Brie and Soph's Excellent Adventure: Part II

Brie and Soph's Excellent Adventure Part II: Chiang Mai

We spent our first day in Chiang Mai wandering and resting. Our journey was exhausting and we hadn't stayed in the same place for more than one night yet. We explored the old city (temples, boutique art shops, cafes) and drank fresh fruit smoothies, all led by fellow Grinnell Corps fellow Heather. Basically, we did what anyone would want to do when they first arrived in Thailand. At night, we met Heather and other visiting Grinnellians for the Sunday Walking Market, which had tons of art, food, jewelry (I spent most of my money on that, surprise surprise) and other knick-knacks. It's fun just to walk around markets that are full of so much energy.

Colorful houses

A pretty Chiang Mai "soi" (street)

Sophie in a "songthaew," a red truck taxi 

A temple is called a "Wat" (Wat Phra Singh)

Inside Wat Phra Singh

Relaxing in a hammock at our hostel

Spices at the night market

Parrots!

In front of Wat Phra Singh at night

One of the most exciting things I did in Chiang Mai was ride an elephant. Disclaimer: I did my due diligence and was careful to register with an elephant farm that limits the amount of rides an elephant does per day, does not teach elephants to do unnatural things (like paint a picture or stand on its hind legs) and actually serves as a rescue center for abused elephants. I could talk (write) about it for hours, but I know all you want is illustrations:

Elephants always look like they're smiling

Eeeeek

Baby anything is infinitely cuter than any adult version. 
And elephants are cute to begin with...

Come at me, elephants

We learned how to feed them, get on (and off, thank goodness), the Burmese commands for them to go forward (and stop, thank goodness), turn left or right, and then how to “thank them” for doing a good job. In addition to the spoken commands, we learned how to ruffle their ears with our feet to make them move, both to go forward, the right ear to steer left and vice versa. It all culminated in a trek through the rainforest, and ended at a large pond where we got to bathe our elephant. Mine was named Tong Poon, if you were wondering, and she was the cutest elephant ever.

Sticking the dismount

Elephants look just as cool sitting as they do standing

On our trek

Washing Tong Poon.

Then, this happened.

And it was awesome.

Another real highlight was the “Bua Tong" Waterfall, or sticky waterfall. It’s called the “sticky” waterfall because it’s not slippery! You can climb up and down it really easily. Yes, like a monkey. Yes, like Spiderman. It’s because the water from the fall mixes with the limestone in the rocks, and then science happens. The rocks are not sticky like glue… it’s not a messy endeavor. They are just like rough carpeting or a regular, not wet rock. It is very difficult to explain, but pictures say it all!

Climbing cause it's no big deal

Spot the China Doll!

Like a mermaid

See how I'm comfortably standing on my tiptoes? 
It's so hard to explain how easy it is to climb!

After that, our tour guide (AKA the songthaew driver who took us the hour out of Chiang Mai) named P. Jew took us to the main area where all the water comes from. The water was an amazing blue color; it was awesome. The waterfall has a legend about princesses and droughts and caves, so he then took us a few minutes away to a large cave that had a humongous Buddhist shrine. He told us to find a small crevice crawl through, and that if we do we can see the princesses’ “kitchen area.” We were extremely dubious that we had found the right crevice, because it seemed impossible that a human being could fit through the hole, however, I am always the first to say “screw it, I’ll go in” and I’m glad I did! There were really cool stalagmites... or stalactites (seventh grade science is for chumps) and the view of the forest was great.

My first thought: "really? really..."

Buddha

For Buddha to human scale purposes

Happy to spelunk

That's the crevice. Sketchy, right?

Sophie and I were lucky enough to take a Thai cooking class. I was a notoriously bad cook, messing up such complicated recipes as “grilled cheese” and “cereal with milk” (is it milk and then cereal or cereal and then milk? So complicated!) but I think I am really coming along, and will (probably) be able to feed myself in the near future. Let’s not think about all of those times I lived in an apartment… thank goodness for roommates. We started with a tour of a Thai food market, where I learned about all four types of Thai ginger, fish oil, and sticky rice. 

Curry up, don't be slow!

So many gingers

We then had a very casual cooking class. We made six dishes each, and we had a lot of choices. I was able to try most of the dishes, because Sophie and I made an effort to choose different options. I made pad thai, hot and sour soup with roasted chicken, green curry, fried cashew nut with chicken, papaya salad, and sweet sticky rice with mango. It was all amazing, and even though this might sound conceited, it was probably the best Thai food I had in Chiang Mai. It is less conceited to note that it was likely the incredibly fresh, pre-portioned-for-my-recipe food that the class provided. It was a great experience, and if you’re really nice to me, I can cook all the food for you when I return home because I have a recipe book!

Pad Thai

Papaya salad

Spring rolls (created by Sophie)

Mango and sticky rice

Speaking of food, let’s talk about Thai food. It’s great. I still hold that China Chinese food is equally as good and should get a lot more credit from Western tourists. However, Chinese food does not utilize raw vegetables or fruit in its cuisine, and that's something I really miss having in my diet, so I was especially into the papaya salads and fresh fruit shakes. The papaya salad was often incredibly spicy, but totally awesome. Also amazing are two Northern Thailand specialties: kow soi and this special Chiang Mai sausage. Also, I am not one for non-chocolate desserts, but sticky rice with mango… it comes with these crunchy things and it is truly incredible.

Chiang Mai sausage

Khao soi: coconut-y broth with both soft and crispy noodles, and a leg of chicken. You can also add lime, onions and pickled cabbage, which is really delicious.

Papaya salad, often served with sticky rice

Banana roti... fried dough, bananas, and chocolate. What could be bad?

One night, Heather took Sophie and me to a more “local” restaurant, which was great. In the middle of our meal, it started down pouring. I mean rainy season downpour. The staff was so prepared for the immediate electrical blackout this rain caused; we all had candles at our table within a minute or two and the tarps for the semi-outdoor restaurant were down and secured. It set a nice ambiance for the rest of our meal…

Meal by candlelight

Our last day, Heather and Maddie took us to Wat Phalad and to Doi Suthep. Appaently, Thai people are not big hikers, so we were seemingly the only people on the four-ish hour hike up. However, we took a trail that is called the "monk" trail, because apparently it is the easiest (or maybe it was the easiest way) for the monks to get from the monastery to the main city. I saw a lot of bugs and flowers I’ve never seen before, and I was also plagued with mosquitoes buzzing around. No matter where I go, they find me. A lot of great views of the city, beautiful scenery, and uphill battles (literally.) Wat Phalad was visibly older and well preserved, in juxtaposition with Doi Suthep, which was golden and glittery.

The beautiful Wat Phalad

Evidence of life on the monk trail

View of Chiang Mai

Heather, Sophie, and Maddie on the way to Doi Suthep

I can't remember the exact terminology, but ringing these bells effectively "earns" you karma points,. Pretend I phrased that better, please.

I owe a huge thank you to Heather and Maddie, the two Grinnell Corps Thailand fellows, who served as great hosts for this trip. They showed us a different side of Chiang Mai than the hippie hemp-ridden tourists and the classy honeymooners got to see. With them, I saw out of the way markets, Payap University, the expat “spaghetti dinners,” plus I got to see the city on the back of a motorbike steered by expert drivers.

Coming soon: China Doll in Cambodia…