"Hey, you fart fart??"

Gavin in his appropriate moped helmet.  :D :D :D

Today we decided to explore the Warorot market in Chiang Mai's Chinatown area, a daytime market selling mostly clothing and food that was more for the locals than the tourists.  On the way we briefly walked through the flower market, a row of stalls with familiar and unfamiliar flowers, of which the orchid stall was my favorite!  We bought a couple things, and noted that the prices here were about half of what we had been paying at the more touristy markets like the Night Market.  After wandering through the indoor and outdoor parts of the Warorot market, we headed back toward our hotel, stopping for a quick lunch of khao soi in a little restaurant called the Black Elephant, which had a lovely little garden patio in the back. 

The Flower Market.

Interesting flowers at the market.

Gavin at the flower market.

Bottom floor of the Warorot Market.

View from the top floor.

Chinatown in Chiang Mai.

Buying a cheap bra outside the Warorot Market - she insisted I try it on. :D

Back at the hotel, we got picked up for our elephant encounter with Eddy Chiang Mai Elephant Care.  Our guide Nic drove us about an hour outside of Chiang Mai to his uncle’s land in the jungle, where they housed about a dozen elephants in captivity, one is even older than I am!  Nic said that he had inherited some elephants from his parents, and kept acquiring more as they had babies, or they adopted more from other places, etc.  He told us there are actually no wild elephants left in Thailand, and he has to take care of them and keep them captive because all elephants are tagged with the responsible party’s information; if they get out and do any property damage, the owners pay a large fine.  So he is “stuck” with the elephants, but he obviously loves them and has a fun time with letting tourists get to know them; tourism is the only way he can afford to care for them.

Eddy Chiang Mai Elephant Encounter grounds.

Ready to ride in my elephant riding clothes.  :)

Gavin dressed in head to toe stonewash denim.
The 80s called, they want their outfit back...  :D

Elephants in the shade.

When we arrived at the elephant farm, we were amazed by the silence of this part of the jungle, only broken by the occasional trumpeting of one of the elephants.  Nic gave us some clothing to wear for riding so we wouldn’t have to get our own dirty, and then it was time to meet some of the elephants!  Nic grabbed a bucket full of bananas and walked in through the elephants, all of them lunging against their single ankle chain to get to our bananas; it was a little intimidating!  Nic showed us how to feed the baby and a large elephant behind us, saying the command “Bon soong!” to get them to open their mouths, or we could also let them grab the bananas with their trunks.  While we were feeding one, if our back was turned one of the others would reach and tap us with their trunks to get more bananas.  :)

Baby elephant was REALLY excited about the bananas. :)

One of the other elephants.

 Me feeding the baby elephant.

 Gavin feeding the elephants.

 One of the elephants giving me kisses!  Ew!  :D

Next it was time to ride them bareback!  I figured there would be a driver and Gavin and I would be passengers, but they taught me the commands to direct our elephant, whose name was Bifern, and Nic’s uncle walked beside us to help.  I had to say “Pai” for and kick Bifern behind the ears to go forward, “Kwa” and kick behind her left ear to turn right, “Sai” and kick the elephant behind the right ear to turn left, and “Yoot” and lock my legs around her neck to stop.  Gavin rode on a carpet on the elephant’s back, and I sat directly behind her ears, and both of us were surprised at the coarse, prickly hair that covered her hide.  Nic walked with us and used Gavin’s phone to take a plethora of pictures.

Checking my "cheat sheet" of elephant commands. :D That's our
elephant Bifern in front of me.

A walk with Bifern!

No hands, hahaha!

Riding on the path.

As we rode (SLOWLY) along the path, Nic’s uncle kept chopping sugar cane Bifern to carry and eat.  Nic explained that if the elephants get to eat while they work (i.e. carrying tourists, following commands, etc) then it makes them happy and look forward to working.  As we were walking, suddenly the elephant broke wind LOUDLY.  Nic yelled to Gavin, “Hey Gavin, you fart fart!!??” and then Nic and his uncle dissolved into a fit of giggles.  I am sure they make that joke several times a day, but I guess it doesn’t get old! :D  Gavin and I laughed, too.  :)

Bifern eating as we walk.

We rode the elephant down a shallow river, and then into a little shallow pond, where Nic’s uncle gave a command we hadn’t learned, and Bifern laid down on her side, dumping us off into the water, and it was time for her bath.  Nic’s uncle gave us brushes, and we scrubbed her for a bit.

Bifern just dumped us off into the water. :)

Now it is time for her bath.

Then we noticed Bifern had decided to take a massive crap in the water.  The turds the size of my head were floating toward Gavin and I, and then Nic’s uncle just wandered over, picked them up one by one and chucked them out of the water.   We noticed where he had chucked them onto shore, there were hundreds of other old dried turds there.  So I guess the pooping in the water is a frequent occurrence.  We both wanted to jump out of the water, but we didn’t want to offend our hosts… so we were stuck wading in the elephant toilet.  :)

I think he took this photo RIGHT at the moment I
noticed the turds.  Gavin is still oblivious...

