THAILAND

CHIANG MAI - CHIANG RAI - PHUKET - KOH SAMUI

CHIANG MAI - DAY 1

The Anantara in Chiang Mai is such a beautiful resort, right on the Mekong River. After our arrival and fresh flower lei greeting, we were pointed in the direction of where to get a great authentic Thai lunch, right down the street from the hotel (I'm kicking myself for not writing down the name!). We also learned that we'd arrived in Chiang Mai on a particularly good night of the week- Sunday- for the once a week Night Market Walking Street. This night market is known for being the biggest in northern Thailand, and boy was it big! Every time you thought it was coming to an end, there would suddenly be a giant courtyard loaded with street food tents, a corner of nothing but foot massages, or rows and rows of clothing/art shops. Hunter and I probably spent about 3 hours there, and we weren't even close to seeing the whole thing. If youre planning a trip to Chiang Mai, definitely make sure you are there on a Sunday!

There was an entire corner of the restaurant near the hotel that was dedicated to making mango & sticky rice! I couldn't resist!

Pad Thai

The Anantara's pool, bordered by a koi pond.

Feeding the fishies!

The Anantara's bar/restaurant

Tha Phae gate to the old city, and entrance to the Night Market Walking Street.

A band in the middle of the walking street!

Gac fruit juice- a fruit I have never heard of! I was skeptical that this was a scam, but after some googling, I found that this fruit is becoming popular for it's high phytonutrient content. Although, the taste is supposed to be very mild, so I'm sure these juice stands added sugars.

Grilled shrimps and squids!

There were tons of cheap framed bugs and butterflies for sale!

Chiang Mai is full of beautiful temples! There's one around practically every corner!

One of the surprisingly popular street food stands we came across a couple of times at the night market- sushi!

One of the multiple street food courtyards at the night market.

Spring rolls, fried chicken, sausages, etc.

Spicy mushroom soup, made to order! You get to choose which veggies and mushrooms go into the pot!

One of the night market shops

CHIANG MAI - DAY 2

Today we took a tour of Chiang Mai via tuk tuk with a guide from Anantara. If you only have a short time to see Chiang Mai, a tour is the way to go. There are over 1,000 temples in Chiang Mai, so it's really hard to know where to start. Our guide took us to just enough temples to give us a taste of the culture, without giving us the feeling of never wanting to see another temple again. He also took us to a great lunch spot that specializes in northern Thai food (again, I can't remember the name!) and ordered us a sampling of various dishes to taste that were all spicy and delicious! We walked through the local Chinatown, then headed to see one more temple before completing the tour. At this last temple, there was a stand selling all sorts of little miserable looking animals. There were turtles, frogs, and an assortment of fish piled in buckets, and tons of birds shoved in cages they didn't fit in. Tourists and Thais visiting the temple are supposed to purchase these poor little creatures and set them free in the river (obviously you don't put the birds in the river) for good luck. Each animal was supposed to stand for something different, ie the turtles stood for longevity. Our tour guide suggested we do this, so I agreed only because I wanted to get some of those poor birds out of those cages! I purchased 3 of them, and Hunter bought 3 little turtles. I was happy to set them free, but sad to be supporting this tradition. We then bought some fish food out by the river, and fed the fish and all of the very eager pigeons.

It was a full day of touring, so we decided to have dinner at the hotel's restaurant, The Service 1921. We don't have any photos of it, and the food was fantastic, but I just had to write about it because the theme is SO dumb!!! They act as though they might be part of some secret service, saying stupid cheesy shit like "Your mission this evening is to dine on delicious food chosen from our top secret menu, for your eyes only". They hand you a who-did-in-in-Clue-style TOP SECRET envelope with the menu inside. Then each dish is described as "chicken under cover in green curry".... you get the picture. I could not take this restaurant seriously! BUT, like I said, their food was pretty darn good.

One of the first temples we visited. Each one is so breathtaking!

You can't tell in this photo, but this monk had his iphone out, taking a photo of the golden Buddha!

Just an adorable sleepy temple dog!

This Buddha was put there for all of the animals, from the fish in the pond, to all of the dogs that sleep at his feet.

