Where's Johnny Jet? Riding Elephants in Chiang Mai

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Sawatdee Khrab from Chiang Mai. This is the third and final installment of my incredible trip to Thailand and of course, I saved the best for last. My buddy Mike Manna and I travel from Bangkok to northern Thailand for some culture and soft adventure. If you're up for seeing a slew of temples, checking out one of the nicest hotels on earth, taking an elephant back ride and floating through the jungle to meet tribesmen then sit back, turn off your ringer and come with us to Chiang Mai. I promise: you won't be disappointed (especially after you see the prices of everything!)

Bangkok to Chiang Mai

The quickest way to travel the 468 miles (750 kilometers) from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is by plane. Six domestic and eight international carriers service the Chiang Mai International Airport, which just completed a $63 million expansion. Mike and I flew on one of Thai Airways' wide-body A300-600 planes. It didn't feature their usual individual monitors with a slew of entertainment options in the seat backs but it was only a 50-minute flight so no one really seemed to mind. Well, except for the parents with screaming children. I passed the time by chatting with the cool girl from New York City who was sitting next to me. She was traveling around the country for two weeks with a couple of her girlfriends. I always find it interesting to hear how people choose to spend their once a year vacations. Even with the short flight time, the flight attendants still managed to serve all 260 passengers a free meal and come around not once but twice with water, tea and coffee. How do you like that for service? FYI: If you prefer not to fly, you can also travel from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by car, train or bus but each option will take you a whole day.

Chiang Mai Tour Guide

The moment we exited baggage claim, I spotted our guide Chintana Suwawan from Window of Thailand (Tel: 66-53-275815; email: info@windowofthailand.com). It wasn't really that tough ... she was holding up a sign with my name on it. Parked curbside was a clean, comfortable van. The driver loaded our bags and we were off. Getting a guide in Chiang Mai is the way to go. The Thai tourist office recommended Chintana to us, as one of their best guides and they were right. She's outstanding. We had her for three full days and when you add in the cost of airport transfers, our driver and our lunches, it cost a total of $400. Is that crazy or what? We didn't have to rent a car, pay for gas or deal with directions. We simply told her what we wanted to do and she was always five minutes early, ready to lead the way. If you want to do it on your own here are some recommended tours for Chiang Mai that you can book in advance.

Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is located in Thailand's northern region about 140 miles (227 kilometers) from the Myanmar (formerly Burma) border (Here's a map). In Thai, the name Chiang Mai means "New City" but there's nothing new about it except for some of the construction. The city was founded in 1296 as the capital of the first independent Thai state, Lanna Thai. Translated, this means "Kingdom of One Million Rice Fields" and on the outskirts of the city, there are plenty of them. Due to Myanmar's proximity, there's a heavy Burmese influence on religion, architecture, language and cuisine here. Though I'm sure that being captured by the Burmese in 1556 and being occupied for 219 years until 1775, had a little something to do with it as well.

NOTE: Although the city of Chiang Mai is in the highlands, it's only 1,027 feet (310 meters) above sea level so it's not that high. Fortunately, I didn't have any trouble breathing.

Chiang Mai Population

I was taken aback by how built up Chiang Mai (city map) was; it was nothing like what I had imagined. I had envisioned a remote, green, tropical place with a few nice hotels sandwiched between elaborate temples. Nope. Not quite. The place is a booming city with traffic (though not as bad as Bangkok) and a population of over 150,000. The metropolitan area has over 700,000. The city isn't as nice or as cosmopolitan as Bangkok but it is special in many ways, which is why about three million passengers a year arrive at the airport.

Airport to Hotel

Our hotel was just 10 minutes from the airport in the heart of Chiang Mai. Getting there, we drove by the Old City, which is completely surrounded by a moat with some remains of a massive wall that were originally constructed for defense (they were restored in the 19th century). The main business and shopping area is located between the east side of the Old City and the Ping River and is about two thirds of a mile (one kilometer) long. This stretch is where the hotels, night bazaar, shops and restaurants are all situated.

FYI: The Ping River is a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River, which runs through the heart of Bangkok.

