Accommodation in Chiang Mai is cheaper than everywhere else we've visited on this trip. And we decided to go very very cheap (think $23 NZ a night for a family room).
The Green Zone Guesthouse is a very basic three-story guesthouse inside the old city (a great location just off Moon Muang soi 9) run by a friendly woman called Goong. The room we'd booked was not available when we arrived, so we spent our first night in a windowless room before moving upstairs to one with a balcony; a vast improvement! The bathroom is shared, which would have been fine as there were only one or two others staying, except that they weren't cleaned until the final morning of our stay. Several of the facilities listed on AirBNB didn't exist (washing machine, breakfast, homemade food) or were not available (WIFI, kitchen) and we didn't see much of Goon to ask her. Oh, and I had an itchy hair line each morning, so suspect there was something in the pillow. Ick! Lesson learned for us I think... next time we'll set our minimum at the third or fourth cheapest option.
As we didn't feel like hanging around the guesthouse that afternoon, we decided to go for a wander and check out a local cafe. Chiang Mai is known for its coffee - whoo hoo! - and cafe culture. Apparently when opium was "removed" as a crop, coffee was one of the alternatives. (Adrian: judging by the number of people looking like career smack junkies we saw around the town, my money is on you can still score pretty easy if you want to).
We headed to Liberand, where the banana pancakes were rated the best in Thailand in 2000 by the Lonely Planet. We didn't sample the pancakes this time, but the coffee and passion fruit juice were excellent. From there we walked to see a Chinese arch and through some nearby markets Talal Warorot where we found the biggest avocados I've ever seen and cherry tomatoes, much to Leo's delight! He munched half a 500g bag (costing about 60c NZ) in next to no time.
That evening, once the kids were asleep, Adrian and I sat in the reception area chatting to two guys, one Australian and the other Canadian about their experiences of living in Chiang Mai as expats and our travels. It has 11 universities and is the base for a number of NGOs, so is a vibrant student city with a large number of expats. There are loads of fantastic cafes (apparently milk-froth designs on coffee are a bit of an art form here), bars, restaurants etc. It is cooler here - peaking at 27-30 degrees - so a comfortable temperature, particularly at night and seems an easy city to live in, especially compared with Bangkok. Our initial impression of Chiang Mai was really good.
Adrian went on a day-long Thai cooking course the next day, so the kids and I went to the zoo. There are a huge number of animals: hippos, giraffes, zebras, big cats, elephants, bears, pandas etc. Plenty to keep us occupied.
For a small payment (40-80c a bowl/bunch), we were able to buy animal feed. My favourites were the hippos, which swim to the edge of their enclosure and open their mouths so you can throw in carrots. The giraffes ate green beans with their curly tongues and the kids fed the jaguar meat on a long stick. I know it probably isn't ideal for the animals and is inconsistent with my views on Tiger Kingdom, but once you are there it is hard to refuse and both Eleanor and Leo absolutely loved it! Seeing the seal and animal shows fall into the same category. At least these animals aren't drugged or kept in tiny cages or hit with sticks to discourage bad behaviour.
We also paid a little extra to visit the pandas. When we first went through their enclosure they were sleeping, but on our second visit they were up and about. We watched the female for a while as she walked between the keeper's door and the gate to the male's enclosure. Eleanor was convinced she wanted to see her one true love (The Princess Bride made an impact!).
Adrian enjoyed his day at the cooking school, and proudly made by far the hottest green curry in the group, and much to the amazement of his fellow students ate every last drop and remarked he'd had hotter. So look forward to dinner parties at our place this year!
That evening we discovered a very funky Chinese BBQ restaurant. You pick your meat and veges out of the fridges and they cook (and spice!) it for you on a coal BBQ out the front of the restaurant. We all enjoyed it, even if we weren't sure exactly what everything was. The BBQ'd lamb cutlet was especially tasty and Leo discovered a new love, crocodile meat. He went back for more twice! We were also treated to Justin Beiber, random Chinese megastars and Madonna karaoke on the TV.
We returned to Liberand for breakfast the following day and Leo declared the banana pancakes to be the best in the galaxy. They're pretty good then. Unfortunately, Eleanor tripped over carrying the owner's daughter's guitar and chipped it. She felt terrible! It will never be the same again and the daughter looked distraught, but they didn't make any fuss we all apologised and gave her mother some money towards its repair.
We'd intended to visit three temples that afternoon, we did, but not exactly the ones we'd planned; there was a case of mistaken identity. We saw Wat Tao, which is very ornate and which we'd mistaken for Wat Chedi Luang next door. Wat Chedi Luang has a 14th century stupor which they are currently restoring, although as they don't know what it looked like originally, it will be a best guess restoration. We bought and signed a roof tile, which will be used in the restoration; Eleanor hopes it will be put at the very top, but I guess we'll never know. The final temple we visited was Wat Phra Singh, which the kids particularly loved as there is a building with eight very life-like monks meditating (I admit to having thought they were real! Adrian is certain they are wax works). They now want to learn to meditate.
