FINALLY! We made it to Chiang Mai…one of the cities that we have been looking forward to all summer. Why?  Because it is the epitome of Thailand.  Lucious green hills, amazing street food, breathtaking temples and of course ELEPHANTS!  Throughout our travels, we have continuously heard that Chiang Mai was a favorite destination for many other wanderlusters.  Besides the fact that its home to the Elephant Nature Park (more on this later!), we couldn’t wait to experience this city for ourselves.

 

Chiang Mai is located in the mountainous norther region of Thailand.  In the heart of the city, known as “Old City”, you can find the remains of walls and moats from its history as a cultural and religious center.  This area is also home to hundreds (seriously hundreds!) of elaborate temples on almost every street corner.  Austin & I spent a few hours every day wandering through the quiet streets of the Old City, stumbling upon hidden temples and perusing through quaint stores selling local crafts.  For me, Chiang Mai was the perfect mix of touristy attractions  and authentic, local culture.  The streets were surprisingly calm and the sounds of singing birds and laughing children filled the air.  We honestly felt like we had been immersed into a typical Thai neighborhood.  A grade school was located just down the street from our homestay and every week day around 3:00PM you could watch as numerous food carts set up near the school, preparing for the children to come pouring out. Those children would raid the food carts like they hadn’t eaten all day!  Of course, Austin took advantage of the cheap, bite sized snacks…every day you could also find him waiting in line for his favorite pork sautee on a stick!

THIS WAS IT…MY DAY WITH THE ELEPHANTS!

Saturday, August 6th…the day that I had been dreaming about ALL summer.  It was FINALLY time to spend an entire day with the elephants. 

You know by now that any thing that gives me the opportunity to frolic around with animals seriously brings so much joy to my heart!  So the fact that I was going to be able to meander through a jungle with elephants roaming freely by my side…the thought was almost too much! 

I could…not…wait.

There are many way to see & spend time with elephants in Thailand, but only a few ways to do it humanely.  After doing my fair share of research on this topic, I decided that Elephant Nature Park was the way to go.  Elephant Nature Park strives to provide a sanctuary and rescue center for elephants who have previously been subject to abuse from the entertainment and tourism industry.  These elephants can now live freely in a safe environment, never being ridden, whipped or forced to perform for entertainment.  

We chose a full day program, which was more expensive than the normal entrance fee into the sanctuary, but in my opinion SO WORTH IT!  As part of an intimate group of 10, we had the opportunity to get up close & personal with these beautiful creatures! We spent the day with 3 elephants…feeding, walking, bathing and loving on them.  It was honestly one of the coolest things I have ever done.  Awesome memories!

THAI COOKING CLASS

Give us a day full of eating and we will be happy campers! This cooking class was no joke, we learned how to cook FIVE COURSES (at our own individual cooking station)!  The best part…we got to eat every single bit of it! We were absolutely stuffed at the end of the class! Below is a list of what we accumulatively learned together!  We each got to pick our own 5 dishes!

• Spring Rolls
• Green Papaya Salad
• Green & Yellow Curry
• Chicken Basil Stir-Fry
• Chicken Coconut Soup
• Pad Thai
• Mango Sticky Rice
• Bananas in Coconut Milk  (so delicious!  It seriously smells like birthday cake)

We were amazed at how fast and easy it was to prepare each dish.  Our instructor made a joke at the beginning of class which I now totally agree with…she said “At the end of this class you will wonder why you are even here!”  A lot of the dishes use similar ingredients, just a few minor adjustments and you have a whole new dish!  I absolutely LOVE coconut milk so Thai food is right up my alley.  It’s definitely my favorite cuisine I’ve eaten all summer.

More to come on our last two stops of our bucket list adventure!

xo Brittany

Okay just a few more…ELEPHANT KISSES!!!