Things to do in Chiang Mai

I came to Chiang Mai with no plans as far as what I wanted to do once I arrived. I knew I had a confirmed reservation at the hostel for a week, and that I would be attending the Toastmasters meeting the first Sunday after I arrived. I also knew that my boyfriend was coming to visit me for a few days as I approached my second week. Everything else was up in the air. There were lots of tour companies and brochures all around the city as well as at the hostel to cater to tourists. I searched online, sought advice at the hostel, and read the different brochures to figure out a few things that I wanted to do solo and with a partner. I'd read several articles and blogs about Thailand, so I knew that there would be a plethora of Buddhist temples (Wat) to visit and that elephants are a major attraction.

stupa surrounded by elephants

Bike Tour

Based on my previous experiences in Sydney and Rio de Janeiro, I know that a bike tour is a great way to explore a city in a short period of time. I also enjoyed food tours in New Orleans and San Diego. When I saw a combined bike/food tour in Chiang Mai, I knew I had hit the jackpot. The company picked me up from my hostel in a songthaew and took me to the home base for the tour. The bikes were lined up by size for me and the Belgian family of 5 (2 adults and 3 children) that was joining me on the tour. The tour guide instructed me to follow behind her, followed by the youngest girl (around 7), the mother, the teenaged girl, the boy (around 10), and the father at the end. We didn't do formal introductions. However, they knew my name was Elizabeth, because the tour guide told them to follow me, and I knew the boy was Max, because they kept calling his name. "Where is Max?" "Max come over here." "Stop Max!" The tour began with us stopping at a booth to pick up rain ponchos for the family. I already had mine in my daypack along with a small umbrella. It's rainy season afterall, so you must always be prepared. We visited the oldest temple in Chiang Mai, Wat Chiang Man, and a couple of other well-known temples around the Old City. In the midst of visiting the temples, the rain began pouring down on us. It became so bad that the guide led us to a small structure to take shelter for a few minutes. The rain did not let up. She asked us if we had any appointments later because the tour was going to take longer than planned due to the rain delay. We decided to get back on the road in the rain, and it eventually stopped raining about 20 minutes later. I didn't mind the rain, except my feet were soaked. My socks/shoes were a soggy mess. You have to remove your shoes before entering the temples, so you could see lots of wet footprints on the floor.

Taking shelter from the rain

The temples require modest dress - no bare arms, bare knees, or middrifts. This "modesty rule" mostly applies to women. The mother and the little girl on my tour wore shorts, so they had to rent cloth (10-15B) each time they entered a temple. I keep a sarong in my day bag to cover myself at temples when needed. No one paid much attention to how the men dressed. Along with modest clothing, women are not allowed to touch monks or enter certain buildings. Why? It's because we bleed (menstruate), and that's considered unclean. I guess they ignore the fact that because we bleed, we can create and carry life. I also found it interesting that Buddhist monks can quit at any time. I thought it was a lifelong commitment. Our guide told us that many poor, rural families send their boys to the monastery because they receive a free education that the family couldn't afford otherwise. The boys become educated men who sometimes retire from being a monk to lead the life of a layperson. Of course, I asked about the girls. How do poor girls get educated if they are not allowed to enter the monastery? They don't. They get married and have babies. She said that's the reason that many poor Buddhist families convert to Christianity. They might not fully agree with the religious aspects, but there are opportunities for both girls and boys to be educated.

temple dress code

In addition to the temples, we also visited the Three Kings Monument. I passed this area several times on my own, but I didn't know who the men were. I just assumed it was a statue of the same man in different positions, so it was nice to learning the real meaning. After visiting all the structures, and going down what seemed to be every alley and back street of the Old City, we stopped at a food market. I sampled fried sweet potato balls, fried shrimp patties, and fish cakes, while everyone else sampled prepared meat dishes. We also went to a market that mostly sold Thai fruit, vegetables, and spices. We tasted durian (looks like jackfruit, but very stinky), longan, rambutan (looks like a hairy strawberry), rose apples, and more. Check out this site for more details on Thai fruit.

