Relaxing on Koh Samui

The patio at our Koh Samui hostel 

When planning a trip to Thailand there are three popular locations that people have on their list: Bangkok, Chiang Mai and the islands in the south. Although I've been in Thailand for six months and visited quite a few beautiful islands, I've never made it down south to the infamous Thai islands. Fortunately for me, this past month my sister came to visit with her roommate and boyfriend, and they were all ready to explore the beauty of the southern islands! When researching the islands there are at least ten popular ones that come up, and even more smaller ones, so we struggled at first deciding where it is we wanted to go. In the end we decided to pick two islands to see during our week down south and we decided on Koh Samui and Koh Tao. ("Koh" is Thai for "island"). Although each of the islands have something unique to each of them, we weren't catering towards any specific plans (such as scuba diving or hiking) so we decided to pick two that were popular and close together.

Blogging with a view 

We flew from the northern city of Chiang Mai down to Surat Thani and then took a ferry over to Koh Samui. I was grateful that our island hopping also matched up with the plans of three other English teachers that I've become friends with. We quickly merged our groups, blending ages and histories, and managed to do a lot of activities together over the next week. We stayed at Chill Inn Hostel  which was right on the beach, offering calm waters and beautiful sun rises. Our itinerary was very simple for the islands: relax, get a tan, take advantage of the cheap massages, and drink out of coconuts. On our first full day we were able to check everything off of our list and started off our beach vacation on the right note.
Samui offers various tours and adventures such as snorkeling trips, renting jet skis and parasailing, but I was pretty content with my book and a shady chair on the beach. The great thing about all of the islands is that there are endless resorts right on the beach and they're happy to have outsiders relax pool side as long as you're willing to purchase a drink or two. We spent our days bouncing between various resorts, checking out their pools and private beaches. And of course it wouldn't be a Thai vacation without a massage, and we managed to find some right on the beach for the great price of $7/hour.

View from the bar of the Conrad Hotel. See those floating squares close to shore?
They're personal little islands with a palm tree and lounge chairs for the hotel guests. 

Our last evening on the island we decided to check out the much talked about views from the Conrad Hotel. Located high on a hill on the southwest corner of the island, the Conrad offers stunning views of the sunset and the ocean below. Owned by Hilton, it is most definitely out of our price range, but they're accommodating towards any visitors who want to stop in for happy hour. We splurged on their buy one get one free deal, spending about $12 for two drinks, which is actually a really good deal, especially compared to SkyBar. The hotel itself has more of a resort feel and it appears that each room is it's own stand alone building on the side of the cliff. Even as visitors we got excellent service and I definitely felt fancy in my elephant print dress and $3 sandals as we got driven around in golf carts and rode in a private SUV back to our hostel, which cost us the same amount as our drinks.

The next morning we were picked up at our hostel by a scheduled van (which we booked through the hostel) and were driven to the ferry docks and we boarded an air conditioned ferry on to our next destination of Koh Tao. Read about that here!

Although vacation in Southeast Asia can be cheap, the ferry and general transportation definitely adds up, especially when on a budget. We paid about $16 to get from the mainland of Thailand over to Samui, and then another $22 to get to Koh Tao. From Koh Tao to the mainland we took a ferry for $17. It doesn't sound like a lot, but when you're budgeting $20-30 a day to cover accommodations and food it completely ruins the budget!

_____________________________________________________________________________

Logistical Info

- Although the islands are still relatively inexpensive the ferry rides can add up. We flew into Surat Thani to get to Samui because flights directly into Samui were too expensive. We booked a bus, ferry, taxi combo to get to our location in Samui, costing us 550 baht ($16).
- There are numerous overnight buses and even ferries that go from Bangkok to the islands. These are much cheaper than flying.

