Chiang Mai

After a journey involving a taxi, a ferry, a bus, a plane and a red truck we finally arrived at out hostel in Chiang Mai. We were staying at the Hug Hostel located beside the North Gate of the Old City. Chiang Mai was more spacious than Bangkok so the air didn't feel as muggy or sticky which was nice. It was quite a pretty city with multiple fountains and lots of flowers in the city too.

We met up with my cousin Kevin who is currently teaching English in Chiang Mai and he brought us to our first food market. He showed us some different Thai fruit and dishes before suggesting we get Khao Soi for our dinner. It was a type of curry soup with noodles and was actually very tasty. Afterwards we went to a beer bar to meet some of his friends who gave us some good tips about exploring Chiang Mai and places to go.

The following day we headed to the main temple in Chiang Mai, Doi Suthep. This temple sits in the mountains overlooking the city so we had to get a red truck to drive us up the very steep winding road, which was an experience in itself as I'm not sure the driver understood speed limits. Eventually when we got to the temple alive and climbed up the final few flights of steps to reach the top. I didn't think that the temple was as spectacular as the Grand Palace in Bangkok but it did have some very nice views over the city. It also had a pretty flower garden however we were less impressed and disappointed when we realised all of the flowers were fake flowers.

That evening we did the Baan Thai Cooking Course. We were picked up from our hostel and brought to a market where our instructor Gon showed us the different vegetables and herbs used in Thai cooking. Once we got back to the kitchen we started cooking with some of the vegetables and herbs bought from the market. Everyone picked four dishes to cook from the twelve dishes available. I chose chicken egg fried rice, spring rolls, chicken in a coconut soup and green Thai curry. We were shown how to make each dish and then had to cook them ourselves. The dishes were quite simple to make and tasted delicious too. It was definitely a enjoyable evening as the instructors were very funny, the food was great and everyone was stuffed by the end.

The following day we headed to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Camp. This camp rescues elephants and cares for them. The elephants are allowed to roam around the small village and go wherever they wanted. It was a very cool experience. We were allowed to feed the elephants with bananas and I learned that elephants have no stomachs so they continue to eat all day. It was funny to watch the three elephants devour a trailer load of bananas so quickly. Next we walked down to the mud pond where a few of the elephants were rolling around in. The elephants skin gets very dry so the mud is like a moisturiser for them. We were allowed to rub loads of mud on to their back which was fun before bringing them to the river to wash it all off again. It was such a fun afternoon and the elephants looked very happy there.

I really enjoyed Chiang Mai, I thought that it was quite a pretty city and the Thai cooking class and the elephant sanctuary visit were lots of fun.Read more