After shedding some luggage and saying our goodbyes to the fam, Kristin and I headed North to the upper reaches of Thailand, near the Laos and Myanmar boarder. With just a week left in our trip, we decided to check out the mountain city of Chiang Mai and village of Pai. Though both are incredibly touristy places, they ended up being pretty charming in their own rights.
Our timing for Chiang Mai just happened to fall during the tail end of Yi Peng, which is the beautiful festival where Thai nationals and tourists alike light khom fai lanterns and float them to the sky by the thousands. We missed the opening and largest night of this festival by two days but were able to spend some time on the Ping river setting our khom fais to the sky while locals blasted fireworks all around us. The Yi Peng lanterns dotting the sky is something unexplainable – it's almost like having front row seats to a living, breathing milky way.
While in Chiang Mai we also spent a day scooting around to some sights and up a good portion of Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand, to the beautiful Wat Pharthat Doi. We had one very touristy but fun day playing with elephants at one of the camps, walking through the Padung village of displaced Burmese 'longnecks,' and capped the day off rolling around with tigers of all sizes at the Tiger Kingdom. Though our time in Chiang Mai was fairly brief, we definitely got a good sense of the place and its great, tourist-friendly vibe.
After an incredibly windy and torturous drive up, over and around 700+ switchbacks we arrived at the tiny, crunchy town of Pai. I don't think I've ever seen any place cater to tourism quite like this town. In essence it is a town fully supported by visitors. So, while the Thai cultural experience is somewhat diminished here, it does feel a bit like a town of the globe with all sorts of accents and languages from every bar, vegan restaurant and food cart scattered through the few blocks of 'downtown.' The town comes alive after dark where food carts and craft stands of all sorts line the two major streets in town. For our time in the area, we got a nice little scooter to have our own wheels, so we could check the sights out – which was also good since we opted to stay at the Pai Treehouse which was a few clicks out of town. Aside from massage, meditation and yoga, the area seems best known for its natural surroundings which we took in as well, visiting the Pai canyon, the gorgeous Pembok waterfall and soothing Pai hot springs.
700 odd switchbacks, a night in Chiang Mai, a flight and night in Bangkok and we are now en route home on what feels like days of travel to get back from the Northern reaches of Thailand. Would have been great to get into Laos and the surrounding countries, but we'll have to save that area for another trip, as more adventure is coming up closer to home. Though I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel in this amazing year on the road.
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| Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai Old City |
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| With some pretty stunning Buddhas inside |
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| The incredibly shiny Wat Pharthat Doi up on the hill |
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| Bells bring good luck |
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| The wats are adorned with all sorts of sculptures |
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| People put gold on the Buddhas for good luck |
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| Street vendor getting ready for the Yi Peng parade |
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| Viewers on the sidewalk watching the parade |
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| Ornate floats pass by in the streets |
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| Some are motorized and others are moved more traditionally |
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| During a more creepy moment of the parade – this child sitting atop a dancing horse |
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| Beautiful young girl on a float |
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| K & I find some super tasty street food |
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| And then the rains came – we now fully appreciate the saying 'don't rain on my parade' |
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| We ducked into a little pizza place and were lucky enough to meet a very cool French family, traveling the world for six months – here Kristin with Camille |
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| The wet yuk tuk ride home – no idea how these guys see through the windscreens |
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| In Chiang Mai there are a few SF similarities – like hipster coffee houses |
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| With just amazing coffee |
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| We visited more than one... |
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| Kristin all suited up for a day on the scoot-scoot |
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| This is a $7 waterfall |
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| K & me at a waterfall on the way up Doi Inthanon |
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| Once night falls the Yi Peng festivities are on |
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| These ladies are ready to float their loi krathongs in the Ping river |
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| A man making a wish on his loi krathong |
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| Kristin getting our lanna sky lantern ready for flight |
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| A local helps K get our lantern off the ground on the banks of the Ping |
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| Ready for flight |
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| And up in the air |
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| Other visitors join in to fly their lanterns |
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| Some are not as successful as others |
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| At Mae Jo, many lanterns take off towards the sky |
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| A lantern joins the masses |
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| Kristin about to let go of ours |
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| And it's off |
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| Quite the celebration out at Mae Jo |
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| A beautiful sight as thousands of lanterns float skyward |
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| On our uber touristy day, we head to an elephant camp |
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| And find the trainers in the river washing their elephants |
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| Some are more independent than others |
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| K getting friendly with this big guy |
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| During a demonstration show they show us a few tricks |
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| After the show, Kristin goes airborne |
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| And then we go for our elephant ride |
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| Over the river and through the forest |
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| Followed by a ride through the fields on an ox cart |
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| Ox waiting for their turn to work |
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| Elephant selfie – this young elephant snapped his own photo as he grabbed my camera from my hands and flung it 20' over his shoulder |
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| K and I on the river, Huck-Fin style |
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| Kristin is not good at just sitting back and relaxing |
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| Afternoon visit to the Padong village |
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| Kristin proved to be a much better shot than me with this mans crossbow |
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| Beautiful young Padong lady |
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| Kids in the village playing with some handmade toys |
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| Happy Padong children |
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| These little ones were feisty |
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| Old traditions meet new styles |
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| This woman attempted to teach me a few chords |
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| Evening visit to the Tiger Kingdom |
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| Where we got to pet and play with tigers of all sizes |
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| This cute one just 6 weeks old |
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| Kristin tried to stuff this one in her bag |
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| These guys a little bigger and playing hard |
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| Me with a few 'teenagers' – 10 month tigers |
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| We did not get in the pen with this sleeping giant |
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| Waiting our turn to play with the big cats |
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| Like this 500lb, 16 month beast |
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| Near feeding time they tend to get a little riled up |
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| Kristin nabs a pet between bouts in the pool |
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| And I find a more relaxed tiger |
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| 6:00 is feeding time, and Kristin pitches in to help stuff chicken carcass' in the cages |
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| Here a youngster chows down |
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| All packed up in the mini-bus for Pai |
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| We find spare car parts under the seat – we hope not to need these replacement brake pads |
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| In Pai, we chill out with some doms on the Pai River |
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| Getting close to the edge at Pai Canyon |
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| Kristin opts for safety and keeps her helmet on |
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| We were lucky enough to beat the crowds and find Pembok waterfall all to ourselves |
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| To play under |
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| And jump off |
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| Monks and locals go to Pai Hot-springs and actually boil eggs in the headwaters |
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| I opt for the more moderate 37C pool |
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| And Kristin finds a soothing cooler pool |
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| More doms with our favorite libation from Thailand |
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| Back in Chiang Mai we cruise the Saturday street market |
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| After a few of those Changs I decide to go for one of the street cart specialties – a decision I will later regret |
