Thailand: Chiang Mai

Our next stop along our trip was Chiang Mai. I will admit I wasn't hugely excited to go inland. I had always pictured my tropical island holiday being purely on the beach surrounded by coconut trees and blue-blue waters. What was there really to do inland?

To my surprise, Chiang Mai was one of the best stops we did. It was touristy without feeling like you were packed in with a million other nationalities. We stayed at Manee Guesthouse, which was by far the best place we stayed the entire trip. It was clean, close to everything and had a pool. On arrival the receptionist told us we had been upgraded to a nicer room because all the other standard rooms were full - SCORE!

On our third day in Chiang Mai, we took a tour package that cost us about 900 Bhat for the day (R300/ $30). Considering the variety of things we did, it was well worth the money. The shuttle service fetched us from our hotel, drove us about an hour out to the Maetang river (with a relatively underwhelming stop at an Orchid farm on the way- yawn). The Maetang river area is absolutely beautiful and relatively untouched. It was also a whole lot closer to the boarder of Burma/Myamar than I realized at the time.

First up on our list of things to do was white river rafting. I doubt either of us will quit our days jobs to be professional rafters but hey it was fun all the same. We may have gotten stuck just a couple of times and had to be helped by the guide. After we handed in our oars, part of the package was a buffet lunch followed by elephant ridding.

Ready to raft!

Robyn looking totally shell shocked by the experience hahahaha.

 I know many people believe that the elephant ridding is cruel but this particular experience didn't come across that way to me. Don't get me wrong I am sensitive to the treatment of animals, I have left a few cat cafes in Korea feeling slightly uncomfortable at the conditions. However I did not feel this way with these particular elephants or their handlers. If anything I feel that it brings a broader sense of awareness to elephant conservation in general. The ride itself was beautiful, winding through the cliff side and jungle before turning back and walking through the river, all while the elephant stuck his trunk back looking for bananas from us.

Riders wait on the platforms to get onto the elephnats.

winding past the riverside

Feed me Bananas!

Robyn and I ridding the elephant

The rest of the day saw us hiking up to a natural waterfall and and taking a bamboo raft ride down the still river.

One of the other stand out experiences in Chiang Mai was Doi Suthep which in a nutshell is a Buddhist temple on a mountain. The description doesn't quite sum up the magnificent landmark that was built in 1383. Robyn did mention that there were a 'few' stairs - I ignored her warning thinking I am a young relatively fit 23 year old, not problem!

Boy was I mistaken.
On arrival I took one look at the stair case, rolled my eyes and decided it must eventually lead all the way into the bloody sky. It looked like we would have to walk at just under a 90 degree angle to get there. However after just a few steps, as well as promises to go back to gym after Thailand, we arrived at the beautiful temple. The view across the mountains and city was stunning!

Next up Phuket!