- Chill Inn Hostel $12-$16/night

Koh Tao

Koh Samui and Koh Tao are located in the souther
region of Thailand, in the Gulf of Thailand

While my sister and her friends were visiting we set aside a week to relax on some of the islands in the south of Thailand. We started off on the larger island of Koh Samui and after relaxing there for a few days we decided to mix it up a little and head north to the smaller island of Koh Tao.
Because Koh Tao is so much smaller we felt it was easier to see and do all of the popular things. There's one main footpath that stretches along the west coast of the island, making the whole area easily accessible. On this route we were able to find a new restaurant for every meal, plenty of coffee shops, good bars, souvenir shops and taxi boats to smaller islands and beaches nearby.
As always, our plans for our islands adventures were very minimal: get massages, eat good food, get some sun. All of those were easy to accomplish during our time in Koh Tao.
Although we basically had the same goals on Koh Samui I enjoyed our time on Koh Tao much better. It's a smaller island with many more backpackers, as opposed to the families that Koh Samui attracts.

On a longtail boat with my sister and her friends, and some
fellow English teachers

During our first full day on Koh Tao we hired a longtail boat to Sai Nuan beach, which is still on the island of Koh Tao but is kind of difficult to get to by land. We had a full boat headed to the beach and we each paid around $6 for roundtrip transportation. We chose to go to this beach because we figured it would be more secluded and quieter than going to the main strip of beach, and we were right! It was just our group and about ten other people who had the whole bay to ourselves. There was a resort located relatively close to where we camped out, so we were able to rent snorkels from them for around $3.

Relaxing on Sai Nuan beach

View from the overlook on Koh Nang Yuan 

The next day was our big expedition of the trip, we hired a longtail boat to take us to the small neighboring island of Koh Nang Yuan. It's technically three small islands joined together by a sandbar and it's most known for it's awesome overlook, which is exactly why we came. As soon as we set foot onto the island we figured out which way the overlook was and began the strenuous climb to the top. In decent weather and hangover-free it would be an average uphill climb, however, it was pushing 100 degrees and a bar crawl the evening before left us feeling far from athletic, so it was definitely a struggle for us to reach the top. The view from the top was worth it, but I don't think it's anything I'd be jumping to do again soon. Koh Nang Yuan is a small island with limited beach space, so we went in for a dip to cool off after our hike, but then took our boat back to Koh Tao to enjoy shade,

air conditioning and more spacious beaches. 

Thais excel at drag shows

The rest of our time on Koh Tao was uneventful but as blissful as an island vacation can be. We drank out of coconuts, indulged in endless cups of coffee, ate Thai food, snorkeled and participated in the previously mentioned bar crawl. We mainly wanted to do the bar crawl for the free tank top but ended up having a lot of fun while participating. The highlight of the evening was our stop at a ladyboy bar where we enjoyed one of Thailand's infamous drag shows.

Koh Tao pub crawl with Lexi and Sam, two fellow
English teachers, and Sam's friend, Lauren, visiting
from the States 

Getting fish pedicures! These little guys eat off all of
the dead skin on your feet (if you can sit still long enough!) 

Overall I would say that the Thai islands live up to their hype, and we didn't even visit some of the most popular ones! On my next trip to Thailand I would love to explore some of the islands on the west coast of Thailand. After our week of ocean and sun we flew back north to Bangkok for a few days of city life before my sister and her friends flew back to wintery Ohio.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Logistical Info

- Koh Nang Yuan is privately owned and therefore has a few more rules than a typical island. We paid 200 baht each for our longtail boat ($6) and then had to pay a 100 baht ($3) entry fee onto the island. All plastic water bottles are confiscated upon arrival, so if you don't want to overpay for water at the restaurant then you should bring a reusable water, which they'll let you enter the island with.
The island and beaches are slowly eroding away and because of that they're very protective of the sand there. As a result, you're not allowed to lay on the beach with your towel, because towels collect the sand and too many people end up taking sand away with them. Your options are to rent a chair for the day (but they fill up fast) or lay on the sand bare. Because of the limited laying options and limited shade we didn't stay on the island for too long, we mainly just did the hike, had some snacks and then went back to Koh Tao.
- We stayed at AC 2 Resort which was around $45/night. It was nice to get out of the hostels for a couple of nights but I wasn't blown away by the quality of our stay. I think there are cheaper or better options when it comes to bungalows or resorts on the island.
- To get to Koh Tao from Samui we booked a taxi and ferry through our hostel on Samui. It was 750 baht ($22) and we still had to pay for a taxi once we got to Koh Tao to get to our hotel, which was another $4.
- From Koh Tao we took a ferry to the mainland to Chumphom, and flew from there to Bangkok. That ferry was 600 baht ($17). That included our ferry and bus to the airport.- There are numerous overnight buses and even ferries that go from Bangkok to the islands. These are much cheaper than flying.