Some decorative temple doors

An old stone temple, built to honor the first king of Chiang Mai's late father.

The tiniest little frog!

Another peaceful Buddha

I had to make a donation for the temple pups!

The aftermath of our Northern Thai food feast.

Dried butterfly pea flowers! You brew them into a bright blue tea, which turns bright purple when you squeeze a lemon into it!

Dried goods in Chiang Mai's Chinatown

Live eels for sale at the market!

You can buy live frogs too, which are apparently great for curries!

Thai temples always have the most beautifully intricate design.

The walls of a Thai temple

I had to stop to give some chin scratches to the temple cat!

Three little turtles, about to be set free in the Mekong River.

Mixed emotions after setting the birds free.

Feeding the pigeons!

CHIANG MAI - DAY 3

For our last day in Chiang Mai, Hunter and I signed up for a private cooking class with the head chef of the Anantara, where you get to choose what Thai dish you want to learn to make. This was definitely one of the best cooking classes I've experienced, being extremely hands-on, very sanitary, and starting off with a walk through the local market where you buy your fresh ingredients. The coconut milk was so fresh, we actually watched the coconut milk woman at the market make it right in front of us! We proceeded with the cooking class in the actual kitchen of the restaurant at the Anantara, where we learned the chef was originally from Bangkok, learning all he knows about cooking from his mom who has a street food stand. No wonder he was so damn good! We learned how to make chicken satay, tom kha gai, pad thai, and mango sticky rice, all of which were some of the best we'd had. Such a fun experience! We finished up by eating our lunch at a table overlooking the Mekong River, watching the pouring rain.

Fresh butterfly pea flowers at the market!

Fried bananas in a coconut caramel sauce. The chef couldn't resist and bought us some to taste- damn were they good!

Our cutting boards we got to keep after the cooking class!

If there's one thing we've learned while cooking in Thailand, its that we NEED a mortar and pestal!

Grinding up a mixture of spices and herbs which are the base for almost every Thai meal.

Our chicken satay and the base for our peanut sauce! So good!!

Chef adding a little extra palm sugar to the peanut sauce.

Peanut sauce! The finished product.

Taking the first bite of our chicken satay dipped in that peanut sauce. So freakin good!

Chef getting ready to drop some pad thai knowledge on our asses!

Adding peanuts to the pad thai!

ROAD TO CHIANG RAI

Grandma, be advised- you're not going to like what you're about to read.

Rather than sit in a car for 4 hours, Hunter and I decided to rent bikes and really make it an adventure- sorry mom!

This has got to be the absolute best way to get from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai! I can't say enough great things about our experience, but I'll try to keep it short so I don't bore you all to death. It took us about 9 hours to get from point A to point B, with several stops on the way. It honestly could have taken us a full 3 days, as there were so many amazing things to see that we didn't have time for- more on that later. Hunter rented a 300cc Honda Rebel, and I stuck with an easy little 150cc Honda scooter that still did the trick. We hit the road at about 7am, and it took me about thirty minutes and running into one moving car to figure out how to drive. After that, I was practically a pro.

The roads were smooth, drivers were respectful, and the wind in my hair felt so damn good. Our first stop was about 2 hours into the drive, in a tiny little town with some dogs, chickens, fruit stands, and a sign for coffee. We decided to order espressos, and were extremely surprised to find such a magical little hideaway in the back! Anyone could easily ride right past this place without thinking twice, and I am so glad we didn't! Check out the photos for more on that place!

Throughout these winding roads, surrounded by greenery and the occasional small town, were several amazingly gorgeous temples. We only stopped at a few because it would be near impossible to stop at them all, but they were each unique in their own ways. For lunch, we chose a place at random in a tiny town where there were no English words, nor did anyone speak the language. There was a woman with a mortar and pestle making papaya salad, which turned out to be insanely delicious and spicy, and something that I will forever crave. Hunter got some sort of spicy noodle soup by pointing at a photo, which was also freakishly delicious.

