We took the overnight train to Chang Mai on the way out of Bangkok it was raining lightly and we could see the protesters marching in the streets backing up traffic.
Sara got up first and took this pic, we were about 2 hours from Chang Mai. The train was not on time but we were happy to be moving
When we arrived at the station we jumped on a red truck (taxi). These red trucks are all over the place in Chang Mai and they will take you literally anywhere for a price, which is negotiable. You sit in the back on bench seats with the back and sides open to the air.
We arrived at the Amora Hotel just outside the old city just across the street from the moat. The rooms were clean and spacious, and the included morning breakfast was huge, and had western food as well as local dishes.
After we were settled it was time to go out and see the local temples in the old city. You can see the remnants of the old city wall all around the old city and need to enter the old city using one of the city gates because of the moat. We were closest to the Tha Phae Gate.
Chang Mai has some 300 Lanna-style temples, which is way too many for our trip..here are a couple we checked out…
Wat Phan Thao is a small temple constructed of moulded teak panels fitted together and support by huge teak pillars..
Below you can see the monks praying in the temple to the large buddha statue at the front….
Sara and I both love Thai food so we thought it would be fun to take a half day cooking class at this local Thai Cooking School.
We arrived in the early afternoon and we were asked as a group which types of dishes we would like to learn to cook. We all decided on Salads, Main Dishes and Curry.
While we were deciding we tried this great appetizer called which has very simple ingredients but the opposing tastes make it great.
Next we were given a lesson the herbs and veggies we would be using right from the garden in the back…
Then we started chopping ingredients and created our salads. Unlike most of the salads we prepare these had a kick…
Next it was onto the main course. I chose to cook Pad Thai and here is what my final product looked like…so very good… our instructor continually asked us how “sexy” do we want to be (meaning how spicy do we want our dish)
Then we both created curry from scratch, starting with the curry paste and then cooking up the curry with coconut milk and veggies in a wok.
and ate it right after we were done cooking…we were so full and satisfied at the end and had a new appreciation for Thai cooking, and how we can now do it.
We had some more hours left in the day so we decided to check out the famous Chang Mai Night Market to locate some souvenirs . Its only a short walk outside the old city. There is an inside part in a three story building…
Sara trying to decide with the tons of merchandise to choose from..
and an outside part (which is way bigger) lining the streets for blocks and blocks…
You can get anything, from name brand headphones and watches…
To bags and purses..and everything is negotiable. The will give you a price and you will ask them for half the amount and they will say ” I can’t feed my family on that” and give you another price, until you agree.. Sara is pretty good at this… and you make it fun…
On day two we got up early,ate breakfast and then it was off to an adventure day we booked through a local agency. We were picked up in a red truck with people from all over the world and then taken way out of the city….
We stared our day by visiting with some Elephants…who were way cool
Check out this video of Sara getting close and personal with a couple of Elephants
Next we got back into the truck and drove to a trail head in the surrounding forest. The trail would take us to a waterfall deep in the forest. Along the trail this beetle caught a ride on my shirt – kinda big huh!
The reward for this hot hike was this beautiful waterfall just gushing water into the stream
Next we traveled to the river to start our river rafting. It was hot so getting onto the river was a great change of pace….
We woke up on our third day and decided to rent a scooter and drive to Doi Suthep and the Kings summer palace outside the city.
It is a mere 13 dollars to rent a scooter for 24 hours; so we rented one, gassed it up and we were on our way to the temple on the hill.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is one of Northern Thailand’s most sacred temples and it was established in 1383. The legend holds that a golden Cheti was placed on the back of an elephant and it walked up the hill and the place where he stopped they build this temple.
A long winding road lead up the mountain to the Wat (temple) which was really fun on a scooter. We stopped on the way up to take this picture on an overlook down on Chang Mai
A naga staircase of 300 steps leads up to the temple and these are no ordinary steps. The start with a group of dragon heads on the end and then the tail trails all the way to the top..
Check out this video of what Doi Suthep looked like in person
Before leaving the area around the temple we saw these bugs being sold at a booth across the street. It is funny..before traveling here we thought that there would be bugs for sale everywhere but this is the only stand we saw. Apparently the locals figured out that selling food was more profitable than bugs :).
After the temple and the crowds we got on the scooter and continued up the hill to The Bhubing Palace entrance… This is the summer palace of the King and his family. It is a huge estate whose grounds are open to the public when the King is not here.
First we came upon the beautiful gardens where they were growing roses and orchids. The orchids were very beautiful…
Purple Orchids so bright and beautiful…
Sara is standing near the front entrance of the Kings summer palace…
It was near the Kings birthday so we when inside to get our picture taken
and to write the king our birthday wishes in this book..we were so excited… and honored…
After leaving the palace we came to this giant bamboo… so huge and strong…made us look small..
When we got back to the city we took a spin around the interior of the old city before giving back the scooter.
Here is a video of the city by scooter…
That night was the celebration of the Kings birthday and the town was gearing up big time for the celebration…
Sara and I met up with this guy who is a local governor and was in town coordinating the preparations for the Kings birthday celebration….
and this is how it looked for the celebration at night…
The next morning out time was up in Chang Mai and it was now time to leave the cool of the North for the head of the South…read on in our next post as we explore Phuket….
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