I let Gavin know he's getting close to turd central...

Nic's uncle getting ready to shot put a turd to shore!

When we were done bathing in elephant excrement, Nic told us to get back on Bifern, this time with Gavin in the front and me standing behind.  Then they had the elephant soak us with (elephant toilet) water from her trunk repeatedly, while laughing uproariously.  I thought I was safe and they were just going to do it to Gavin, but they had me trade and go in front next.  :)

Me getting sprayed.  :)

Both of us soaked in elephant toilet water.  :D

 

Gavin getting soaked by the elephant. :)

 Now it's my turn...

Right after our elephant toilet bath Nic showed us to real showers he had ready for us (thank goodness, but there was no soap…), and we changed back into our own clothes for the ride back into Chiang Mai.

Once back at the hotel, we showered again more thoroughly, then went out to dinner.  We wanted to eat at a restaurant along the Ping River, so we went to the one Lonely Planet recommended. Unfortunately, it had permanently closed and there was a new hotel/restaurant in its place, so we ate there at The Service 1921 restaurant.  The restaurant was in the old British embassy, and the theme of the restaurant was 1921 British secret service.  The staff were dressed in 1920s wear, the menus were given to us in envelopes marked “Top secret,” and when they brought our appetizer they informed us that this was “our first mission.” :)  The theme was cute, we got to eat on the second floor with a view of the river, and the cocktail I had was tasty, but the food left much to be desired.  The pork curry I ordered had good flavor, but it was 90% solid white fat.  Gavin’s beef wasn’t much better.  We ended up leaving a big pile of our scraps in one of the steamed rice bowls.  :)

After dinner, we walked back through the Night Market again, and I bought a few more home décor items.  Then we headed back to our hotel.  Tomorrow we say goodbye to Chiang Mai.

On the way back from the Night Market we ran into a couple Transformers! :)

Or maybe this one is a Decepticon?  :)

"Faster, faster! Use your muscle!"

I found this nice swing chair in our hotel this morning. :)

Today we went to Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School for a half day cooking class.  Our teacher Aye first took us into the school’s kitchen garden to smell the different fresh herbs used in Thai cooking, like Thai basil, lemongrass, three different kinds of ginger, etc.  Then he took us to a nearby market to tell us about other ingredients like the kinds of rice, and he also bought the ingredients for our class.  In only 5 hours we learned to make “good luck snack,” spring rolls, a stir fry, a curry paste and curry, and a dessert.  It was really surprising how fast we could make all the dishes, but the curry paste was pretty labor intensive.  Gavin volunteered to use the mortar and pestle while three other people cut up the herbs, etc for him.  He definitely got his workout in, especially with Aye calling out “Faster, faster! Use your muscle!”  :)  The panang curry I made was just as good as the curry from some of my favorite meals of the trip!  Though I can’t imagine I will make Thai food that often now that I have seen how many calories it is, plus the herbs and spices are very Thai-specific; I doubt I will be able to find all of them where we live.  But we have a cookbook from the class, so I will probably try!

Ready to go to market! They made us wear these hats
so they didn't lose us in the market.  :)

Aye and class at the market, and Aye is explaining the different types of
rice you can find in Thailand.

Cooking our first dish!

Proudly posing with my spicy Thai basil chicken.  :)

I was one of two who volunteered to stir fry the ingredients for the inside
of everybody's spring rolls.  No pressure.  :)

Making curry paste. Gavin was in charge of the mortar and pestle for the
"red curry" team.

The finished curry pastes.  Top left is green curry, top right is panang,
bottom right is massaman, bottom left is red.

Gavin is ready to make his massaman curry.

Cooking deep fried bananas.

Time to eat our curries!

After cooking and eating all that food, we were both pretty tired and full, so we headed back to our hotel for a nap.  :)  After the nap, we rented some mopeds.  I got a manual transmission this time, but it was still more like riding a moped than a motorcycle, plus the shifting was in the opposite direction: tap down to shift up!  We drove the mopeds to go see the temple Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a temple high on one of the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai, and definitely the most beautiful we have seen yet on the trip.  

The steps up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

Entrance to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

Inside Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

Lots of gold plating. :)

Temple detail.

The view of Chiang Mai from Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

After walking around the temple for a bit, we drove our mopeds back into Chiang Mai, dropped them at the hotel, then went to the Night Market.  The Night Market is HUGE!  Blocks full of stalls selling tourist crap, souvenirs, etc.  We had dinner at a little street food stall and I got to try Kow Soy, according to Lonely Planet is northern Thailand’s signature dish, and it was really tasty!  We wandered through the stalls and bought some souvenirs and Christmas gifts for various people.  I don’t think we even made our way through half of it in 3-4 hours!  We may have to go back tomorrow!

The Chiang Mai Night Bazaar.

Enjoying dinner at the "food court."

