Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai

11.03-14.03

On the 11th, I arrived at my hostel (counting sheeps) at 8 o'clock in the morning. The hostel owner (half Thai, half French) was super friendly.

Although I couldn't check in yet, he offered me to use an empty room to take a shower and have some of the free breakfast afterwards.

I didn't need to be told twice.

The breakfast consists of different types of toast and jams, coffee and tea, and 2 different types of cereal. So nothing to complain about!

At noon, I called my mom to let her know that I had arrived safely😄

In addition, the hostel owner offered me to order lunch with him and his (about 10-year-old) son at a Thai restaurant, which I gratefully accepted, and the food was really delicious.

At 5 o'clock, I met up with Sarah to go to the Saturday Night Market (at the South Gate of the Old City). There were lots of trinkets and thousands of food stalls everywhere. All the clothing items like pants with elephant prints that I used to love can be found cheaply on every corner here and are typically ONLY worn by tourists.

We had crêpes, drank smoothies, and then made our way back to our hostels around 8 o'clock.

Sunday: I was picked up by a minibus at 8 o'clock in the morning. The Elephant Nature Park tour was about to begin.

We also picked up a Polish woman, 3 Brazilians, 2 (terribly made-up) English women, and a German couple (Timo&Mona), and then the almost 2-hour drive into the mountains began. (On the way, we stopped at a café where I got myself a smoothie and some pieces of watermelon)

Finally arrived, we saw the 3 elephant ladies.

First, we had to prepare the food: so we started chopping up pumpkins and throwing them into containers, and then we got to feed them - to get closer to them. The trunks are quite strong and sometimes you feel like they're about to crush your hand if you're not careful😄

Except for our modest group, there was also 'Nik', our group leader, and 3 'mahouts', the elephant caretakers (unfortunately, the name is the same as the mahouts who 'break' and train the elephants to be ridden or even perform tricks)

Our group set off, each carrying food, to make a hike to the camp that lasted about 2.5 hours.

Unfortunately, the English women didn't understand that they had to go in front of the elephants so that they would follow them (or rather the food in their pockets). So we spent a large part of the time waiting for the elephants and standing in the scorching sun.

It felt like an eternity... but the elephants were super cute and very sweet. They sniff you all the time with their drooling trunks, looking for food in your pockets. It also became clear again and again that the elephants weren't forced to do anything and could move freely (although they usually still follow you to get more pumpkin, etc.)

One time, the first elephant had gone so far ahead of us that the other two couldn't see him anymore. They made some noises, then the first elephant trumpeted and ran back to the others (it was a bit scary, but cute to see that they want to stay together like a herd)

FUNFACT: Elephant sounds were used in Jurassic Park

And what do elephants feel like? Like unshaved/VERY stubbly legs 🤔😂

When we arrived at the camp, we fed the elephants again, and then we had a lunch break with Thai food - very delicious!!

After lunch, we went with the elephants to a mud bath where they wallowed and then scratched their backs or even their butts on the surrounding trees. Sometimes, they also use their trunks to grab a branch and use it to scratch their bellies - super funny to watch 😄

The mahouts stayed in the background the whole time and sat in the shade under a few trees.

Then, everyone went for a swim.

The water was ice-cold, and I was the first one to go in or rather slip and land on my butt😂

We were given plastic buckets that we were supposed to fill with water to clean the elephants with.

It was so much fun, and it seemed like the elephants enjoyed it too, as they also sprayed themselves with water.

We changed into dry clothes and prepared the next meal: rice with bananas and Thai fruit. We processed everything into a large dough and shaped small balls out of it, which we were allowed to put directly onto the elephants' tongues.

It was a slobbery affair, and the tongues really look funny!😂

At around 5 o'clock, we made our way back. We said goodbye and then got on the back of a pickup truck to go back to the minibus and then back to the city.

At the hostel, I took a quick shower and then went over to the big night market (Sundays are the biggest here in Chiang Mai)

I drank lots of freshly squeezed orange juice, got various types of fruit as snacks, and returned to the hostel around 9 o'clock and immediately fell asleep.

Monday:

First thing in the morning, I took my laundry to the salon across the street. Then I met up with Sarah. We visited 2 temples and then went for brunch.

In the afternoon, I lazed around in the hostel and sweated profusely.

At around 4 o'clock, I picked up my laundry and chatted with a girl from my hostel: Cynthia from LA.

She decided to join me and Sarah for the evening. We took a taxi to Doi Suthep Temple. The ride took about 30 minutes and went up the serpentine road.

The temple was really beautiful! Especially the many little bells that sounded like wind chimes in the wind created a great atmosphere.

At 6 o'clock, the gong was rung, everything became silent, and the monks started to pray.

We took some great pictures at sunset before we made our way back.

Our taxi picked up a group of backpackers halfway on the way. It was incredibly funny and probably one of the most amazing encounters with other travelers.

Most of them were from different states in the US. We talked, among other things, about Cologne, where most of them had been before. One of them told us that he had been there before for missionary work (but it was a long time ago - he is currently traveling Asia with his boyfriend 😄) and that he still remembers some Plattdeutsch and Kölsch words.

It was great to sit in a small pick-up taxi with so many like-minded people and exchange travel stories!

At the North Gate of the Old City, our paths then separated again, and Sarah, Cynthia, and I headed to a vegetarian restaurant.

For 120 baht, there was a buffet that was really delicious! The restaurant was like a treehouse, slightly elevated and surrounded by trees and bushes, which created a great atmosphere, especially in the evening.

Tuesday, 14.03: My flight back to Bangkok leaves at 3 o'clock, and at 9 o'clock, I will take the overnight bus to Ranong to take the ferry to Koh Phayam tomorrow morning.