Hostels of Asia

Stamps Backpackers in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Each bed was in it's own cubby with a curtain
and bedside table

Hostels often carry a reputation of being unsafe, unclean and just overall weird, especially to those who come from countries where hostels aren't as common (aka America). However, for travelers on a budget hostels are a great way to save some money while still having a safe and cozy place to sleep each night. I've stayed in my fair share of hostels throughout Europe and Asia with my most expensive being $20/night in London and my cheapest being $6/night in Bangkok.

WH Hostel in Bangkok, made up entirely
of shipping containers

There are a lot of factors when it comes to judging a good hostel including bedroom sizes, bed comfort, atmosphere, cleanliness and location. For me one of the most important factors is function and convenience. I appreciate hostels who acknowledge that their main clients are twenty-something year olds living out of suitcases. Some of my best hostel stays have included free towels, cheap laundry, cheap or free breakfast and good layouts in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Newer hostels are doing a much better job at making their accommodations practical, such as having outlets for each bunk, providing safes or luggage lockup for each bunk, and having good shelving and storage in the bathrooms. My most recent hostel in Kuala Lumpur had an ensuite bathroom and changing room for our group of 12 to share. Knowing it was just the 12 of us using the bathroom (as opposed to a whole floor of strangers) we felt safe and comfortable leaving clothes hanging in the bathroom and our toothbrushes near the sink. This hostel also provided shelves for those on the top bunk, so I had a place to keep my phone, book and water during the night. Many hostels are also getting good at accommodating electronics. It's becoming more common for each bunk to have their own set of outlets and their own reading light, these bunks often come with curtains as well, making it a little easier to feel cozy and keep things dark while going to bed. 

Personal outlet, light and lockbox for each bunk at
Twenty5 Hostel in Kuala Lumpur

There's a hostel and bedroom for practically any traveler. Many hostels offer single or double rooms incase you're not jumping at the chance to sleep in a room of strangers, and they also offer all female or all male dorms. There are party hostels which cater towards rowdier groups and often have a bar inside the lobby and offer chances to join in on bar crawls each evening. I've stayed at hostels that have clubs in the basement and host beer pong competitions each evening and I've also stayed at hostels with a strict "quiet zone" rule at night and I have even stayed at a few that don't allow any alcohol on the premises. 

I do my research before staying somewhere new, and I almost exclusively book from Hostel World, which gives honest reviews and ratings from previous guests. In all of my years of hostel stays I've never felt unsafe or uncomfortable in any situation and honestly when it comes to traveling alone I'd much rather sleep in a room of strangers as opposed to staying in a hotel alone where no one would be able to help me if something happened. Because of hostels I've done free walking tours, learned new card games, participated in bar crawls, got educated on local foods, had epic New Year's parties and met countless people from every corner of the world. 

Hanoi, Vietnam

The hectic streets of Hanoi

My father, the history buff, was super keen to visit Hanoi during his time in Asia.  I got my chosen activity of a cruise in Ha Long Bay, so I let him run the show for the rest of our time in central Hanoi. We stayed at Boss Legend Hotel, which is located in the Old Quarter of Hanoi making it an extremely convenient location and allowed us to do a lot of walking as opposed to taking taxis. 