Shangri-La Hotel

When we pulled into the driveway of the brand new Shangri-La Hotel, I thought Chintana had made a mistake. This 281-room high-rise hotel in the center of town could not be the Shangri-La Hotel that I had pictured. Wrong again. But after walking into the lobby, I was okay with it. Immediately, the hotel's army of colorful, sharply dressed Thai staff greeted us. There weren't many guests in the hotel so at times, I felt like we were the only ones staying there. Just like all the other Shangri-La hotels, this was a five-star luxury hotel but designed as a "city resort". The hotel wasn't fully functional during my stay as they had just had a soft opening in December 2007, and were just finishing up construction.

My Room

A beautiful receptionist escorted us to the room, which was large with high ceilings, lots of natural light and a contemporary Northern Thai design. Dominating the center of the room was a swivel TV that could be watched from either the firm but comfortable bed or the living room. The side of the room with the beds featured soft, feminine colors, sleek wood paneling, Asian artwork and a sunny, floral silk bedspread. The living room portion was a bit sparse and uninteresting. The bathroom was nothing extravagant but it was spotless with a separate tub and shower. Other amenities include: a mini bar, laptop safe, fresh fruit and fine mini chocolates. I spent late nights using the working desk with wireless Internet: 214 baht ($6.75USD) for an hour or 642 baht ($20USD) for 24 hours. If you're a light sleeper, you might want to bring some ear plugs or better yet request a pool/garden view room to avoid hearing street traffic. Speaking of the pool, it's large with cabanas and nearby are the spa and fitness center all surrounded in a lush garden setting. Rack room rates begin at $270 but can be found cheaper on the Internet. Shangri-La Chiang Mai, 89/8 Chang Klan Road, Muang, Chiang Mai, 50100, Thailand; tel. 66 53/253 888.

Hotel Dining

Breakfast cost 585 baht (US$18.50) and was outstanding and extensive like all the major luxury chain hotels in Thailand. I can't list everything they offered but they did have made-to-order eggs/omelets, pancakes, the usual trimmings/toppings and a whole section of Asian options. I munched on a Belgian waffle with Nutella and then sampled four out of the five fruit juices. There were no other guests at breakfast and I mean none. But at dinner, it was like Grand Central Station. The place was completely packed with college kids and I asked what was going on, thinking they were having a special party. Instead, I learned that they were taking advantage of the special price. I guess to drum up some business, they were offering their incredible buffet with a variety of stations for just $10. Why couldn't breakfast be that cheap?

Night Market

One of the best attributes of the Shangri-La Hotel is its location. We didn't need to take a tuk-tuk or Santao, a red, open-air bus that's the most widely used mode of public transportation around here. Instead, we walked around and each night we perused the night market. It was just three blocks away between Tha Pae and Loi Kroa roads. It's open daily from 6pm to 11pm and doesn't have the crowds you find at Bangkok's Patpong night market. There are two parts to the market: indoor and outdoor. The indoor section has nicer shops with better quality goods while the outdoor section has the usual mini-stalls, selling everything from pirated DVDs and CDs to knockoff T-shirts and everything in between. The prices out there always start high; they are expecting you to bargain so name your price and if they say no, walk away. If the price you're offering is actually reasonable, they will cave in when you walk out. But if they do agree, it's customary to pay up. Aside from the Thai merchants, the majority of shoppers seemed to be either American or European.

Vegetable Market

More fascinating was the wholesale 24/7 vegetable and fruit market on Maungmai Road, where I checked out all kinds of cool and exotic fruits and vegetables. I didn't see any Westerners here. One hawker was selling a variety of fish, fried bugs (I had to pass since I'd just eaten lunch), but what was more shocking was that the apples and grapes had been imported from the good ole U.S. of A. Who knew? They also get them from China, along with garlic and shallots.

Textile and Handicraft Shopping

I'm not a big shopper so I admit that I didn't appreciate all of the handicraft and textile shops (selling everything from silver and bronze to silk and wood) that were listed as must-dos in Chiang Mai. These places are really just tourist traps unless you love to shop or are interested in seeing how each industry manufactures its goods. I did learn how silver utensils and jewelry boxes are created, how bronze statues are formed and all about the detail that goes into woodcarvings. The stores I liked best were the SA Umbrella Handicraft Centre and Shinawatra Thai Silk. At the former, you could buy paper umbrellas or fans for just 100 baht ($3USD). The silk store was upscale with prices and quality of goods similar to Jim Thompson's in Bangkok.

