Thailand … ready or not

Frangipani, after the rain

I have been assiduously avoiding going to Thailand due to the fact that many of the people lined up in airports going to Phuket or Pattaya creep me out. Yes, the perv factor …

Nearby wat ...

Spirit House

However, recently I decided to confront my irrational prejudice head on and went to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand for my last travel junket before going home. It is not exactly convenient to get to Chiang Mai from Ho Chi Minh City … two short hops with a few hours in Bangkok between flights. Luckily the timing is such, as you have to walk a very long way, like more than a kilometre to get from Vietnam Airlines to Thai Airlines. But that very long, long walk is made somewhat delightful by the fact that there are thousands of beautiful orchids on display as you trek through the terminal.

Bodhi Serene

Breakfast salad at Bodhi Serene

Once in Chiang Mai, I quickly got a taxi and went to my hotel, the Bodhi Serene in the old town. The old part of Chiang Mai is bounded by a moat and the remnants of a wall surround the district. I didn’t get too much chance to explore the Old Town, as I was often busy and there were a few decent downpours, but it does seem like a very interesting place. Lots of wats and pagoda complexes … very reminiscent of Luang Prabang. The Bodhi Serene was a lovely hotel; I was a bit apprehensive, as I had read some horror stories about 5 or 6 tourists dying in Chiang Mai because their hotels used bedbug spray that was banned. Oi. But the Bodhi Serene seemed ever too classy to have bedbugs. Well … clean, spacious, nice pool, free wifi and breakfast included, so you could not ask for much better than that. Also, it is not high season, so it was relatively quiet and unpopulated … also very good.

Pool ... mmmmm

Huen Phen entrance

I didn’t know much about Chiang Mai before I got there, but I had heard about a restaurant, called the Huen Phen that serves traditional Thai food in a funky old house. It was great! The decoration of the house was amazing with statues and incense and altars and the food was really delicious as well. And it was within walking distance of the Bodhi Serene, so that was very good. Not to say I didn’t get lost and ended up in a pretty amazing wat on my way there, but once I got my bearings, I realized it was basically one right turn coming out of the hotel and turn left at the corner … how hard could it be? A little hard, apparently. But it all worked out.

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep

Young dancer at Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep

The next morning I set up a trip to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, a large pagoda complex on the top of a mountain about 15-20 km outside of town. It was getting close to Visakha Bucha, which is a special day related to the birth of Buddhism, so it was very crowded. Several large groups were there from China and a smaller one from Japan. It was certainly an arduous climb of 300 steps up a Naga-style staircase to the summit. There were several groups of schoolchildren dancing and playing traditional instruments and it was lovely to see them in their costumes. The view from the top of the mountain was lovely and the temple complex had so many different parts to it, that I am not sure I saw it all. When I got back to the bottom of the hill, after stopping for a roasted corn-on-the-cob, the Bodhi Serene driver was ready to whisk me away to the hotel where I lost no time hopping in the pool. After that I went to Kandara Spa and had a massage and a facial. What a lovely experience. I had a great therapist, Nee, who was so friendly and nice. And skilled.

Dancer

Visitors

There was a cable car up, but I walked the 300+ stairs ... yay, me!

The next day, Sunday, I was picked up at 8 and went to the Elephant Nature Park for a day’s visit at an elephant sanctuary. It was a smallish group – only 7 – and we had a funny guide named Bird. Once we got to the sanctuary, which is home to about 36 elephants saved from logging, begging, or abusive relationships, it was a bit boring, to be honest. Some of the week –long volunteers were involved in prepping food for the animals and they had much greater access to the animals, as they had had a chance to become familiar with each other. We did get a chance to view the elephants, each one who had a minder/mahout, and to feed them copious quantities of watermelons, bananas, pumpkin, and cucumbers. Some of the elephants were lame, one of whom had been harnessed and forced to breed and another one who had stepped on a land mine. There were a couple of naughty babies who could not be fed by beginners and one of whom needed two mahouts. Of the 36 elephants, only 4 were male, which is a good thing as too many males would not be tenable, even for a largish 150 acre park. One male, who was exposing quite a vast expanse of phallic inclination, apparently took umbrage (or fell in love) with another elephant. He trumpeted quite strongly and took off after his rival/ love interest … which caused several mahouts to go chasing after them both. It was quite comical to think of what the mahouts in flip flops could do to dissuade a rampant bull elephant intent on fighting or mating. However, the brouhaha died down eventually and I guess everyone lived to see another day.

Elephant Nature Park

This elephant had been blinded to make her more obedient

Eating

We had a very nice vegetarian lunch, which was shared with some locals and all the staff and volunteers. Apparently the park has made friends with local people as they buy so much fruit and also hire local people for chores and construction and offer neighbouring children activities and meals on the weekends. After lunch we went to the river and helped to bathe the elephants. That was quite fun, as the elephants are so huge, but are quite weightless in the water. It was quite funny to see those huge animals start to float down the fast-moving river. We spent about 30 minutes washing the elephants before our group of elephants went off to eat (again) and we went to the viewing platform to watch the next batch go down to the river. After that we hung around and watched a DVD and seemed to put in time before going back to the city. It did seem that there could have been a bit more to do. While there could have been more activities, the park is located near some beautiful mountains and it was lovely to be in the countryside. And the elephants are pretty amazing. Certainly the intent and mandate of the park is very admirable, but the animals are not exactly living a wild life, although some of them may be released into a jungle environment, once they get more money to buy a large tract of land. I was quite ready to return to the Bodhi Serene when it was time to go.

This elephant had stepped on a landmine in the jungle

Going down to the river to play ...

Young'un

This one decided to go to the other side of the river

One thing I noted as we drove around Chiang Mai was a number of very large universities ... for example, the University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Neurology, Evidence-Based Nursing and Midwifery, and of course, Chiang Mai University.  I do think the education system seems very advanced, especially compared to Vietnam. Had a little wander around the Old Town after another swim and I stumbled onto a street market. Unfortunately the heavens opened as I started down the street and so I didn’t tarry. It did look like a nice weekly market, though. Finished up my time in Chiang Mai the next morning after another swim and massage. Such is the life. It was nice and hot and busy arriving back in Ho Chi Minh City … I will sort of miss the going-home-from-the-airport-at-10 pm traffic jam … maybe just a little bit!

Morning glory blue ... beautiful wherever it occurs!

So, Thailand … very nice! Little in the way of sleaze factor. Irrational prejudice confronted. Loved the orchids!