This adventure could not be beat. We bought some lychees from a woman on the side of the road, and they were the juiciest, sweetest lychees I've ever had. We saw several giant golden Buddhas and large stone monks. I drove past an extremely territorial dog that lunged at my bike and almost chomped my leg. We pulled over to the side of the road to look at the map on my phone, only to be surprised with two extremely adorable and playful puppies. These are the sort of things that you remember forever.

The final hour of our ride was in the pouring rain which, since it was warm and we are from Arizona, we didn't mind one bit. In fact, it made the end of our ride that much more memorable. We had a time limit, as we had to be at the Golden Triangle Pier at 4pm to return our bikes and head to the Four Seasons Tented Camp. If we had known how much there was to see on this ride, we would have given ourselves the span of a few days to really get the full experience! There were the obvious places which we could we have spent hours exploring-each little town we drove through, each side street, and each temple. There were also the not so obvious yet very intriguing distractions- a local man made pond surrounded by locals fishing, a sign leading to a waterfall, and another sign leading to a cave.

This ride is something I would definitely recommend, and has inspired me to do this in more places (again, sorry mom). Its truly a fantastic way to soak in your surroundings, essentially stopping to smell the roses everywhere you go.

Behind the bike

Hunter's ride

Gettin' gas! It's early.

Stoked about our first stop! There's a pomelo stand on the left, some chickens behind me in what might be someone's home, and the coffee shop to the right out of frame.

Always stop to pet the dogs!

And then, always remember to sanitize your hands!

The front of the coffee shop

The back patio of the coffee shop- such an amazing little spot!

We hiked down for a better view and check out the river.

And then we found this little coffee-drinking hut!

The lucious green views from the windy Thai roads.

Pit stop at a temple!

But first, I had to run across the street to buy some lychees from that little stand behind me!

Juicy lychees in this gorgeous temple garden.

The sign out front called this place Watpadhammaraksa.

Watpadhammaraksa

The noodle soup prep station at the restaurant where we had lunch!

Making the best spicy papaya salad!

I don't know if you can tell by the look on my face, but that papaya was the shit!

I'm drooling just thinking about it!

The outside of the restaurant. We'll be back!

One of the many giant golden Buddhas that we passed by.

Out on the open road. Such a good feeling!

When you pull over to check your map and find puppies!

Look at all that green! This was the view from the little place with the pups!

There also happened to be a swing set! I was pretty damn happy.

9 hours later and we've arrived at the Golden Triangle Pier! Soaking wet I might add! What an adventure!

CHIANG RAI - FOUR SEASONS TENTED CAMP

Hunter and I were lucky enough to spend 3 days at the Four Seasons Tented Camp near the Golden Triangle, in the northern tip of Chiang Rai, about an hour from the main city. This place was gorgeous! Our "tent" had the most amazing jungle themed decor, giant bathtub in the center of the room, and a hot tub on our deck overlooking fields of greenery and views of all three countries- Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. Every evening at around 3pm, a herd of water buffalo from somewhere in Myanmar would make their way to the Mekong river in front of our room and bathe for hours, splashing around and dunking under water. The staff were so hospitable, making sure they knew our names and creating an itinerary for us to get the most out of our stay with them. All meals were inclusive, breakfast involved two elephants begging to be fed bananas, and the set dinner menu changed each night. Such a cool place (aside from the vicious mosquitoes who don't seem to mind repellant)!

Our first activity at the camp was an elephant trek. We were given mohout suits (the uniforms that elephant trainers wear), taught a couple of phrases (Pai-forward, Ben-turn, How-stop), and introduced to our elephants. The elephants at the Four Seasons have all been rescued from various situations. One elephant that we'd met at breakfast had been brought to the Tented Camp after being hit by a car. My elephant for the day, Loog Aud, had been saved from working in poor conditions as a logging elephant. Hunter's temporary pal, Yuki, had been shipped to Japan as a baby to be in Coca Cola commercials. The cold weather was too severe for her, so she was shipped back and used to entertain tourists in the city's bar strip taking part in a cabaret show, until the Four Seasons got their hands on her. All of these elephants have such great personalities, and you can just tell how happy they are to be in such a safe, nice place. We were guided on our elephants through the jungle to the Mekong River, where we took them in and played around a bit. Yuki does this trick where she likes to suck water up into her trunk and the spray it onto your face! She is definitely the goofiest of the bunch!