Temples

One of the main reasons people come up to Northern Thailand is to see its temples, called "wats" in Thai. In Chiang Mai alone, there are over 300 Buddhist temples; there are 1,300 in the whole province. The most important are within the walls of the Old City and our first stop was Wat Phra Singh. The compound was built in 1345 and is one of the more respected shrines in the city. There's a 14th-century library with four separate elevated roofs. Inside are sculptural devata (Buddhist spirits) figures. Next-door is a 200-year-old Gilded Hall (Lai Kham) with frescoes illustrating the stories of the Golden Prince (Sang Thong).

Wat Chedi Luang

A short drive away is Wat Chedi Luang. It's one of the coolest temples and at one time, it was the most important as it housed the Emerald Buddha (now in Bangkok's Grand Palace). It was built about 600 years ago and a good portion of it was destroyed either by a 17th century earthquake or by King Taksin's cannon to chase out the Burmese in the 18th century. Also on the property, be sure to check out the Reclining Buddha.

Monk Chat

Next to Wat Chedi Luang is The Mahamakut Buddhist University. Taking advantage of all the tourists, a Monk Chat was set up so that the monks could practice their English. But this quickly became quite popular and now you can do this every day between 1pm and 6:30pm. When I was there, all four tables were taken by tourists (three Americans, one Italian). But when I eventually got to speak with a monk, I learned all about their daily lives. I learned that their goal is to teach people about Karma. They have to follow 227 rules and the one I found most astonishing was that women cannot touch monks and vice versa. Even the monk's mother cannot touch her own son. If she wants to give him something, she has to put it on a table for him to take. Most of the people here are novices, from seven to 20 years old. This is because in Thai society most Buddhist males are expected to spend at least two weeks of their lives in the monkhood to show their devotion to the religion. About 90% of Thailand's 65 million people are Buddhist. NOTE: Even a few Americans have become monks.

Feeding the Monks

One of the things Mike and I learned from the monk chat is that if people don't feed the monks, they don't eat. So we asked Chintana how we could feed them. She explained that we would have to get up really early and leave at 6am before the sun comes up. Not a problem. Our first stop was at a bustling market to pick up hot food. We bought enough food to feed 20 monks and then drove to a popular place near the university, where people feed the monks on their daily barefoot trek into town to get food. Because it was still dark out, everyone was dressed as a monk and I was handing out food, I felt like it was Halloween. But instead of saying "trick or treat" it was something like "Nimaho". This phrase made them to stop their trek and open their food holders. They were in such deep thought that it was almost like they were drugged, though obviously they weren't. After we put food in their bowl, they blessed us, while we were on our knees. This was definitely one of the trip highlights.

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep

The most famous temple in the area is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. It's about a nine-mile (15 kilometer), 30-minute drive up the mountain to the northwest of the city. The temple dates back to 1383 and to get to the top, you either have to walk up the 309 steps (it takes five minutes) or take a funicular. The views from the top alone are worth the journey but there's so much more, too. The highlight for me was being blessed by a monk. Then, for good luck, he tied a string around my wrist. It was like kite string wrapped 10 or more times. It was only supposed to last two to three weeks but it's been longer than that and it is still hanging on strong. You can't cut it because it's bad luck, so now I'm walking around town with the bracelet that doesn't really go with my outfit. But I've gotta tell you: it's starting to grow on me.

Dining

There are a ton of places to eat in Chiang Mai. Some notable places: JJ Coffee Shop and Bakery (Location: Thapae Gate, Chiang Mai, The Old City, Tel: 05323-4007). I thought Chintana had only brought us here because it shared my initials but really, it was because it's like an American diner with international cuisine. If you're homesick for American food, you can come here instead of going to one of the greasy fast food chains. Also, just 10 minutes from the hotel is the Gallery Restaurant (25-29 Charoenrat Rd, Tel: 05324-8601-1). It's right on the Ping River and has an outdoor patio and serves incredible food. It's so good, Hilary Clinton dined here in 1996. I had the best pomelo salad with lemongrass, peppers and eggplant. But it was spicy and my mouth was on fire. I learned a new method for cooling down: a swig of hot tea and raw sugar. It did the trick. For dessert, I had a favorite ... sticky rice with sweet fresh mango. Yum!

