Good Morning Chiang Mai & Ghangis Khan with a Camera

We arrived in Chiang Mai yesterday afternoon after a 90 minute flight from Bangkok. Chiang Mai, Thailand’s second largest city, is in the rural northwest and our hotel was about a 40 minute cab ride from the airport. The car ride reminded me of a trip through the American south with patches of desolate areas and plenty of farming. The terrain in the north of Thailand is mountainous and is part of the Himalayan Mountain system. We are outside the city limits of Chiang Mai and I kept giving looks to Heather as we moved through the countryside, trying to figure out where exactly we were headed.

The hotel, Horizon Village & Resort is a sprawling complex located on the grounds of a botanical garden (http://www.horizonvillage.net/index.htm). It has a rustic feel to it and is quite the unique hotel with an excellent restaurant on the premise. I’ve come to love Northern Thai cuisine already and have had the best meals here in the north.

Today we had a full day planned for us touring the countryside with plenty of activities along the way. A van picked us at about 8AM and we headed deep into the mountains, about a 70 minute ride on roads carved into the side of the landscape. We arrived at our first stop, a small village famed for Long Neck Karens. You’ve probably seen this practice in Nat Geo specials about African tribes, but they practice is also found in Burma, which has spilled over into Thailand. The tribe that we visited moved over the Burmese border about 5-6 years ago after the military junket took power there. Starting at 5 years-old, gold rings averaging a weight of ~12 kilograms are applied to the necks of girls every full moon to start with. The process elongates the necks of the women as they grow older. They also have a small rings applied around their knees. Worn out of tradition, the legend goes that the practice began to protect the women folk from tigers in the jungle.

The Long Neck Karens tribes are expertly skilled weavers of silk and sell their wares in the local markets and to tourists passing through. The homes they live in are single room buildings with little to no furniture inside. The people live simply off the land, farming as a village and using the local hens, yak and cows for meat. It was insightful and educational, but we both couldn’t help but feel like we were intruding on their lives.

Our next stop on our tour was The Elephant Training Center Chiang Dao. Heather and I walked across a long rickety bridge over the Mae Ping River and walked into what seemed like a summer camp set-up. We were early, so we walked around a bit and came across some elephants feeding and a mother and calf that was just over a year old. We bought a bunch of bananas and a bundle of sugarcane and fed the happy to eat giants. At 10AM was the start of the show, which began with an elephant wash down in the river bank. One-by-one the elephants marched out from oldest to youngest, each with a mahout on their back. The mahout are the guys you see dressed in blue in the pictures and are the caretakers and trainers of the elephants at the camp. It was neat to see the elephants splash around the water and enjoy the scrubbing the mahout gave them.

For the next part of the show we were lead to a small arena styled theater to watch the pachyderm perform some feats of strength and skill, and to learn a bit about the animals. For instance, did you know that an elephant’s height is equal to two times the circumference of their paw? No, neither did I. The last act of the show was one of the younger elephants painting a picture of an apple tree scene. He took the brush in his trunk and painted first the trunk of the tree with broad strokes, and then the details of the leaves, apples, yellow flowers and low-lying grass with a stabbing motion. Very post-modern. You could tell the young artist was moving through and existential phase.

After the show it was time for a ride on an elephant through the jungle forest… which was awesome. You couldn’t have asked for better weather today (that would just be rude) and it made for a beautiful stroll along a babbling stream under the towering canopy of jungle foliage. On the ride we stopped at another small village to have a look around support the local folks with purchases of their wares made of silk and teak wood. It was amazing to see how well these huge lumbering animals navigate these narrow paths with the gentlest of steps. Though, I was glad to be strapped into the seat with a seatbelt (not sure if it’s law here in Thailand, but I highly recommend buckling up before you start your elephant. It’s just safer that way). We ended the elephant ride with a walk through the river on the elephants back.

Next on the itinerary was a stop for runch (that’s Thai for lunch). We headed to a restaurant, Chiang Dao Nest 2, at the base of Thailand’s second largest mountain and had an unbelievable meal. The best we’ve had thus far in Thailand. I don’t think we’d ever find this place on our own, since it is pretty secluded and in an already relatively isolated area. Once the bill came, we learned that our tour was booked through them, so go figure. Still the meal was excellent and artfully cooked in authentic Thai style.

With full bellies we headed to Tham Chiang Dao Caves. There are five interconnected caves that make up the Tham Chiang Dao complex, believed to stretch for 10-14km into Doi Chiang Dao Mountain, only a small part of the complex is possible to explore. Two of the caves, Tham Phra Nawn and Tham Seua Dao, are illuminated by electric lights and contain many religious statuary and sacred Buddha images. The other three Tham Maa, Tham Kaew, Tham Naam can be explored with the aid of local guides with lanterns (we didn’t). In general the whole surrounding area is largely unspoiled and quite scenic, but the caves were not well cared for, not like when you visit caves in the states and everything is cordoned off and you’re warned not to touch anything since the oils in your hands erodes the minerals that make up the stalagmites and stalactites.

We were only there for a short while and walked around the grounds a bit as there some Buddhist religious relics and what-not to be found there. From here we headed out for a bamboo raft ride down the Ping. It was great and the views were spectacular, taking in the native flora, villages, rice paddies and mountains in the background. A nice, peaceful way to end a busy day.

Tomorrow should be interesting - cooking classes at the Thai Cookery School... Stay tuned dear readers.

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