Once we returned back to camp, our itinerary noted that we were scheduled for foraging followed by a cooking class. Hunter and I were so excited to go foraging around the camp, as we had already spotted so many edible things on our morning elephant trek! We met up with our guide, who proceeded to walk us 20 feet away from the concierge desk to their garden. There he pointed out the very obvious (mint, parsley, green onion, we know how to find these in a freakin garden!) and finished with a very unenthusiastic "um, that's it" before leading us to our surprise! A mostly planted tree for us to finish planting, in a garden of trees which have been planted by other visitors. SO FUNNY! This whole experience was too funny. The fact that they called it foraging and then including a grand finale of placing one shovel's worth of dirt on an already planted tree. I mean, the thought is nice, but come on! We were cracking up. From there we were led to our cooking class, which was held outside overlooking the garden and was shockingly an actual cooking class like the name suggested! Crazy! Here we made thai beef salad, a red curry, and a spicy tom yum soup. All were delicious.

The next morning called for a sunrise elephant trek with our favorite buddies! Unfortunately, Yuki was not a morning elephant and Loog Aud wasn't quite ready (she was having a slow morning-as we all sometimes do) so Hunter and I hopped on Poonlarp who was an early riser and ready to go! Poonlarp's history is a bit unknown, as she was found wandering the streets of central Thailand with her daughter, frightened and showing several signs of abuse. Both were saved and brought to the Tented Camp and are now happy, friendly, silly elephants! Poonlarp and her mahout brought us high up a hill to a beautiful viewing point, where Hunter and I were served coffee and a variety of fresh fruits with views of the jungles and the Mekong River. Loog Aud finally made her way up there, where she and Poonlarp proceeded to beg for bananas from us while we ate. We must have fed them 100 bananas each! Poonlarp was getting sick of this one banana at a time nonsense, so she began refusing to remove her trunk from in front of your face until you made sure she was stocked up with at least 5. As we finished our coffee and soaked in our surroundings, Loog Aud and Poonlarp wandered the jungle, finding plants to munch on and tossing dirt on their backs. When it was time to go, one simple name call from their mahouts was all it took for them to come happily stomping back over. We rode these two back to the bottom of the hill and down some stairs (I didn't know elephants could go downstairs either) to the pond where they are bathed each morning. Poonlarp noticed that we were heading towards the pond and, more importantly, that her best friend Yuki was in it, and charged (I use this word since elephants can't technically run) down the stairs, into the pond, and as close to Yuki as possible. Yuki was completely lateral in the water, enjoying getting hosed off by her mahout, but when she noticed Poonlarp she became equally excited to see her, making all sorts of happy sounds. It was adorable! Loog Aud was also very happy to be in the water with her friends, although she wasn't quite as enthusiastic about it. As soon as I was handed the hose, she stuck her trunk in my face, asking for water. After several trunkfuls and a good hose down, we said our goodbyes. We will definitely miss our large ladies!

After a good lunch and an even better bamboo stick massage, we met up with a tour guide to show us around a bit. We left by boat on the Mekong River, where our boat took us right to the center of the Golden Triangle with Thailand to our left, Myanmar in front of us, and Laos to our right. It was like a way cooler version of the four corners! From here we docked at the Golden Triangle Pier (still in Thailand) where we were taken to a local market. Our tour guide wouldn't let us buy anything because our hotel recommends we don't eat anything off property, but then he was buying all of this cool stuff for his own dinner! Like a bag of red ants to fry and salt and eat like peanuts! We wanted to try that! From the market we were taken to a couple of temples and to a Golden Triangle viewing point on top of a hill before heading back to the hotel on the boat. By the time we got back, the water buffalo were already enjoying themselves in the river next to where we needed to dock, so we really got to get a good look at them. We wrapped up our evening with some cards and a drink, watching the gorgeous sunset and gazing down on the water buffalo, still splashing around.