Md House Chiang Mai

Yesterday was our last day in Bangkok and we had a blast, riding the Sky train throughout the city and shopping in the comfort of the air conditioned Siam Square... very luxurious.... stores like Fendi, Cartier, Dolce and Gabanna, etc. When we entered the mall, we had to pass through a metal detector... very weird, and the first and only sign of political unrest we've experienced so far. We splurged and each bought a couple of t-shirts (although much needed, as we discovered that there is now...

So, I ended up staying in Chiang Mai for a full week-- longer than expected, but I really liked it there. I also decided I should stay and experience Songkhran, the Thai new year also known as the water festival. I got used to my dodgy guest house so stayed there for 4 days, but had seen another place nearby where a couple of women from my Elephant trip were staying, that looked a tad nicer, had a beautiful pool and was in the same neighborhood. So I checked in there for my last 3 days. It wa...

Wednesday 2nd Sept:

We got a 1st class bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai, which took about 3 hours and was the classiest coach I have ever been on.

From Chiang Mai bus station we took a Songthaew to the MD Guesthouse. A Songthaew is a pick up truck with 2 benches in the back and a cover, there are tons of them in Chiang Mai and the act kind of like buses, although their route varies according to who jumps in them.

All checked in we went for lunch and then we relaxed all a...

We decided to cram in a few more wats before the sun got too hot and we started with my favourite, Wat Bupparam. East of the city it sits in very small grounds with millions of tacky concrete animals, but it is a beautiful building with a tiered roof and lovely decorations. Inside a man was saying a long prayer and making offerings and I really felt like Buddhism is the religion I feel closest to. So peaceful and thoughtful and I do believe in karma. Although I'd be a rubbish Buddhist as I tr...

It has been a good 4 months since we last participated in a cooking school. Our first attempt in Vietnam didn't go exactly to plan, and left a slight bitter taste in our mouths. The cuisine, although tasty in Cambodia and Laos, didn't really ignite our passion for another try. However the food in Thailand is just sublime and once we found an organic farm(link) offering cookery lessons we were persuaded otherwise. It did have something to do with our dream of owning our own little organic smal...

The past few days have been a little hectic, so a slower and more relaxed affair was needed today. The plan was to visit the zoo on the outskirts of town and then scale the mountain in a tuk tuk to visit Doi Suthep, the most famous Wat in Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai Zoo turned out to be an extremely large place. We opted not to pay the additional 40 Baht fee for a tram service at the entrance, thinking that the attractions would be close together. How we were wrong :), but the weather was ...

One of my earliest childhood memories (apart from Dan and I playing in our Postman Pat van) is crying inconsolably to mum and dad after watching a documentary on African elephants. I have always adored these huge intelligent creatures and our day at the Elephant Nature Park was a dream come true.

We were picked up from our hotel at 8am and taken 60kms north of Chiang Mai into a beautiful valley. Here Lek (Sangduen Chailert) has made a home for over 30 elephants, Lek lives to help eleph...

We began our journey to Chiang Mai on the night of the 9th December on the overnight train. It would be a 14 hour trip, but thought this was not too bad as we would be asleep for most of that time. We were both excited about taking the overnight train. I had images of it being quite romantic, ala Orient Express. We traveled 2nd class and new that we would have to share with what we thought 2 other people. It turned out to be the whole carriage bunking together! I have never slept with so many...