Cooking, Zip-Lining, Tigers, and Elephants Oh My, Chiang Mai!

Note:  We have about two weeks before we come home!  And we have this ridiculous notion that we'll be able to catch this here blog up to date before we step on our Dec. 2nd plane in Bangkok.  We still want the posts to be good, but we're going to try to pack more into each post.  Hope you still enjoy the ride!

Annette said it best:  Chiang Mai is like Thailand lite.
For many tourists, Thailand is the safe version of SE Asia.  If one stays on the beaten path, no harm will come.  And Chiang Mai has all of the activities, clean restaurants, expats, Western bars, eateries, and up-market hotels any Westerner would need to feel right at home.  This isn't a knock on the tourists (like us) who come here, or the town itself.  We really liked Chiang Mai, especially it's Saturday and Sunday markets.  Our general opinion is that travel is good.  Even when on the "safe path" through SE Asia, one is bound to stumble into a perspective-altering cultural experience (like seeing a family of five racing down the highway on a motorbike).  Travel is mostly good.  It brings money to places that might not have as much otherwise.  Chiang Mai is a great example, as it has carved out a spot for itself as Thailand's activity and adventure capital.  There are loads of things to entertain families, backpackers, ritzy travelers, and everyone in between.  Here are a few of our favorite activities from our five days in Chiang Mai:


Zip Lines
For some reason Chiang Mai has become known for zip-lining.  The forest in the hills and mountains above Chiang Mai make for a great backdrop as you hurl yourself across up to 300 meters of cable, saved from plummeting to your death by only a harness and lots of trust in your guides.  There are trekking opportunities in Chiang Mai, but they provide only an hour of walking and very little chance to interact with promised villages and nature along the way.  Zip-lining was a way to see the forest and get the heartbeat pumping at the same time.  And it was a ton of fun!  The scariest bit was the abseiling, where you basically free fall between 20 and 40 meters straight down, saved, once again, only by rope, your harness, and the guide who controls your speed.  We did four and the largest drop was by far the freakiest since they had you go down laying face down.  AHHHHHHHHHHH!!


What's Cookin'?
There are somewhere between 100 and 1 billion cooking schools in Chiang Mai, all with good reputations.  The one we chose was owned and operated by a bubbly woman named Nancy.  The cons were a lot of downtime and a lackluster visit to a local market.  The pros were that we cooked six (different) dishes each and made a ball of flame in our woks, there was an over-abundance of food (we had dinner the next day off our left-overs), and the family atmosphere and attitude of Nancy and her husband (they were playful, sincere, and funny).  We had a small group of five adults and a 2 1/2 year-old for most of the day, but our group was (sadly) combined with another larger group toward the end.  The entire added group was French, which was annoying but not as bad as when some chili jumped into Annette's eye when she was mashing up some curry paste. Youch!!

We learned that we can make some pretty amazing soups and Thai noodle dishes.  The food is amazing because it is so simple that the flavors are delicate and aggressive at the same time.  We walked away with a recipe book, a few tricks, and some new Thai cooking magic (mostly that moving your hips a lot when stir-frying adds a lot to any dish) so we really have no excuse not to cook up a Thai food storm for you all when we get back.


Tigers
For something truly irresponsible, head to Tiger Kingdom where you can enter enclosures with tigers from 6 months to 2 plus years of age.  We went with Locke and his girlfriend, Yom.  We spent a little time with the cubs, but the real impressions were made in the enclosure with the big fellas.  Even the largest animals at Tiger Kingdom are only around 2 years old, as they are too large and dangerous to keep after that age.  All of the tigers are bred in captivity and handed over to zoos after they are too big for TK.  Should we have been maimed or killed, all of our friends and family (and everyone else) would have wondered why we were so stupid as to enter into cages with nearly full-grown tigers.  But, since we survived, everyone just marvels at our photos and courage. Yes!  I'm not sure we'd go a second time, but the opportunity to hug, touch, and even lay on a tiger is to amazing to pass up.  It is a must do, if only once.