A temple in the Night Bazaar.

Tons of stuff for sale!

After jostling our way back out of the Night Market, we walked back to the hotel to turn in.  Tomorrow is our last day in Chiang Mai.

A tour of temples

Seriously, you can't throw a shoe in Chiang Mai without hitting a temple.  :)

Today was our first day in Chiang Mai.  We spent about half the day doing the Lonely Planet walking tour of Chiang Mai, and stopping in any interesting stores we saw along the way.  The walking tour is in the Old Town section of Chiang Mai, and we visited a lot of beautiful temples.  I came prepared with a light shawl I could stuff into my purse and take out when I wanted to walk inside a temple; they all require shoulders and knees to be covered.

Wat Phra Singh.

Wat Phra Singh is under renovations. :)

The back of Wat Phra Singh.

Wat Tung Yu.  I liked the colorful roof.

Wat Phan Tao, made of teak.

Wat Chai Phra Kiat.

Wat Chedi Luang.  Funny thing about our visit - we actually missed the main
reason to visit it, which is the ruins of a chedi behind it that is said to protect
the city.  Oops. :)

Gavin tried to sneakily take a photo of these young monks with their
cell phones, but he obviously got caught.  :)  I found it amusing that women
have to cover shoulders and knees to visit the temples, but if these guys have
internet on their cell phones they can look at all the shoulders and knees
they want...  :D

On our way to Wat Chiang Man we saw this
electrician working on the powerlines with his
bamboo ladder leaned DIRECTLY ON the
power lines!

Wat Chiang Man.

The inside of Wat Chiang Man.

After visiting (or at least snapping a quick photo of...) most of the temples on the walk, we had lunch in a local noodle kitchen; we were the only tourists in the place.  We were trying to find one listed in Lonely Planet, but they spelled it out in English and all the places only had the names of their restaurants in Thai.  :)  I had some kind of fish ball and other processed meat noodle dish, and Gavin had the same in a soup.  I accidentally dumped a bunch of fish sauce into my noodles thinking it was soy sauce, but it still tasted pretty good.  :)

Gavin was feeling tired and cranky (he caught a cold), so he went back to our hotel to take a nap, and I went to get another massage from Blind Massage, where they only hire blind massage therapists; they are supposed to be better because of their heightened sense of touch.  I am still a little scared of Thai massages after my first two were pretty intense, so I asked for an oil massage.

I was quite surprised by a couple of things starting the massage.  A.  I had to share a room with another woman, AND I had to be in my undies since it was an oil massage, and not even a curtain between us!  B.  It was a GUY massaging me!  Not that I have a problem with that, but all Thai massage therapists I have seen are women.

The massage itself felt good, but it was the most repetitive massage I have ever had. He just did the same stoke in the same place about 20 times, then moved to another stroke or another place and did that 20 times over my whole body.  It felt nice, but it was pretty boring.  Maybe tomorrow I’ll get brave and try another Thai massage.  :)

After the massage I went back to the hotel and woke Gavin up from his nap, then we headed down to  for dinner in our first túk túk ride (a little open-air taxi on three wheels, powered by what felt like a moped engine).  There happened to be an art/crafts fair going on, so we wandered through the stalls and did a little shopping.  Then we had dinner in a restaurant called After Nine, which was on a balcony a story above Thanon Nimmanhaemin. We both ordered dishes labeled “spicy,” and we definitely had our hottest but also one of the tastiest meals we have had here in Thailand.  After dinner we walked a bit farther down Thanon Nimmanhaemin to Warm Up bar, where we were for the most part the oldest people in the entire place.  From our cozy seat near the door we had great people watching. We got to watch all the 20-somethings coming in, and we noted this must obviously be the place to “see and be seen.”  People were dressed to the nines and it is WEDNESDAY; I was giggling at the ones trying too hard and the ones with ridiculously high platform heels, especially since I (in flat-as-you-can-get Vibram Five Finger shoes) still was a good 4 inches taller than any of them.  :D  There were two live bands playing in two different sections of the bar.  I had an absolutely amazing cocktail with fresh strawberries and limes muddled in cassis and other tasty stuff, and Gavin ordered a beer that was served like white wine with the bottle in a bucket of ice, and any time his glass of beer ran low somebody would come pour more beer for him from the bottle.  Fancy.

The ubiquitous túk túk.

The art fair at Thanon Nimmanhaemin.

Food stalls at Thanon Nimmanhaemin.

Gavin at our balcony dinner restaurant on Thanon Nimmanhaemin.

After our drinks we caught a tuk tuk back to our hotel, then went to bed.  Tomorrow we will try our own hand at Thai cooking!

PS. I skipped 12/8 because it was not at all interesting – fully an in-transit day.  Hour ride from LaLaanta to ferry, ferry to Koh Phi Phi, transfer onto ferry to Phuket, hour ride in taxi to airport, flight to Bangkok then to Chiang Mai, cab ride to our hotel De Chai!  Yikes!