Finally, pictures of Chiang Mai!!
Chiang Mai is in the north of Thailand and probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. There's a mountain on the outskirts of town that's home to a few beautiful waterfalls, mountain villages, and Buddhist temples. The waterfall has about eight steps to it, the bottom two easily accessible. You're not able to walk up to the remaining steps, but you can drive up to another section and see them. Just a note, it's common practice for parks and other attractions to charge locals a certain entrance fee, then jack up the price for a foreigner entrance fee. Perfectly legal too. Either way, entrance usually only runs you about $4 or less.
The best way to get up the mountain—if you're a cagey Saggitarius and never caught dead on a tour bus...—is either the red truck taxis, or renting yourself a moped for about 500 baht a day. This is probably one of the most dangerous things you can do but, as it usually goes, also the most fun. It's especially perilous if you're an American and used to driving on the right—Thailand sticks to the left. A benefit of the moped, however, is that you get to stop at scenic spots whenever you like and get out for a picture. Also, the look on Thai faces when they see you driving a bike is worth at least 100 baht anyway. The mountain villages, however, are one some pretty treacherous roads and better reached by foot.
Chiang Mai relies pretty heavily on its natural resources for tourism, and if you're an animal lover there are two options not to miss—the elephant rides and Tiger Kingdom. About an hour or two outside of town are elephant preserves where elephants and their owners—out of work loggers that don't want to abandon their elephants—teach you how to ride and steer and take you on a jungle trek. There are a lot of different options, even over night excursions, and all of them usually include a chance to feed the elephants and climb into the river to wash them. Hostels and hotels can arrange tickets and transportation to these areas.
Tiger Kingdom is basically a zoo where you can get into the compound with tigers and pet them and grin madly like a little kid as they sniff at you and lie in your lap. Tigers naturally sleep about a bajillion-ish hours a day, kind of like my cat, and between the heat and getting belly rubs—also like my cat—they're content to just chill out and eat up the attention. The trainers are very close to the tigers, sticking with them from birth until they're about 3 years old and 'retire' from the public compound for a relaxing life in the private area. Going to Tiger Kingdom is probably the coolest thing I have done ever.
Ever.
There's also a beautiful temple by the name of Phra Dhatu Chedi Luang. The temple has a mix of Buddhist and Hindu influences; the oldest, rock temple of a ruddy orange color is especially gorgeous. But the real highlight of this temple is the Monk Chat, where you can talk to the monks studying at the college there. We asked a few questions and eventually it was the monk's turn to ask us one—”Do you like soccer? Did you watch the World Cup?” Being the only one of my friends to answer in the affirmative, he smiled:
“What is your favorite team?”
“For the World Cup? USA, of course.”
“Ah, yes. Can you guess my favorite player from USA?”
“Donovan,” I answered, because he's everyone's favorite.
“Yes! Well, what is my favorite team from England?”
I thought for a moment. “Arsenal.” I'm not sure why I said it.
“Er, correct. And my favorite German player?”
“Thomas Muller.”
And at this point, he didn't really know whether to be charmed or frightened. “Yes... How did you....”
I shrugged, everyone staring at me like I had grown a third eyeball on my chin. “Just lucky, I guess.”
Over all, Chiang Mai has a laid-back, relaxed mountain town feel and it's easy to find plenty of cafes and bookstores and classy little restaurants. Or, if you're in the mood, there's an amateur Thai boxing ring with chatty, beautiful waitresses who were probably born to be waiters but you'd never know. Just a hint; don't bet on the Thai guy when the Thai vs Foreigner match begins. Just saying.
To get to Chiang Mai, book a flight from Bangkok or the over night train. Second class in the sleeper train was fine enough for me and my friends. But whatever your arrival time is listed as, it may be a good idea to mentally add an hour or two to that for all the stops the train makes. Bringing a stockpile of beer and a deck of cards doesn't hurt either.
Click here for more of my Chiang Mai pictures.
