Flowers, Elephants & Trekking in Chiang Mai

Tuesday, February 02, 2016
Chiang Mai, Thailand
We timed our stay to catch the Flower Festival which began with a two hour parade round the outside of the old centre, ending in a park where the floats could be admired close up and there was an orchid display and street market. We just took so many pictures of the fabulous floats, together with school bands and people in traditional costumes. Some of the large figures are covered in coloured rice, and a few of the flowers were dried and dyed, but most were fresh using a lot of chrysanthemums and orchids and the effect was stunning.

 

 



 

   

 

   

 

 

 


 
From flora to fauna now ... and elephants. The practical role of elephants has been almost as important as their symbolic importance, with one king of Ayutthaya going to war with Burma with an army of 300 elephants and in peacetime they have been used for transport and beasts of burden. Commercial logging was banned in Thailand in 1989 after a severe mudslides caused by deforestation killed 100 people and wiped out complete villages. This left many elephants out of a job, and although tourism stepped in, trekking and elephant shows often badly treat the animals and we did quite a lot of research to decide whether or not we wanted to do an elephant related tourist activity. Fortunately, we found Elephant Nature Park who are a charity providing a sanctuary for elephants. Some have been harmed in the past from logging or land mines in Burma, trekking or just being old or unwanted, but the lucky ones find a home here and are treated with love and kindness. We fed them huge amounts of melon and pumpkin, walked round the sanctuary meeting different groups of elephants and hearing their stories, helping with bath time and of course taking lots of photos and for the more modern, elphies! It certainly is a slick operation as you can see from the car park, but well organised as in our group of 11, we certainly didn't feel there were that many visitors as we were shown round by our guide Johnny. There are also opportunities for volunteering and all helps to pay for the food and vet bills ... A great choice, a great place and a great day!

 

 

 

 

 



   

 

Doing a cookery class has become a regular feature on our trips since our very first class in Bangkok in 2009 and we spent a great day at Thai Farm. We started with a quick market tour and also a look round their organic garden at various herbs and vegetables, then starting cooking in the lovely open air kitchen. Between us we made Tom Yam soup, Pad Thai, spring rolls, curry paste lovingly ground with a pestle and mortar and made into red and green curry, a stir fry with basil, sticky rice with mango and coconut bananas. As there were choices of what you could cook, with a group of 10 it was a little more confusing than all making the same thing, but it all worked out fine. I was most pleased with the pad Thai which I intend cooking again and while I love the green curry, but it wouldn't seem the same without the special Thai aubergines which I'd have to get from a specialist shop.

 

 


 
After all that eating, a bit of exercise seemed a good idea and our guesthouse organised for us to go for a trek in Doi Inthanon National Park, 90 minutes from Chiang Mai. In a small group of 8 we began with a stop at Wachirathan Waterfall, then began our first trek from a Karen hill tribe village where they grow organic Arabica coffee, and they brewed us up a cup to try. Coffee, along with flowers and strawberries were introduced to replace opium growing which was made illegal in 1959. We then walked for a couple of hours, led by a village guide along a well trodden path at about 1,200m through the forest, passing several waterfalls and catching glimpses of farmland below. At one point, we heard gibbons calling to each other in the canopy but didn't see one. We stopped for lunch, then drove to the highest point in Thailand at 2565m, where actually there was no view but we did see a green-tailed sunbird, tiny and similar to a hummingbird and one of two species unique to the park. We then walked the ... trail at about 2,200m through the cloud forest and alpine meadow where red rhododendron trees grow in their natural habitat. Farmers have just started burning off fields in the valley and with the smoke hanging in the air views were rather misty, but we did  see the King and Queen chedis. Our last stop was to actually visit the chedis, built to honour the present King and Queen's 60th birthdays and their colourful gardens, filled with plants just as at home in an English garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
Our time here is at an end, but I just must mention the fabulous pancakes we've had for breakfast most days, Chris's with Nutella and mine with mango!

 
 
Now we go north once more, this time by bus ...

Comments

2025-02-10

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank