Chiang Mai Thailand June 28-July 5

Chiang Mai Thailand

Well, we just arrived back from a week away in Northern Thailand in a place called Chiang Mai.
We left last Saturday after completing our first week of Summer school…hated it, but the money was good.
We had a wonderful week of all things Thai. We had a great hotel that was central and had a pool, which was great, although Chiang Mai was not nearly as hot as Singapore is now.
We arrived late at night so went to bed straight away. The next day we promptly had fresh juice with breakfast and explored the area. We went to the shopping street that night, not the night market, but a Sunday market. We were able to find a few great buys and have more fresh juice!Madi of course was a huge hit! Everyone loves her and continues to touch her, they called her “dtóok-dtaa” which means doll.

Monday we went to an elephant place where we got to see the elephants bathe and do strange things like play soccer and paint pictures, which we could not resist and had to buy. Then of course we took our very first elephant ride! I was so nervous that Madi would not be safe, but it was all for not, she enjoyed it so much and was so comfortable that she fell asleep!

Tuesday was a huge day, we went to “Flight of the Gibbon”. A Gibbon is in the Ape family and is known for flying from tree to tree and not having many predators because they are so fast and skilled at flying from tree to tree. The only predator that is making them extinct is humans by cutting down their habitat. Anyway, we were not out looking for Gibbons; we went to act like Gibbons! So out we went to a rainforest that is said to be 1500 years old to zip line through the rainforest….I was not so sure about all of this and was VERY nervous. So I went first so that I would not lose my nerve. Steve stayed with Madi and explored the forest floor and a water fall. So off I go, in my gear and harness with eight others to behave like a Gibbon…
We had about a five minute lesson and then we were attached to the zip line and told to go…we were hundreds of feet in the air, in the tree TOPS….I had a look of sheer terror on my face for most of the day, but the zip lining got easier, then came the sky bridges, you know, those bridges that are suspension bridges and with every step the whole thing moves…I hate those things…I think the only reason I made it across is because once you begin this trek there is no way out, you can go back or forwards, but both ways are the same… The other disturbing thing we had to do was repel, three times, down these massive tress, controlled by a tiny thai man who says “you safe with me, no worry”…I am pretty sure I weighed more than him…I was a bit worried!
Anyway, it was beautiful and amazing and Very very scary, however, when it was all done and I was safely back on the ground I was so proud of myself!! I still cannot believe that I did it!
Then of course we get in the van and drive down these very narrow, very winding roads at a pretty fast pace and I thought to myself, oh my, I just flew through the trees like a damn ape and now I am going to die in a car crash! But not to worry, that little Thai man did as he said and kept me safe!
So then it was Steve’s turn, he had an absolute blast and loved every minute, not too nervous at all! He was able to take some amazing photos and even a few videos!
This experience is a day long, it is modeled after the “Gibbon Experience” which takes place in Laos, Thailand’s neighbour, and you go for three days in the rainforest and you sleep in the treetops…um, no thank you, I was happy with one day!

So we had a fabulous celebratory dinner and tackled the night market for awhile.

Wednesday I went to a Thai Cooking school and Friday Steve went. We both cooked different things and both LOVED it!!
We are excited to have people over for Thai! In Singapore, Josefina will likely cook it and it will be great, at home, we will cook it for you and you will tell us that it is great!One of the last days we went to the famous Doi Sutep Temple, high in the hills/mountain. It was beautiful, although it was raining.
We also did a craft tour of silk and laquerware and silver and stuff like that, all nice stuff but we shockingly did not buy anything!We did however buy several things at the night markets and shops!

And of course we ended most days with a wonderful Thai massage, costing 10 Canadian dollars an hour!
Elephants, zip lines, cooking, temples, massages, fresh juice, thai food, shopping, all in all a fabulous week!! We love Thialand!