Vietnam was previously under French ruling and I was delighted to find some of those influences still present throughout the city in the form of French street names, fresh bread and good coffee. Besides the small charms of previous French inhabitance I was actually really startled and overwhelmed by the city of Hanoi. It's a very small city that hasn't expanded to their current population of seven million people. The streets are barely wide enough to fit two cars at the same time and there appears to be little or no regulations when it comes to traffic laws. Vietnam is often known as the land of motorbikes and Hanoi was no exception. It's a city of seven million people and home to over five million motorbikes on the streets. One thing that I was mildly aware of but couldn't have prepared for is the fact that they honk at everything. Passing another bike? Honk. Passing a car? Honk. Coming up to an intersection? Honk. Just driving? Honk. It was infuriating to me and something that I really struggled to ignore. I was never able to count more than eight seconds without multiple honks interrupting the silence. After coming from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok I thought I would be more than prepared for this capital city, but I realized that although Thailand can be crazy at times they apparently have much more order and purpose on the roads. Hanoi had very few traffic lights or signs, instead each intersection was treated like a giant game of chicken: just honking and hoping the other bikes dodge first. Crosswalks don't exist and instead I managed to cross the streets by practically closing my eyes and beelining to a safe zone. Landing in Thailand was a huge culture shock for me in October, but I honestly thought that if I could get used to Bangkok then I would be ready for anything. Hanoi proved me wrong right away and it took almost our entire time in the city to really start being okay with the city. 

Our tour guide, Annie

Eating the Vietnamese dish of Bun Cha

One thing that really helped us get acclimated to the city life was doing a walking food tour of Hanoi. We signed up with Hanoi Street Food Tours and spent about three hours walking around the city with our guide, Annie, as she practiced her English and taught us about the food and culture of Vietnam. They also offered bike tours, where you ride on the back of the motorbike while your guide drives, which is what we initially wanted to try out, but unfortunately it was booked solid. This tour was a great way for us to get comfortable walking in the streets of Hanoi and also helped us explore some safe and tasty foods to try out while visiting Hanoi. I was a big fan of the Vietnamese spring rolls, which are fresher than the normal fried Chinese rolls. We also tried out their popular bành mì sandwiches and various types of 'pho' soups. I'm usually a big fan of any sort of walking tour whenever I touch down in a new city, and this one was high in my books because not only did I learn about Hanoi, I also got to eat the whole time! I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Hanoi.                                                                                              The rest of our time in the city went relatively unplanned and we spent a lot of time wandering the small streets stopping for coffee or beers as the day went on. My dad loved checking out some of the historical sites available throughout the city such as the Vietnamese People's Air Force Museum, Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and Hoa Lo Prison. Without getting too much into politics, I'll just state the obvious: it was clear that the history presented throughout Hanoi was very one sided, and extremely biased in favor of Vietnam. The Vietnamese People's Air Force museum had planes and missiles on display that supposedly helped them win battles during the Vietnam War, yet these battles and dates in history aren't found in US history. Similarly, monumental events that happened in favor of the US are acknowledged yet almost made to seem that Vietnam gave us those victories, instead of the US winning them fairly. It was crazy to see the differences in our history of a shared event, and it was a good lesson in socialism and patriotism.




I was a little disappointed in myself with how long it took me to adapt to the crazy city life of Hanoi, and honestly I think this was my first destination in quite awhile where I didn't love the city. However, Hanoi has a lot to offer and I have no doubt in mind that if I had spent longer there I would have fallen a little harder for this Vietnamese city.

__________________________________________________________________________

Logistical Info

- Boss Legend Hotel had rooms starting at $60/night, which includes a breakfast buffet

- The walking food tour was $20/person and included six different types of food at five different locations. It was a private tour with flexible hours. 

Cruise in Ha Long Bay

Dad and I as the boat was just leaving the harbor

As I finished up my semester teaching in Thailand I welcomed the arrival of my dad, step-mom and step-brother for a week exploring Bangkok and Chiang Mai. After a week my step-mom and step-brother had to get back to the States but my dad had more vacation time to take advantage of, so we flew over to Hanoi, Vietnam for a few days of historical sites and cooler temperatures. With only five days in northern Vietnam my dad had a long list of museums and war memorials that he wanted to visit in Hanoi, however, I'm much less of a history buff and instead had a visit to Ha Long Bay very high on my list of things to do. Ha Long Bay is located in the Gulf of Tonkin, which branches off of the South China Sea and it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. Although there are day trips available from Hanoi, the most common way to visit Ha Long Bay is to do an overnight cruise on small ships. I looked into quite a few different companies, but after reading many good reviews I finally decided on an overnight cruise with Galaxy Premium Cruises. 