Elephants(!!!!)
Chiang Mai is THE place to ride elephants in Thailand.  Many tourists come to Thailand and Chiang Mai with visions of themselves perched on the back of an Asian elephant as they traipse through the forest.  These dreams are often not met by reality, and many of those same hopeful tourists leave for home with a mediocre day of little elephant riding and horror stories of how the elephants were treated.  The sheer number of "ride an elephant" companies means that some are just out for money and nothing else.  Your dream, and the elephant's welfare, are not even blips on those company's radars.  

We knew we wanted to spend some serious face time with SE Asia's most famous gentle giants, but we wanted to be careful in our choice of operation.  We wanted a substantial experience, as spending time with and learning about the elephants was more important than a photo op of us riding them.  Even legit elephant experiences are as many and varied in Chiang Mai as cooking courses (though we noticed a surprising lack of outfits that combined the two - did someone say business opportunity?).  We sifted through the riffraff until we found Patara Elephant Farm, which seemed to be a balanced, interesting, and good-hearted project.  The idea of Patara is that each visitor gets an elephant for a day.  It is your job to care for your elephant for the entire day, so you really get the chance to learn about them on a deeper level.

The plan: You arrive early in the morning and learn about domestic elephant care before inspecting, feeding, washing, and otherwise caring for your elephant.  You basically learn what it is like to be a mahout for a day, while getting the chance to get really close to one of the most beautiful and fascinating creatures on earth.  The bonus is that all of the elephants on the Patara "farm" are rescued from circuses, logging camps, and other miserable living conditions.

Overall, we really enjoyed our Patara experience.  We feel like Patara was the real deal in that they really seemed invested in educating visitors about elephants in Thailand.  The elephants we encountered seemed happy and well-loved.  We arrived to find the rest of our group huddled around a baby elephant, who we later learned was only two months old.  The elephant was acting really strange.  It would try to stand and walk, only to fall over again and again.  It actually looked drunk.  Everyone was standing around laughing and taking photos.  But as the clumsiness continued, people began to show concern.  "Is the elephant all right?"  Just as the mood was shifting, the elephant stood up and walked perfectly over to mum.  The Patara owner (who later delivered an excellent speech about what they do and why) informed us that the baby has grown up with people and was just showing off for attention.  That same baby, apparently, was walking just 10 minutes after birth!   We all sat down and listened to the owner talk about the farm, domesticated elephants in Thailand, and why educating tourists about elephants is so important.  Annette and I were sitting quietly, minding our own business when, "Thump!"  Something jolted our bench.  It was the same baby elephant, apparently trying to get the spotlight back by playfully ramming the bench.  This continued for about five minutes until we finally switched benches. So funny!

Our day with our elephants was even better than expected.  We inspected our elephants for signs of good health and Jeff even held, smelled, and squeezed elephant dung, just to be thorough.  We also fed our elephants, which took forever since it was one sugar cane piece and one banana at a time.  Jeff's elephant kept trying to sneak bananas in its trunk, until it had four, at which point it gobbled all four at once - as a special treat, we suppose.  We got in a stream up to our knees and bathed our elephants, which is tough work considering their size and rough skin.  After the hard work was over, it was almost time to ride our elephants over to a nearby waterfall for lunch.  We were informed during the owner's speech that walking elephants daily is good for their feet, toe nails, and overall health.  He also said that elephants like to swim, so spending time at the falls was not just for us, but for them too.  Swimming with our elephants was a highlight.  It is simply amazing, a blessing for sure, to get to spend so much time so close to these special animals.  Everything from their wiry hairs to their trunk dexterity delighted and amazed us.  Talking to, petting, swimming, bathing, and even riding our elephants made us feel closer to them.  Our elephant day was educational, unforgettable, and a whole lot of fun all at the same time. 

We scheduled our time in Chiang Mai like a soccer mom schedules after-school activities; every day was filled with a new, exciting, and sometimes tasty adventure.  Chiang Mai may be "Thailand Lite" but it sure is fun!