Whenever I think of Thailand I picture tropical beaches, crystal lagoons and longtail boats so I had no idea what to expect from the Northern town of Chiang Mai which sits hundreds of miles from the nearest coastline. What we found there, though very different from the South islands, was just as beautiful in its own way.
The town is built up but not in an industrial sense and has somehow maintained its simple charm. It's a sensual place with a relaxing atmosphere and you need only go a little way out of the centre to find yourself totally immersed in the jungle.
Chiang Mai is famous for its 'Walking Markets', thus called because they're so busy that the entire street appears to be moving. We were lucky enough to be there on a Saturday which is when they hold the biggest of all and it did literally go on for miles. Unlike other Asian markets each stall is completely different so we refused to stop until we reached the very end, not wanting to miss out on any bargains. Whenever we were flagging we topped ourselves up at one of the food stalls, avoiding the fried insects but steering towards fried pumpkin, spring rolls and waffles instead.
As we had limited time in Chiang Mai we paid for a tour which crammed in as many activities as possible into one day. We were picked up in the morning by a minivan but soon transferred onto the back of an elephant for a trek along the river. The elephants are generally very well trained but ours seemed to prefer the off-road route, not willing to wait behind slower members of his family. His temper turned to tantrum when a loud helicopter flew overhead and we were almost thrown off completely - a not-so-gentle reminder that you can't control a creature that's bigger than its boss.
Our journey along the river continued on the slower and considerably less stressful bamboo raft. The driver used a wooden branch to guide us downstream as we took in the surrounding views.
Once we'd reached the end we zip-wired back over the river, landing conveniently at a restaurant where lunch was waiting for us. Naturally we piled our plates high with rice, noodles and green and red curry. Buffets always bring out the worst in us but we justified it this time knowing that we have less than a week left to enjoy Asian food.
Fortunately we had the opportunity to work it all off anyway on the hour long trek which followed. Our guide took us up through the jungle, pointing out various plants and picking their fruits to use for her own cooking later that day. We arrived at our destination hot and sweaty so were pleased to find there were waterfalls to swim in. They were breathtakingly beautiful and we spent just under an hour bathing in the pools and splashing around in the falls.
Our day was due to end here but of course no Asian tour would be complete without the minibus breaking down. As we waited for a replacement our guide took us to the only attraction she could think of that was within walking distance - the Poo Poo Park! It sounds shit (pun unintended) but it was actually really interesting and ironically is one of the cleanest places we've visited in Thailand. We were shown how the faeces of elephants, cows and horses is transformed into paper and card to make all sorts of products from gift cards to picture frames. It's a scheme funded by the government in a bid to save Thailand's tropical forests and it's doing a great job.
We're now travelling even further North to a small town called Pai. Again, I really don't know what to expect but I've yet to come across a place in Thailand I dislike on this trip so I'm looking forward to it nevertheless.
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