Kayaking in the bay 

The cruise started with an 8am pickup from our hotel in Hanoi and we loaded into a large van with all 19 customers and took the 3.5 hour journey to the coast of Vietnam. We were on the boat by noon and left port shortly after for our adventure! We quickly befriended the other passengers on the boat and spent the next 24 hours getting to know each other while sharing meals, playing games and doing various activities organized by the ship.

Squid fishing at night

I was initially worried that we would feel restless or bored while on the boat, but they kept us pretty busy. When we first boarded we were immediately stuffed with a huge lunch, serving up plenty of traditional Vietnamese foods. We then had some downtime to get to know the other passengers and enjoy the passing scenery as we headed further into the bay. After letting our food digest a little, it was time for kayaking! We spent about two hours exploring small caves and paddling our way through little books and crannies. The rest of the day included plenty of more food, some swimming for the brave of heart (the water was much too cold for my liking) late night squid fishing and card games.
The next morning we were up early for a quick breakfast (noodle soup, classic Asia) and then we headed off to a nearby cave for some exploration. We visited Surprise Cave, which is one of the largest caves in Ha Long Bay, made up of two main caverns with ceilings reaching up to 90 feet high. It's definitely the hotspot for all Ha Long Bay cruises and ended up being much more crowded than I would've preferred, but it was still great to see. We ended our afternoon by slowly cruising back into port while eating our last filling meal of the trip. 

Morning fog over the bay 

The four hour drive and stress of picking the right company definitely paid off at the end of this trip. We had such a great time getting to know the other travelers on our boat, and we enjoyed the scenery and quiet surroundings that Ha Long Bay has to offer. Although it's out of the way of Hanoi it's something I would definitely suggest for anyone in the area. I'm on a quest to see as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as possible, so it already had some initial brownie points in my book, but even for those not on that same mission the area is a stunning site to see and offers a relaxing 24 hours away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Hanoi. 

___________________________________________________________________________

Logistical info

- Galaxy Bay was one of the pricier options, costing $145 per person 

- It includes transportation to and from Hanoi and four meals 

Family adventures in Bangkok

As the end of March rolled around I officially finished my term at school and began the process of moving out of Pattaya and packing my life into a 46 liter backpack. I plan on spending the next six weeks traveling throughout Asia and I got to start this adventure with a visit from some of my family members from Ohio! Last week was Spring Break for most public schools, so my dad, step-mom, Julie, and step-brother, Drew, hopped over to Thailand to spend their week of vacation learning the crazy ways of the Thais!
As most travelers will find, Bangkok is an easy hub for travel in Asia, as it's one of the larger cities and also has many budget flights coming and going each day. We used Bangkok as our homebase during their week long Thailand adventure and it's where we started and ended their vacation. Many flights coming and going from Asia land late into the evening and depart early in the morning. Theirs was no expection; they landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport around 11pm and departed a week later at 6am. I was able to take the BTS (Thai metro system) paired with the Airport Link to pick them up, costing me about 90 baht one way (just over $2). After traveling for over 24 hours I figured I'd give them the easy way into the city, so we all climbed into a taxi and took the hour long journey into the city for about $14.
We stayed at Anantara Hotel in an awesome family suite, which was complete with our own balcony overlooking the Bangkok skyline. The hotel also had a rooftop bar and restaurant which gave a 360 view of the city. It was definitely one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in, and definitely the largest room I've ever had, yet it only cost about $140 a night! Expensive for Thailand, but a splurge by American standards.

View from our hotel balcony 

Their first full day in Bangkok was a Sunday, which meant we had to head to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. Although some portions of this market are open during the weekdays, the weekend is the preferable time to go, offering some great selections of Thai souvenirs. The market is home to over 8,000 stalls and each time I visit I find another corner and section I've never seen before. I usually ending up buying more food than souvenirs, but it's a great place to buy bags, leather goods, clothing, art and jewelry. Wandering the market gave everyone a good opportunity to buy some souvenirs and get a basic understanding of the value of the Thai baht. We also used our time at the market to explore some traditional Thai dishes such as pad thai, papaya salad, tom yum soup, fresh fruit smoothies and a dessert of mango sticky rice. 
I wanted to give them some time to acclimate to Thai time, so we didn't have much planned for the first full day in Bangkok. The city heat can be a lot to take in at first, and it's easy to wear yourself out by spending too much time outside. After a few hours wandering the market we headed back to our hotel to take advantage of comfy couches, air conditioning and showers. Eventually we dragged ourselves out into the heat once again for dinner reservations along the Chao Phraya River which runs through the city of Bangkok. We ate at Sala Rim Naam which is a restaurant paired up with Mandarin Oriental Hotel. It was a fancier and more Western alternative to Thai street food, but still provided traditional Thai meals and drinks, all with a great view of the river!

