Adventures with Jack and Julia

If you’re looking for somewhere that blends local culture, backpacker vibes, and amazing food, Chiang Mai is the place for you. We both absolutely loved Chiang Mai, and even decided to extend our time there by a few days. The prices are more than reasonable when compared to Bangkok, and there is so much to do in the city or on the outskirts if you’re willing to drive or take the bus. We visited local night markets, saw so many temples, trekked through the jungle, took a cooking class and even got to meet 2 beautiful elephants. We did so much over the week that we were there, but still feel like we only scratched the surface of what Chiang Mai has to offer. We both agree that if we were to move to a big city in Thailand, this would be the place.

Day 1:

We started our day by checking into our hotel which was located just outside of the Old Town. Because it was Sunday, we made our way over to the weekly night market to see what was on offer. It was the usual cacophony of smells, sounds, people and colourful displays that we’ve come to expect when walking through these markets, but we were pleasantly surprised to find a much broader selection of artisans and food vendors than normal. So far we’ve found that each city often sells the same knock-off bags, clothes, and cheap souvenirs, but this one also had a lot of local artists painting portraits of passersby or their pets, as well as a variety of delicious foods to try. We definitely ate our fill with Julia having a ginormous loaded baked potato with tons of toppings, and Jack sampling some pork skewers, chicken satay, and some dumplings. We finished it off by getting some fruit smoothies, mango sticky rice, and some frozen mochis. A great first day!

Day 2:

Day 2 was our big temple day. We like to hit a bunch of cultural sites in one dedicated day to ensure we’re getting the chance to see and learn about everything early in the trip, so we got up early and started off on a big walk. Our first stop on the way to the Silver Temple was a neat artist’s compound that Jack found online called Kalm Village. It’s got cafes, art studios, traditional clothings and fabrics, and spaces to relax and enjoy the ambience. Then, we made our way over to Wat Sri Suphan (also called the Silver Temple), and we were not disappointed by its beauty. The pictures online don’t do it justice at all, and it’s truly a sight to see. It’s also one of the few lasting temples that doesn’t allow women in it on account of their menstruation cycles supposedly meaning they aren’t “pure”. Jack stood in solidarity with Julia by choosing not to enter the temple itself, but it was more than enough to marvel at its exterior to recognize how incredible the building is.

Next up, we went over to Wat Phra Singh, where we saw a beautiful golden Buddha, and then to Sao Inthakhin, an incredibly sparkly temple.

For number four of the day, we visited Wat Chedi Luang, a temple that used to stand at 80 metres but has been reduced to 60 metres as a result of earthquakes and erosion. Still so beautiful and well worth the visit, however.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Garden to Table as we’d read online that they had a version of Chiang Mai’s signature dish of Khao Soi noodles that could be made gluten free. As a bonus, we had a lovely chat with the owner and she told us all about how she uses lots of fresh produce and edible flowers from her own garden, and opts for sweet fruits and vegetables like pumpkin instead of refined sugars in her foods. This meal was a highlight for us and we knew it wasn’t the last we’d be seeing of this spot!

Day 3:

With a couple of days full of delicious food under our belt, we decided it was time to visit a different kind of temple – the fabled “iron temple” (aka the gym). We spent a good hour and a half there, then after showering and changing we set off to explore some other districts of Chiang Mai. First, we went by the university so we could eat at an outstanding gluten free bakery where Julia had a pesto chicken sandwich.

Then, we went to Nimman. Nimman is a much more upscale neighbourhood right next to Chiang Mai with big malls and higher-end clothing stores but it also has a really cool laid-back, hip set of Sois (Thai name for side streets) run by locals and expats that we strolled through. We had some smoothies, made our way back towards home for an early night.

Day 4:

Today started off with coffee at a cafe with a few resident cats. Where Vietnam had tons of dogs everywhere, the Thai seem much bigger fans of cats. Either way, it’s great to have some friendly companions to start the day with. We didn’t linger too long this time, however, as we had a Thai cooking class that we’d been looking forward to for the better part of the trip!

To start, we hopped in a vehicle called a songthaew to head to a local market. Here, we learned about some of the food we were to be cooking, as well as a lot of the spices that are used in the dishes. We really enjoyed this part of the day as this market we went to was one that the locals buy their groceries for home and for their restaurants, so it was super authentic. Our guides were very knowledgeable and answered the whole barrage of questions we had as we took everything in. Once we collected some necessary supplies for the day, we hopped back in the songthaew and made our way back to the classroom.

We’d already chosen ahead of time the dishes that we were going to make, and we were sure to pick different ones so we could learn first hand from the masters as much as possible. Jack made spring rolls, green curry paste, green curry, chicken cashew nut and spicy chicken soup while Julia made fresh spring rolls, panang curry paste, panang curry, pad thai, and Thai herb soup. As part of the experience, we even got to flambe the pans, which was exciting but a bit scary for Julia. The food was so delicious, fresh and we had so much fun. We were sent a recipe book so we can try the recipes at home so if anyone feels like coming over for Thai food when we’re home, let us know!