Thai fruit

rambutan

peeled rambutan

durian

Running/Yoga

I have a fitness goal of running 5 miles each week, so I was very disappointed when I arrived in Chiang Mai and saw the poor conditions of the sidewalks and roads. I did not want to hurt myself running on a crumbling, uneven surface, so I asked a couple of people if they knew of a place where I could run safely. Someone told me there were 2 parks nearby that had paths to run, and they were not too far from where I was staying. The next day, I walked to that area, and saw a small beautiful park with exercise equipment and a walking path that seemed to be more fit for meditation and relaxation. I crossed the street, and there was a bigger park. It was also very beautiful, but it seemed to be more for exercising, not just relaxing. There was workout equipment around the perimeter, a small lake, a playground, a pavilion, and a winding path that circled the park. I saw other people walking and jogging along the path and decided that I would join them the following day. I tried to run on the path of the moat from Chiang Mai Gate to the park, but it was hard to keep moving with trees blocking my way and the poor infrastructure. I ran several laps around the park once I arrived, even though it started raining. I was already drenched with sweat, so the rain didn't make much of a difference. I kept going.

I enjoy practicing yoga, and I try to do it as much as I can. I walked by several yoga studios on my walks around the city. I searched online to see if there were any free classes coming up. I found that there was a free yoga class every morning at 9am at MY PARK. I could run at the park and then join the yoga session all in the same place. The class was taught by a different volunteer yoga instructor every morning next to the lake in such a beautiful park. All I had to do was rent a yoga mat from the park attendant for 15B each time. Winning! They cancelled the class on mornings when it rained. I was able to attend a couple of sessions while I was there, and I truly enjoyed the experience. I even learned some new breathing techniques. I would definitely make activity at Suan Buak Had Park part of my regular routine if I lived in Chiang Mai.

yoga in the park

Cooking Class

I enjoyed Thai food in the United States, and I was excited to know that I could sign up for an authentic Thai cooking class while in Chiang Mai. There were so many class options to choose from at different restaurants and cooking schools around the city. I finally decided on a class that was based outside of the city with their own garden for ingredients, and it allowed the students to choose their own menu, including vegetarian dishes. I wanted to have a couple of activities planned for when my boyfriend arrived, so I signed us up for the half day class where we would make 4 dishes and curry paste. The morning of the class, the school's van picked us up from our hotel, and we rode outside of the city with other aspiring chefs. On the way to the country, we stopped at a market and the class instructor showed us the different vegetables, spices, and other ingredients that we would be using for our meals. We continued on the road for another 45 minutes or so before reaching the school. We were split into 2 groups, each assigned to a different instructor. Our guy explained our schedule for the day and gave us details about the menu before asking each person which dishes they wanted to make. I chose to make green curry, pad thai, and tom yum soup, and my boyfriend chose chicken fried rice, panang curry, and chicken soup. Everyone would make a fried spring roll too. The noodles/rice and spring rolls would be the first course, and the curry and soup would be prepared after enjoying the first course. We then walked through the garden to see mushrooms, eggplant, basil, papaya, peppers, and more growing organically in preparation to be harvested for future meals.

cooking class menu

Iron Chef J

We were each assigned to a station with the tools that we would need including a really big knife, a chopping block, and a wok. One of the guys said it looked like we were about to battle it out on Iron Chef. We chopped and diced and pan fried and stirred and mixed and finally we were able to enjoy our food. It was the best pad thai I had tasted since arriving in Thailand. I'm not just saying that because I made it. It really was awesome. I was disappointed by the tom yum soup because it wasn't creamy enough. It will be better the next time around when I add more coconut milk. Each student was given a recipe book as a parting gift so we can practice at home. I can't wait to show off my new skills!