Day two in Bangkok we set off to see the traditional sites of the capital city. After an awesome and huge breakfast at our hotel we grabbed a taxi to The Grand Palace. The Grand Palace is basically a   walled in city block that houses many influential buildings of Thailand. It is the previous home of the royal families of Thailand and is also where most governmental business takes place. The Grand Palace comes up as a must-see in Bangkok, but I personally wasn't too blown away by it. Although there are some stunning works of architecture within these walls, it's nothing too different from what's visible on the streets. On top of that it's way too hot with very little shade, and they allow an absurd amount of people inside at the same time. Although the streets can get a little hectic out in Bangkok this was definitely more than I bargained for and I spent more time trying to avoid bumping into others instead of enjoying the sites around me. Many visitors think The Grand Palace is an important stop in their Bangkok tour, but it's something I will happily skip in the future.

Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

Next we walked next door to the much calmer Wat Pho which is home to the world's longest reclining Buddha. This is still a popular site in Bangkok and definitely worth seeing, and it's also a lot less crowded than the Grand Palace, making it easier to handle.
After exploring this area for a bit we hopped into a quick tuk tuk ride over to Khao San Road for some lunch. Khao San Road is most known by the backpacker crowd, especially those looking for a night out in Bangkok. It's filled with bars, restaurants and loud music and is a great place to hangout both day and night.

That evening we took a one hour flight to Chiang Mai to play with elephants! More info on that trip can be found here. 

To end the family vacation in Thailand we flew back down to Bangkok for one last evening in the city. We had originally planned to start the evening with drinks at SkyBar, but some open-sided Teva sandals didn't make the cut for dress code. We were allowed out onto the terrace for a few quick pictures and then we headed to a different location.

SkyBar view! 

Drew had it high on his list to ride a motorbike taxi, so we decided the six mile journey to our next location was the perfect time! I quickly flagged down a few motorbikes and we each piled on for the crazy ride through Bangkok.

Three people on a motorbike is the norm in Bangkok 

We ended our ride at Above Eleven which is a rooftop bar and restauarant in the center of Bangkok. We had delicious drinks and overpaid for fried rice, but got a great view while doing it, so all was well in the end. The next morning Julie and Drew had a 6am flight back to the states, and my dad, Emiliya and I hopped on a 6:45 flight to Hanoi, Vietnam! (That post will be coming soon) 

Having my family in Thailand for a week was so much fun, and it helped me realize everything I've learned throughout these last six months while living in Thailand. It was fun having them try all of the Thai dishes and seeing their content after a $6 massage.  I loved showing off this country to them and it made me even more excited for the arrival of my sister this weekend! 

_______________________________________________________________

Logistical Info

- The BTS is easy and cheap transportation during the day, but it stops running by midnight each evening
- Although Bangkok requires taxi drivers to use the meter to determine the price, they're hard to find at either of the airports within Bangkok. Instead they often just give you a set price for driving into the city, usually starting somewhere between 400-500 baht ($12-15)
- Accomodating four people within one hotel room is hard to do in Thailand. At Anantara Hotel I was able to book a family suite which slept four, for about $140/night
- Chatuchak Weekend Market is open on weekends from 6am-6pm. It is located near Mo Chit, the most northern stop on the BTS.

- The Grand Palace is usually open from 9-3:30 and costs $14 to enter 

- Wat Pho is usually open until about 6:30pm and costs $3 to enter 

- dress code for SkyBar: women have to wear a skirt or dress without flip flops. Men must have their knees and shoulders covered and have closed shoes (tennis shoes appear okay)

Family adventures in Chiang Mai

Feeding elephants! 

