Thai Food, Waterfalls, and Elephants in Chang Mai
We had a fabulous time in Chang Mai. We weren’t sure how our seven days would go, but we booked a spacious Thai home complete with a pool in a local neighborhood about a 10 minute walk from the North Gate of Old Town Chang Mai, which turned out to be a perfect launch pad for our adventures and a welcome retreat at the end of the day.
We had to relocate for a day and night to a hotel for our government required COVID test and quarantine (mandatory on your first and fifth nights in Thailand). While there we enjoyed some downtime at the pool catching up on work, school, blogs, and cards.
Old Town Chang Mai is incredibly walkable and has a mix of inexpensive restaurants, coffee shops, massage parlors (with hour + massages for $6 to $20), and temples. We visited each. Our favorite restaurant, DASH, is owned by a Thai/American who spent 15 years living in the US before moving to Thailand to open his restaurant on property that has been in his family for generations. We ate there on our first and last nights in Chang Mai and enjoyed the delicious food, innovative cocktails, great conversation, and live music. Paul even struck up a conversation with the performer after his set to talk about his music and career.
On recommendations from friends in Louisville (both Annie and Kimberly) we went to Patara Elephant Farm for a full day as elephant caregivers. This is a family owned farm focused on the Rescue-Recovery-Reproduction-Reintroduction of elephants. We got to spend the day with our own elephants, getting to know them, check their health, feeding, walking, and bathing them. We had a blast! Though my dad refused to get in the water to bathe the elephants as he was afraid they would poop in the water while he was in it…he was right! That part was a bit gross (OK, really gross!) but the rest was pretty great. :)
We also went to the Buatong Waterfall, more famously known as the “Sticky” Waterfall because the rocks produce a limestone deposit that makes the surface sticky instead of slippery. It really is hard for your brain to process that you can climb up the rocks covered in flowing water that look slippery, but are not at all. Even my mom and dad were able to climb up the falls.
The other must do recommendation we received was to take part in a Thai Cooking Class on a local farm. This was a full day excursion that included a visit to a local Thai market (where you can buy those bugs you’ve been craving), walk of the organic farm, learning about local herbs and ingredients, selecting and making from scratch our own curry paste (we made Penaeng, Massaman, and Red and Yellow Curry Paste and then curries), learned how to make the regions famous Khao Soi Curry, traditional Pad Thai, Spring Rolls, Cashew Nut Chicken, Basil Chicken, Tom Kha and Yam Soups, and two traditional desserts - Mango Sticky Rice and Bananas in Coconut Milk. Everything was incredibly delicious and we left stuffed! It was such a nice way to spend a day together doing something a little out of the ordinary. Thanks Annie! <3
