snotty kiss with his trunk on my cheek. Dave got one too and seemed less than pleased. After that there was more feeding from the balcony, with one elephant getting so impatient she skipped the middle man and took the fruit straight out of the bucket. The Gongster then took us into the conference room (or the "Confellence Loom" as she called it) to watch a documentary on traditional Mahout methods and how Lek is trying to change that tradition. It was pretty grim viewing but very interesting. Afterwards we had a quiz where Gong gave out prizes to the people with the correct answers. Before we knew it it was time to head back to Dozy House. We were knackered after our day at the park but it was absolutely brilliant. We slept in the bus on the way back, and missed all the views!

That evening we took a walk outside the old walls of Chiang Mai after our meal. It was a little less pretty outside the old town, with alot of loud bars, litter and tourists. And lots of ladyboys. Lots of them. After a couple of drinks in a Spanish Bar we found a Crepe stand on the street, where we had banana and chocolate crepes to finish the night off. Yum! The following morning we bit the bullet and decided to go for a Thai massage. The massage parlour was very relaxing, and they gave us pyjamas to change into, and some tea to sip while we waited. Eventually we were called, and brought into a room where there were foot basins full of flower petals, hot water and oils. They washed our feet before taking us into the massage room. It wasn't a relaxing experience; they pull all your fingers and crack your knuckles, crack your spine and your neck, as well as digging elbows and knuckles into your muscles. But I have to say, you do feel great after it!

Afterwards we went for a bite to eat in a little cafe, to fill ourselves up before we headed to the airport to get our flight back to Bangkok, from where we would fly on to Phuket. After our lunch, we started to walk back to Dozy House, when all of a sudden, it started to lash rain. It was bouncing off the road, and rivers of water rushed down the street. We were used to it at this stage; there had been many showers before. Problem was we were in our clothes for travelling in, and had no brolly (not that one would have done us any good!) so we decided to shelter under the canopy of a kiosk and wait for it to stop. It was going for a good ten minutes and it seemed to be getting heavier; we were checking our watches every few minutes, and it was getting closer to our pick up time for the airport. We thought about picking up a Tuk Tuk, but everyone that passed couldn't even see us the rain was that bad. All of a sudden, a man from the foot massage parlour across the road, came over to us with an umbrella. He took me by the arm and gestured to his shop where we could shelter. After being in Bangkok I was very skeptical, but he kept saying "No massage, no massage" so I went with him under the brolly, before he went back across to get Dave. We sat in the much drier spot of his shop, and when the rain stopped we said good bye and he cheerfully waved us off. We definitely liked Chiang Mai better than Bangkok! We got back to Dozy House, and gathered up our stuff before saying goodbye to Gina and heading off to the airport. It wasn't that long a drive, and before we knew it we were on a plane to Bangkok. Thank God we weren't staying there.

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Photos

Outside the Temple
You have to take your shoes off before you go in

View over Chiang Mai
You can tell its rainy season, there's a big storm on the way

A Monument in the Temple
In Chiang Mai town

The Meat Stall
The ribbons were on rotarys to keep the flies off the meat

Our Starters!
At Baan Thai