Northern Thailand

Northern Thailand: Mellow Matters

Kilometers Traveled: 20,782

Countries Visited: 8

Cities Visited: 26

Domesticated Elephants in Thailand: 2,700 aprox.

Hard to believe that our first encounter with Thailand was now a month behind us. Spending a week in the modern mega-metropolis that is Bangkok left us feeling a little disoriented and oddly at home (we've found that most major cities are all starting to look eerily similar) and we are grateful that we were able to shake off that feeling by time we hit the northern part of the country. After a three day journey going against the flow up the Mekong we finally arrived in Thailand's second city, Chiang Mai. The pace in the North maintains a laid back sensibility that seems to attract a flood of expats and a more bohemian tourist crowd to this mountainous region. There are plenty of sleepy places to escape to in the hills, like the town of Pai, as well as plenty of opportunities for adventure - from rafting, trekking to a yoga or mediation retreat. On this leg of our trip we worked our way back down to Bangkok going through Chiang Mai, an elephant sanctuary in the mountains then down to the well preserved ancient capitol of Sukhothai.

Serenity now.

Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is nowhere near the size of Bangkok (coming in at 5th largest in the country) but it is one of Thailand's most significant cities in the north when it comes to culture. Northern Thais have a more distinctive style than we experienced in the South. We found this place to be more creative and relaxed than the rest of SE Asia. An energetic mix of students, artists and expats helps Chiang Mai wear its globalized and Thai parts more stylishly than we have seen anywhere else in the country.

Sunset over the Wat Chetawan on our way to the city center. Chaing Mai has over 300 wats, each with a very unique style.

A moat and ancient city walls surrounding the old district in the city. Chiang Mai was the former capital of the Lanna Kingdom in the North. 

Thai creativity on display at the Saturday market. Great food and a great place for shopping. This was the one time we regretted traveling light.

Ruins of Wat Chedi Luang. Chiang Mais oldest temple that once housed an emerald buddha. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1500s and was reconstructed in the 90s. There is a buddhist university nearby where tourists are invited to stop in to help the monks practice their English.

Playing the convenience store lottery to win a bottle of Thai whiskey. Only two numbers off from a crippling hangover.

We visited a small ethnic minority village in the mountains. This little girl was fascinated with my camera. Too much cuteness to leave off our blog

Baanchang Elephant Sanctuary

This part of the world tends to make animal rights activists uneasy. Tigers and elephants are some of the main tourist draws here and most operators seem to put profit over ethics. At a zoo called Tiger Kingdom, tigers are sedated to allow tourist to snuggle up with a 600 pound tiger. Countless elephant trek companies work their animals to the brink of collapse by offering rides in the mountains without any respite.

Many travelers and activists suggest one should be responsible and avoid these places altogether however when it comes to elephants we believe the matter is a bit more nuanced. Domesticated elephants have been a part of the Thai culture for hundreds of years. Before logging was banned in the 90s, trained elephants were used primary as beasts of burden, hauling timber etc.. Now with their natural habitat disappearing and ivory poaching on the rise, tourism may provide a way to keep their numbers up. The reality is that some operators abuse their animals to entertain tourists and others work to rehabilitate these very same elephants by bringing in tourists. It is our responsibility to know where our money is going.

With conservation in mind, we made sure to do our homework before picking an elephant park. There are a few places in Chiang Mai that call themselves sanctuaries i.e. organizations that rescue abused elephants but only a few that are legit -the two most popular are the Elephant Nature Park and Baahchang Elephant Park. Given that Baanchang seemed more interactive (actually learning commands) we went with the latter. Baanchang has over 50 rescued elephants in its park from all over the country and they go through great lengths to explain every aspect of their operations including the reality of housing, feeding and rehabilitating 50 elephants in the same place. The main goal is education and to demonstrate the work that goes into preservation.

It was an unforgettable experience being up close to these highly intelligent and powerful beings. 

Here is our group in the traditional mahout (elephant trainer) garb. These outfits help the elephants associate tourist visitors with food instead of strangers with attacks. But regardless of the outfit, I think Hua Mae (our elephant and the one spraying me directly) still had it in for me.

Learning the command for striking a pose. 

After learning how to communicate with our elephant, Hua Mae, we went for a ride around the park. It was fascinating to see all of the distinct personalities of each elephant. Some are more stubborn or curious or playful. Hua Mae was the pre-madonna leader that would avoid stepping in puddles at all costs. 

The elephants at the park only carry tourists twice a day, they spend the rest of the time eating everything in sight which includes roughly 400 pounds of sugar cane, bananas and greens in one day.

This guy is the resident bull. You may ask: Why is he chained? Because even as highly trained as they are, they are also very stubborn and will wander into the neighbor's gardens (destroying everything in their path) to have a snack. The Locals usually react to this with a loaded gun. So they are chained for their own protection. Don't worry -  they spend a lot of time being walked around park  and down to the river for a baths. These are some pampered beasts

We spent the night at the park and learned more about elephants and this industry than we could ever imagine over some beers with one of the owners. Capped it off with some floating lanterns.

Sukhothai

The first capital of the Kingdom of Siam, which is the first Thai Kingdom after the fall of the Khmer Empire (present day Cambodia). This city is in the lower section of Northern Thailand and it is a uncrowded gem if you have a couple of days to spare. The new Sukhothai sits about 12 km north of the ancient capital (also known as Old Sukhothai). The site of the ruins is a pristine well manicured park with wats and lagoons at every turn. Its a great place to find some shade and lay on the grass all day.

The first Kingdom of Thailand was Buddhist and it hasn't changed since.

This pose was my idea. Sorry Janelle

The Khmer influence is obvious here. It's just like a mini Angkor Wat.

We tried to go inside this temple but the birds were clearly in charge.

The public bus from the Old city to the New. We jumped on right when school was getting out and kids were hanging off of every section of the truck. I would've shot a better picture but the girl on the left was giving me a murderous stare.