10.11 The "little" Grand Canyon of Thailand

The Grand Canyon in Chiang Mai is a former, now flooded quarry in the west of Chiang Mai. The weather forecast was promising, so we decided to head there directly after breakfast. Since the Grand Canyon is difficult to reach by public transportation, I chose a scooter as my means of transportation today as well.

The further we get away from the city center, the more inconspicuous and simple the houses and apartments become. People live directly next to the highway and there are incredibly many stray animals.

We drive on country roads and hidden paths and arrive at the Grand Canyon at around 12:30 pm. The sun is mercilessly shining down on us, the temperature is 36 degrees, so a little sunburn is inevitable, but it should be worth it.

The Thai (small) Grand Canyon has a certain charm, even though it can't be compared to the (real) big American original. It is divided into three sections of different sizes. For 2.50€, we buy a ticket and enter the water park in the second section.

The park is unexpectedly impressively designed and to my delight, renting things like SUP boards or inflatable mattresses is completely free.

Quickly put on the swimming trunks and into the water, which unfortunately was not as cold as I had hoped. Then float on the water's surface for a while.

One highlight of the park is jumping from the cliff edge from a height of 8 meters. Of course, I don't miss out on these attractions and jump several times in a row.

We have lunch at the restaurant. The staff hardly speaks English, so they bring me more food than I ordered, but only charge me for my order. I'm fine with that XD.

We swim a bit more before leaving early to avoid getting caught in the dreaded rush hour traffic.

Exhausted as we are, we don't go out anymore, but stay at the hotel.

This canyon is an extraordinary place... Definitely worth a visit.