In continuation of our family explorations in Bangkok (found here), my family and I headed up north to Chiang Mai for three days of adventure-packed fun! My step-mom, Julie, had elephants listed as a high priority for her time in Thailand, so on our first full day in Chiang Mai we scheduled a day volunteering with elephants through travel hub. As I've previously written here, responsible and ethical tourism in Thailand (and elsewhere) is extremely important, and it's crucial to understand the brutality against elephants in the tourism industry. In order to get a genuine and kind elephant experience in Thailand you should head to an elephant sanctuary, which are companies that have formed in order to rescue elephants that are stuck working on the streets of Thailand. I previously volunteered with Elephant Jungle Sanctuary and loved my experience, but for round two I wanted to try something new! Like most elephant sanctuaries in Chiang Mai we started our day feeding and petting the elephants. We learned a bit about their health and how to keep them in good spirits, and then we got to give them a bath in the river! To end the day we said goodbye to the elephants and then hopped in some tubes for a lazy float down the river. We had a great day learning about our elephant friends and I think it was a crowd favorite for the whole family!

bathtime 

Day two in Chiang Mai we hired a Songtaew to drive us around for the afternoon. I previously had plans for us to rent motorbikes for the day, but after my recent run-in with the ground I nixed that plan and went with an easier option. By hiring a driver we didn't have to worry about maps or directions, instead we let our driver lead the way as we relaxed in the back. Our first stop was Doi Suthep which is a known temple at the top of a mountain Northwest of the city. Asia has presented me with my fair share of temples, so at this point I was really going to Doi Suthep for the view. Unfortunately Chiang Mai is surrounded by hills, so once the humidity hits the clouds basically stay stuck over the city, resulting in a very hazy view. This visit was no exception and turned out a lot hazier than my previous visit in January. Despite the nonexistent view we were still able to enjoy the temple and my family all got bracelets blessed by a monk, score!

Views from my first visit to Doi Suthep in January 

The Grand Canyon in Chiang Mai 

Next up we drove to the Grand Canyon which is an old mining quarry Southwest of Chiang Mai. While there we challenged my dad's fear of heights and jumped off the ledge into the deep water below. We spent some time lazing around in the water and floating on the bamboo rafts, then we wrapped up our afternoon with traditional Thai meals purchased from the local cafe on site. Chiang Mai offers plenty of activities for the adrenaline junky such as rafting trips and zip lining, but they usually come with a pretty large fee. A visit to the canyon is easy and cheap ($1.5 entry fee) and is a great way to spend the day getting some thrills without blowing your budget. And if you're not up for the three story drop then there's still plenty of action for you to sit back and enjoy :) 

Dad and Julie making curry 

Day three in Chiang Mai we put our cooking skills to the test and participated in a really awesome Thai cooking class. I normally don't spend much time in the kitchen at home, unless I'm baking something that involves chocolate, so I didn't have terribly high expectations for our cooking class. It turned out to be a lot of fun and easier than I expected! Thai food usually uses a lot of fish sauce and various meats, so I found us a vegetarian cooking class which replaces fish sauce with a vegetarian chili paste. I really enjoyed learning how to make some of my favorite dishes without the taste of seafood! We made about eight different dishes including a few curries, pad Thai, papaya salad and various forms of the famous tom yum soup. I think we all enjoyed learning about the Thai ingredients and seeing how easy it is to make some filling dishes! Our class lasted about four hours and we had six students in the class, making it a really small and easy group to get along with.

The rest of our time in Chiang Mai was much more unscheduled, involving a lot of food, laying by the pool, massages and browsing the night bazaar for souvenirs. Chiang Mai is arguably the second most popular city in Thailand (after Bangkok) but it is a lot smaller and far less hectic. It still provides plenty to do and see, but at a slower pace. This was my second trip to Chiang Mai this year and I'm looking forward to another trip next week with my sister! 

_____________________________________________________________________________

Logistical info 

- Our elephant adventures were booked through Travel hub and we paid $52 each 

- We hired the songtaew for 2000฿ ($56) and asked our hotel to refer a driver. They had a whole book of private cars, motorbike taxis and songtaew drivers who they prefer. 

- cooking class was done with May Kaidee Cooking School and was $42 a person