From Bangkok we boarded a night bus to Chiang Mai. Twelve hours later we arrived in the heart of Northern Thailand.
Almost immediately we realised the city had a different atmosphere to the rest of Thailand, very laid back, boho with boutique shops and coffee houses. With only three full days to explore we set about getting to know the city straight away.
Day one, after a little snooze we walked around the old town and took in the main temples.
In the evening we went to the Saturday street market. Now by now we have been to a lot of markets but this one really was special. Focusing on crafts rather than the normal rubbish on sale it was interesting to see local artists and craftspeople making and selling their produce. It is also a good place to get food, the street food being second to none. If ever there try the egg noodle soup off the street.
The next day we hired a tuk tuk and travelled out of the city to Tiger Kingdom. Now we had mixed feelings about the visit. While the tigers are not drugged they are still kept in captivity in small areas. However as many of the tigers in the region are drugged or poached we felt that if we supported their cause by paying to visit and spend time with the beautiful creatures we were at least providing some income towards their continued care. After walking around the centre we got to spend 15 minutes with the smaller tigers, who were about 6 months old. It was a fantastic experience.
Continuing on our animal theme our next trip was to Baanchang Elephant Camp. Having researched the camps quite a bit we were satisfied that Baanchang didn't inflict cruelty on their animals and had indeed rescued them all from vulnerable situations across Thailand. During our morning we learnt about the elephants in Thailand, the cruelty they have suffered at the hands of man and how to feed and care for them. After that we got to meet the elephants, feed them bananas and sugar cane and learn how to instruct them to walk, stop, turn and sit down.
In the afternoon we were privileged enough to ride them for one hour before taking them to the river for their favourite pastime - a bath and a scrub. I cannot rate the experience with these magnificent animals highly enough and only wish we had longer to spend in Chiang Mai to volunteer and work with them more.
Our favourite part of the day was a visit to the white temple. Wat Rong Khun is a modern, unconventional Buddhist temple designed by famous Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat in 1996 and is not expected to be competed until 2070. The temple follows a gothic theme and embraces the present by incorporating design, emblems and characters from modern day life. This includes a 'predator mask' on the front lawn, murals of Harry Potter playing quidditch and a scene depicting the fall of the two towers. While most visitors seemed appalled at its lack of tradition we really liked the temple and applaud it for looking at the present rather than the past. We wonder what people will make of it in hundreds of years.
We were also pleased to be able to leave a part of us behind at the temple by purchasing one of the heart shaped key mobiles that are used to form decorative pillars around the complex.
Our day trip marked the end of our visit to Chiang Mai and as we returned we got our things together ready for our next stop in Northern Thailand - Pai.
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