Things I forgot: House and gate keys to get back in to the house when I get back. Hmmm. Can’t buy those here.
I slept pleasantly well last night. Yes, it was a bit bumpy, yes I woke up a few times, but overall I got some good solid hours in. Made the 6am start a little more bearable!
Breakfast was some Lychee flavoured pockys and some green pea snacks – apparently full of Protein and Iron! We all put off letting the little Asian man put our beds away for as long as possible… I had really enjoyed the experience really, it was like a big sleepover.
Arrival at our hotel was at about 9am – it is a nice little place, with clean rooms and air conditioning, which is all you can ask for really!
Some of us had hoped to go bamboo rafting but the weather wasn’t right, so we all bundled back into a bus and drove an hour to the Elephant Conservation Centre. First thing we did there was to watch how Elephant Dung was used to make paper. I bought an elephant dung card for a dollar, and Kelly tried her hand at kneading some boiled elephant poo.
Then off to ride an elephant! Kelly and I rode a 30 year old male (Sam Pan) together and erupted into a fit of nervous giggles every time the elephant went downhill – it took all our grabbing-onto-random-things skills to not slide off our seat. Elephants are really not graceful at all and it was a very bumpy ride! Beautiful green scenery on the way, plus a baby elephant sighting.
My first authentic Pad Thai was for lunch – I am really enjoying the fact that I have wanted to finish every meal I’ve ordered here. So different from Malaysia.
An elephant show next. They did the usual walking in lines holding tails, painting pictures, lifting logs – all whilst Kelly sat beside me commenting on how cute they all were every 30 seconds. I DID consider buying one of the pictures the elephants had painted but decided against it.
A quick visit to the Elephant hospital afterwards to see some 3 legged elephants, and then an hour back to the hotel.
A fifteen minute break and then off again! This time up a mountain to see Wat Doi Suthep… this included climbing 306 steps to get up there. The giant gold temple was very very shiny and impressive, particularly in the setting sun. There was also a really pretty view from the top, we had a really nice tag along tour guide and we got to hear the monks chant at 6pm in the evening. Then back to the hotel in a Chang Mai taxi.
After a quick shower we headed out again – this time to the Night Bazaar to grab some dinner (crispy pork + spring rolls). I really like Chang Mai, it had some really good quality shops, and it still has energy and life without being as stupidly crazy as Bangkok.
It was about 10pm by this time and eight of us decided to find a bar because apparently going out and drinking is the one thing you need to do in Chiang Mai. We went to a recommended place called The Riverside. – it was really pleasant, we grabbed a big table right near the river with a warm breeze blowing. Inside there was a live band doing covers of songs we all knew. Everyone consumed lots of Chang, I opted for some wine and was happy I did!
Four people left at 12am, I considered going with them but was talked out of it pretty quickly – Andy, Paul, Kelly and I ended up staying until around 1.30am when the bar closed up (it was a Monday night after all, and away from the tourist strip). Home time – after a crazy fast tuk tuk ride through the city.
Sleep at 2am.
No comments:
Post a Comment