Thursday, March 2 – Sunday, March 5
The day we flew from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was Lucas’ 33rd birthday! There wasn’t time to do anything but travel but when we entered the hotel lobby everyone sang Happy Birthday to Lucas. When we arrived at the hotel the welcome crew was passing out virgin mojitos (our favorite drink) served inside a hollowed out coconut. We’ll pretend it was a party for Lucas 🙂 We opted for a late dinner with friends so Lucas could take a power nap first.
On our first of two days in Chiang Mai, we visited a tea farm, picked green tea leaves, learned how tea is made, and had a delicious lunch in the serene farm. It turns out neither Lucas or I like green tea but we still loved the experience. After a hustle bustle non stop going experience in Bangkok it was to nice to relax during the peaceful farm visit.
After the tea farm we drove to property where people go to ride elephants and we walked to the river. We got to float on bamboo rafts down a small section of the river. Also a very peaceful experience. However, this was one of 2 places where elephants are available for rides and performances. It was sad to see so many elephants with their legs chained together. The baby elephant playing in the mud was super cute to watch while we floated by on the river.
Day 2 in Chiang Mai we purposely didn’t book any activities because we wanted a day to wonder without a set schedule. After breakfast we rode a tuk tuk to a short hike up to a monk monastery that felt hidden in the jungle. It was much more beautiful (in my opinion) than the other temples we had been to because it was less ornamental and felt more natural, simple, and calm. From there we took a “red truck” taxi to old town Chiang Mai where we walked around a few temples and shops, got lunch at a Michelin star restaurant (Ginger Farm Kitchen), and took a nap at the hotel before going back out to the night market with friends.
Day 3 was another travel day. The only thing we had time for was packing our bags, breakfast, and a foot massage down the street from the hotel. Then we rode a bus > plane > bus and ended up in Phuket.