That was enough for one day so we grabbed a tuk tuk back to the guesthouse for a rest. I popped out for a foot and hand scrub and pedicure (much needed!). The woman who did it was lovely and spoke good English. It cost about $25 NZ and took over 1.5 hours. She would have kept going, but I wanted to get back so we could get on with our evening.
We walked to the Sunday Walking Street night market (there's one on Saturday too at another location) and wandered through a small portion of it. There were some excellent crafts, art and yummy-looking food. Unfortunately, we were a little later than planned so it was very crowded. I could have browsed for hours, but it was hard work in amongst hordes, especially keeping track of two small children, so after half an hour or so we headed back to near our place for dinner. Apparently there is a smaller version on Monday nights near some of the universities where everything is half price, but we didn't make it.
Radost is a little restaurant open to the street on one of soi 9's corners, about two minutes from our guesthouse. It is owned by a German man who spent many years living in the Czech Republic. The moment we arrived we were greeted with a big smile by the staff and presented with menus. The environment was comfortable, the food was good and the table-football was free. Something for everyone!
We returned to Radost for breakfast the next day as it opens early and we were off to see the elephants! Our animal-ethics had returned and we'd decided on the shorter of two trip options (still 9am to 3.30pm) at the Elephant Nature Park, which has rescue elephants, primarily from the now illegal logging industry. Some had been injured by land mines along the borders with Cambodia and Myanmar, or had broken legs, backs or shoulders from logging work. Six of the 66 elephants are completely blind due to mistreatment by their mahouts.
At this park you can feed and interact with the elephants (they also have cats, water buffalo and 400 dogs), but can't ride them. Some elephants have had a lot of contact with humans and are very comfortable with us, while others haven't or are damaged psychologically by their experiences. Each elephant has a dedicated mahout who does not carry a bamboo stick or hook for discipline, they work on the basis of reward for good behaviour rather than punishment for bad.
We met at their office in the city and drove an hour north into the hills in a minivan to get to the park. There are lots of tour groups, but they are fairly small, we had nine in total, which was great. We had a lovely group and spoke to most people at some point. There was a six-year-old Australian girl called Martha, whose family are moving to Chiang Mai soon. Her step-father is a citrus fruit specialist so will be a professor at one of the universities studying the ability of various varieties to grow at different temperatures. Martha is every bit as strong and confident as Eleanor and the three of them had a very fun time together.
After a briefing at the platform, your guide takes the group for a walk to meet the elephants. As they are encouraged to live in as natural a way as possible, the elephants form herds (not family groups as it would be in the wild, but groups of friends), or in some cases pairs. Our group walked around the park meeting elephants and hearing their stories from our guide. Some are awful.
We watched the elephants, fed them watermelon, cucumber and pumpkin and could pat them. The guides are careful to introduce you to elephants that are comfortable with human contact, but still manage the contact carefully.
One story we were all touched by was that of Jokia and Mae Perm, who are about 50 and 75 respectively. Jokia came to the park from the logging industry. She had been pregnant and gave birth at work, but the baby slid away down the hill and she couldn't get to it to get it out of its birth sack, so she lost it. After that she didn't want to work and her behaviour deteoriated resulting in her mahout sticking something sharp in her eyes which blinded her. As soon as she arrived, Mae Perm adopted her and they became best friends. Mae Perm protects and cares for her, which is amazing to see. While we were watching them, Mae Perm went to the river for a drink and mud bath. She called to Jokia regularly to try and get her to come along, but Jokia was too busy eating. The moment Jokia responded, Mae Perm came running. She walked up next to Jokia and gently touched her with her trunk and they had a bit of a chat. You imagined Mae Perm saying something along the lines of 'I'm here now, it's all okay, but you should have come in, the mud was fine!'. It brought tears to your eye, it was such a touching moment.
Visiting the park was a truly wonderful experience. A real highlight of the trip so far for all of us. That night we went back to Radost for dinner as the kids wanted another game of table football.
We had until lunchtime the next day before we needed to leave for the airport, so decided to have breakfast at The Blue Diamond Breakfast Club. The tables are in a lovely garden and the food was healthy and tasty, but the service was less friendly. There is a bakery attached, turning out yummy looking goods including muffins, wholegrain croissants and various breads. And little shop selling natural insect repellant, skincare products and herbs and spices. I could have spent a lot of money there if we had plenty to spare and there was room in our bags!
From there we had a family massage. This time we chose a place run by female former prisoners. They have learnt the trade as a means of turning their lives around and reintegrating into society. A good thing to support we thought. The shop was imacculately clean, the massages good and the people lovely. We all left feeling relaxed and ready for the next leg of our journey.
We collected the shirts and skirts Adrian and I had made by a local tailor, checked out of the guesthouse and headed to Radost for lunch and a last game of football. The owner said he could arrange us a taxi, which wound up being him kindly driving us to the airport for free. I eavesdropped on his interesting conversation with Adrian about living in Thailand on the way. He was very frank about politics and corruption, both of which are still very much a way of life.
Chiang Mai was an excellent stop. I'm so pleased to have finally made it. It is the first place on this trip that I could see myself living, however unlikely that is!
Family band, Liberand Cafe
Kissed by a seal
Macaw
Banana pancakes
Elephant!
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