For the rest of the day, we chilled at home and packed for our big 2 day jungle trekking excursion we had planned for the next day.

Day 5:

We knew as part of this trip that we wanted to see elephants when we visited Thailand, but not at the risk of poor animal welfare. Through our research, we discovered that there are very few wild elephants remaining in Thailand and the ones that live in the sanctuaries are rescued from abusive, exploitative, or dangerous conditions in the tourism, entertainment and logging industries. We learned that a lot of elephants are often rescued from Myanmar where they are used for labour or in the worst cases are sent out in fields to test for landmines. We also learned that of the many sanctuaries that claim to be ethical because they no longer offer elephant rides (it’s widely understood that these are terrible for an elephant’s back), once you dig a little deeper, it’s impossible to believe that these places are truly ethical. While they no longer offer rides, there are many sanctuaries that force elephants to perform tricks, line up for photos with tourists, or restrict their movements. The elephants should have ample room to roam in natural areas, and tourists should observe them in their habitat, only interacting if the elephant chooses to approach them. After some pretty extensive research, we found an organization run by the Karen tribe that offers multi-day jungle trekking excursions, where you get to hike, sleep overnight in a village, bamboo raft and visit an elephant sanctuary. We felt confident after watching YouTube videos, researching and reading other people’s reviews, that the sanctuary they visited was a good one so we went ahead and booked it.

Eagerly waiting to be picked up, we checked out of our hotel and waited for them to pick us up. After an hour drive, we left our big backpacks at the head office and started on our 10km hike through the jungle. Our guide’s name was Nimit, and he was awesome. He was super knowledgeable and hilarious. We took 3 breaks throughout our journey at different waterfalls, where we had the option to cool off and swim. We stopped at a local Karen village (one of Thailand’s largest ethnic minority groups) to learn more about their culture and watch an elder doing traditional weaving. It was clear that the Karen people enjoy living the simple life and are so happy being a part of their community. For us, it was a nice reminder that you don’t need to have a lot to live a happy life. They don’t have electricity in the village we visited, and lived in a remote area where they survive through educating guests like ourselves or through agriculture. We learned that in the past, the Karen people used to grow opium and that was their primary source of income until one of the kings came in and helped convert their fields to rice, corn, flowers, and other legal things they can sell to restaurants and at markets. After our visit to the village, we made our final descent to our sleeping spot for the night just as the sun was starting to set. We settled into our cozy room and joined our group for some delicious Thai food for dinner and songs around the campfire.

Day 6:

After a restful sleep in the jungle, we woke up, had breakfast and packed up for the day. The first stop was to visit the elephant sanctuary! We were forewarned that they weren’t sure whether the elephants were going to be there when we arrived as they actually live up in the hills beside where we would be going and we may have to trek into the forest to find them. Luckily, however, they came down to where we’d be arriving and we had was one of the most amazing experiences on the trip so far. The elephants were so majestic and it was clear that they were happy and well looked after. We got to meet two elephants today: Mae-Poe and Bobby. You can tell them apart by the size of their heads. Mae-Poe who has a small head, is a type of elephant who was traditionally used for fighting, whereas Bobby has a large head and was raised for logging and working in the fields. Today, however, they have a very large plot of land where they are free to roam, and a big pond where they like to bathe and cool off. When we arrived, they were both eating a healthy serving of grass and sugar cane. We had the opportunity to watch them eating, bathing and we even got to feed them sugar cane. Fun fact: elephants often eat up to 300kg a day. Talk about having a feed! Sadly, we couldn’t spend all day hanging out with the elephants, so we headed off to our next and final activity- bamboo rafting. This was a lot more fun than we were expecting! The bamboo rafts fit up to 3 people and a guide is steering you down a fast moving river. The ride lasted for about 30 minutes and we were completely soaked from the waist down. After drying off, we were driven about an hour back to Chiang Mai and we checked into our new hotel.

Day 7:

For our last full day in Chiang Mai, we kept it pretty low-key given the amount of activities we’d had the past couple days. We had one of our “self-care” days where we went to the gym, had massages, and went to the market where this time we ate corn, fresh salad rolls, a ginormous khao soi bao bun, some smoothies, and polished it off with some mochi. For the mochi, our flavour selection included taro, strawberry, pandan, red bean, and the infamous durian. This was our first time trying durian and Jack likens the taste as a somewhat sour wet sock and Julia agrees….

All in all, Chiang Mai was far from our cheapest stop yet but we wouldn’t change anything for a second. From cooking authentic thai food, to spending the day with elephants, to trying so many new foods at the night markets, we had the best time. There’s no doubt in our minds that northern Thailand shouldn’t be missed by anyone coming to the country and there is far more to Thailand than the islands to the south (which we’ll also be visiting and are equally excited to experience).

Stay tuned for our next blog where we head further north to the city of Chiang Rai! Home to the blue and white temples, award-winning coffee and tea, and even more new adventures.

Thank you for reading our blog and following along on our journey! It’s crazy to think we have officially been gone for 2 months already! If you want to help support us, please consider buying us a coffee 🙂