curry paste

green curry and tom yum soup

Pad Thai by moi

chicken fried rice and spring roll

Elephants
Disclaimer: I'm not into animals, except for my own beautiful German Shepherd/Lab, Isis. I have always admired elephants from a distance, but I never thought about interacting with elephants up close and personal. I wanted to get over my fear of animals, so I decided to do that by interacting with the largest land mammal in the world. God, help me! I realized when I arrived in Thailand that there would be no way to escape the influence of elephants on this country. The Thai elephant (chang) is the national symbol of Thailand, and you see it on currency, temples, royal emblems, paintings and more. They even named their beer after the elephant, Chang. Elephant symbols are also all over the markets on clothes and decorative items. I knew from reading various travel information before I left home that elephants are usually exploited for profit and they suffer abuse and mistreatment in the name of making money. Some practices that are meant to entertain tourists, like elephants painting, dancing, riding them, etc., come at a high cost to the elephant's welfare, and I didn't want to be part of that. See here. I saw lots of brochures and marketing for the types of elephant excursions I wanted to avoid. Sanctuaries where domesticated elephants roam freely appealed to me.

"We are family!"

I booked an excursion for my boyfriend and I to go to an elephant sanctuary south of Chiang Mai. The company picked us up from our hotel that morning and took us into the jungle. We arrived at the sanctuary and were instructed to change into traditional clothes worn by the people of the Karen village, and we were given lockers to place our belongings. The guides gave us instructions and a general overview of what we would be doing during our stay. The 3 elephants on site included 2 adult females (cows) between 30 and 40 years old, and a baby male (bull) around 3 years old. The baby, BonBon, was an orphan who's mother was killed, and so he was adopted by the other 2 females. We witnessed a couple of occasions when BonBon was off on his own and made a distress cry, and one of the females dropped what she was doing and ran to his aid. Woe be unto anyone who was in her path.

We were each given a shoulder bag filled with snacks - bamboo pieces and bananas. The elephants walked over to our group ready for their snacks. We held the treats in our hands horizontally so the elephants could easily grab them. The end of the trunk has a notch that works like a finger and allows them to grab the food. We watched them curl their trunks around the treats and pop them into their mouths ready for more. After I ran out of food in my bag, greedy BonBon tried to pick up my bag on his own and went from person to person looking for more. We walked with the elephants along a river in the jungle nearby. There were also cows in the area, and we were told that as big as they are, the elephants are afraid of the cows. Who knew? Later, we made medicine comprised of bananas, tamarind, palm sugar, rice, and more. All the ingredients were ground together using a large wood mortar and pestle setup, and then, wrapped in a banana leaf, like a pill pouch, to help with digestion. In traditional villages, they say that a woman will be a good wife if there is loud pounding of the rice with the mortar and pestle. It means she is strong and the family will not starve.

work those muscles

grinding medicine

To me, the most interesting (and scary) part of the whole elephant experience was bathing them in mud. They enjoy mudbaths, because the mud is cooling and helps relieve dry skin. I was just getting used to touching the elephants, I wasn't so sure if I wanted to put mud in my hands and rub it on them too. We were given small bowls to gather the mud from the pool and rub on the elephants. Some of the other guests also rubbed the mud on their faces and bodies for a fully immersive experience. Not I. After they were adequately covered in mud, we walked to the river to rinse off the elephants. They sprayed water on themselves and everyone else. As we walked away from the water back to the grassy area, the elephants flung dirt on their backs and rubbed their bodies against dirt hills like a scratching post. It reminded me of how my dog rolls around in the grass after a bath, because she wants her old (stinky) smell back.

getting dirty after bathing

After the elephants were cleaned and fed, it was time for the people to eat. First, we showered and changed clothes, and I thoroughly washed my hands before going to the food area. We had Pad Thai with sliced watermelon and pineapple for lunch before heading back to the city. The guide asked if we wanted to go to a nearby cave before returning to Chiang Mai, and we declined. (We're not trying to get stuck in a cave during rainy season. We watch the news!) I was exhausted, yet proud of myself for doing something totally out of my comfort zone. I just might become an animal person after all. Don't tell Isis about my new friends.

