Tarntorn Boutique in Chaing Mai

2 days ago We sprung for a luxurious bus trip to Chiang Mai from Ayutthaya, equipped with our own attendant fussing over us giving us a myriad of endless sugar engulfed snacks and drinks (included). Well worth it too as it took over 9 begrudging hours. So that day was a complete write off. We checked into a nice hotel outside the old city gate and the next day pampered ourselves by going to a spa then renting a scooter. Beth got a better therapist than me as mine was quite apathetic which was unfortunate. Everyone assumes she is Thai here and speaks to her directly in their native tongue. The city here is quite buzzing and has a great vibe, although the traffic is mad! Cars relatively maintain car rules for the most part but if you're on a scooter, anything goes. People are lane splitting and zig zagging everywhere like crazy and they aren't shoulder checking at all so we decided to limit our riding to some degree. We found an epic open air gym to drop in at for 2.50$ each and have settled in for the week at our place as our week long Thai Massage School starts on Monday. Today we ventured into the jungle and visited an elephant family and group of mahouts that take care of them. These elephants and mahouts have been living together for 3 generations so there are only verbal commands given with no harsh pick axe used as disciplinary measures. We fed them, went for a ride on them, took a bath with them in a river and gave them a little scrub too with a brush. Massive animals with such kind eyes and snouts. Had an amazing experience holding space with such a creature standing over you. And there you are holding a banana like an idiot with a smile.Read more