Isis and Apollo aka "the gods"

Hiking 

I like saving money, so when someone told me that I could hike a mountain for a great view for free using the Monk's Trail, I thought, "Why not?" This was another adventure to be shared with my boyfriend, because I definitely would not be walking through the woods by myself. This would also give me a great opportunity to try out my new "Vibranium" five-finger shoes. All I had was a loose set of directions for finding this trail. It would require us getting a ride to the base of Doi Suthep (the mountain), and then finding the trail from there. It was important to be dropped off in the right area of the base to find the trail. Otherwise, we would have to circle the mountain in search of it. I tried to ask the songthaew driver if she knew where the Monk's Trail was, and through broken English, she said she could drop us off by the university. I wasn't sure if that was right, but we went along with it anyway, and she dropped us off at a quiet intersection. We turned to the right and began walking around the curve before a street opened on the left which led to the zoo. While we were walking, I searched on my phone for directions, and found a blog that seemed to match our steps thus far. We walked past the zoo entrance up a steep hill. After a few more feet, there was a small hut to the left that looked like a visitor's center. We walked in and asked if we were going in the right direction to the Monk's Trail. The guy didn't understand English. He just pointed to a book and said, "Sign." We signed our names and nationality beneath other tourists' names and headed back to the street hoping we were on the right track. I said ominously to my boyfriend, "If we don't return from this trek, at least they will know we were here." We continued uphill looking for a red satellite tower according to the instructions in the blog. After several more minutes of walking, we found it. Eureka! The path to the Monk's Trail was to the left. 

map of Monk's Trail

It is called the Monk's Trail, because monks have used it for centuries to walk to the Wat Pha Lat temple. It is a lot less crowded and less noisy than the temple at the top of Doi Suthep, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which is a major tourist attraction that I had visited previously. The Monk's Trail is marked with saffron-colored cloth tied to trees to reassure you that you're on the right path. Shortly after we began hiking up the steep mountain, I saw a familiar face. It was Chris, one of the yoga instructors from the park. He was heading down with a friend, and he told us that we would really enjoy the hike, just be careful in the mud. We continued on our way and encountered several descending hikers with the same message about the muddy path ahead. The trail was very smooth and easy in some areas, and other places required stepping over fallen limbs and going around tree stumps all at a steep incline that had our hearts pumping. I started seeing tiny dots as we ascended and the oxygen was decreasing. I took deep breaths to refill my lungs like I would if I was meditating. The muddy areas required us to sometimes steady ourselves using the trees. We were very careful about reaching out to branches for support and making sure that they were actually trees first. Thankfully, we didn't encounter any belly sliders (snakes). We could hear birds and what sounded like very very loud cicadas humming all around us. We could also hear water trickling throughout the hike. When it became louder, we knew we were approaching the waterfall, and the temple was near. The dirt path opened to wooden steps and suddenly the temple was in front of us.Wat Pha Lat was a sight to behold. Unlike the other temples I'd seen, this one was basically an outside temple that was open to the elements and blended in with nature. There was a wall with carved elephants and several other structures.  We stayed at the temple for nearly an hour enjoying the view and taking pictures, and then we started our descent down the mountain. According to the map, there should have been another path from the temple (to complete a circle), and we wanted to go that way so that we could see as much of the trail as possible. However, after searching for that trail and not finding it, we asked the monks for directions. We were told that the other path was closed, and we needed to return the same way that we came.  The walk down was faster than going up, and it was also harder due to gravity.  We finally made it down to the road, and we were fortunate enough to get a ride in a songthaew that was nearby.  We rewarded ourselves with a delicious dinner at Rustic and Blue.

Mountain Pose on a mountain

in front of the elephant wall

All of these activities and more made Chiang Mai my favorite city in Thailand.  I would definitely go back there again.  If you're interested in visiting Thailand, and you're unsure of where to go, I highly recommend going to Chiang Mai.  It is super affordable, and it appeals to city folk and those who prefer a slower pace.  

Bike/Food tour

Yoga in the Park 

Thai cooking class 

Elephant sanctuary
Monk's Trail