Le Grand Lanna Thai

I had the privilege of dining at Chiang Mai's most opulent traditional Thai restaurant. A 10-minute drive to the outskirts of town is Le Grand Lanna Thai. It's built like a traditional teak Thai house but spread out on various pavilions and open-deck areas. It's surrounded by fauna and banyan trees so bring your bug repellent. But the food and setting are not to be missed.

Mandarin Oriental

Next door to Lanna Thai is the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi. I'd heard how spectacular the hotel was supposed to be so I arranged for a tour. Wow. I wasn't expecting to be so blown away. It's spread over 60 acres of natural landscapes (paddy fields and exotic plantations), in a cultural museum dedicated to the Lanna kingdom. It is seriously the nicest hotel I have ever laid eyes upon (it's just three years old), and they offer a variety of accommodations from suites, villas and residences that are all very private and have architectural tributes to the ancient kingdom. You would think that rooms here would cost between $900 and $1400 a night but that's not the case -- prices start at $320. I also took a quick tour of the other top hotel in Chiang Mai. The Four Seasons (about 30 minutes away) was nice but didn't compare to the Mandarin Oriental. Then again I didn't stay at either property so I don't know for sure.

Elephant Ride

Who would ever have thought that I would go on my second ever elephant back ride in a period of two months? This trip was completely different from the elephant back safari in South Africa. First of all, there weren't any wild animals to spot. Secondly, the guide didn't have a gun and thirdly, I wasn't riding on a saddle but a chair.

Asian Elephant

In South Africa, I was told that Asian elephants are much smaller. They sure are ... they're about half the weight. In Thailand, I was told that the Asian elephant is smarter than the African elephant and after watching them demonstrate their traditional logging skills, I tend to agree. (Elephants can carry 1,000lbs and pull a ton.) It turns out that there are supposedly 3,000 domesticated elephants in Thailand and about 1,000 wild. The domesticated Asian elephants have been working alongside men since the early history of the country and these gentle giants are an important symbol of the kingdom. The caretaker is called a Mahout, which is an Indian name.

Chiang Dao Elephant Camp

In and around Chiang Mai, there are a total of fourteen elephant camps and some don't have the best reputation (i.e. animal abuse) so choose wisely. We drove an hour from the hotel to the Chiang Dao Elephant Camp, which is where the best hotels send their guests. It's visible from the road but to get to the actual camp requires walking over a long wooden suspension bridge. Most people get there for the 10am elephant demonstration and bath but to avoid the crowd, I recommend arriving right when they open at 8am. Do the ride, then watch the 30-minute show, then feed the animals and then go on the float trip.

The Ride

When I first got on my elephant and sat in the chair (with a seatbelt, no less!), it didn't feel all that stable. We were walking along some pretty narrow paths and I thought that if this guy loses his balance, I'm cooked. It would suck to be squashed by an elephant. These guys eat 500lbs of food a day (they like bananas and sugar cane) and they drink about 60 gallons of water. But they have a bladder smaller than a dog's ... huh? I also learned that male Asian elephants have tusks and they have 40,000 muscles in their trunk. The elephant's pace on this tour is very slow but bear in mind, they can run up to 25 miles (40 kilometers) an hour. The elephant ride costs only 1,000 baht ($32USD) but your guide, if you have one, typically pays the fee. The highlight for me was when the elephant took a right turn and walked through the center of the Ping River for about 15 minutes. Cool doesn't even begin to describe it!

Lisu Hilltribe Village

We took the elephant ride for about 50 minutes up to the Lisu Hilltribe village. I actually thought it was the end of the line and that we were back where we started but that obviously wasn't the case. We were just halfway. The village was quiet since it was so early. I used a restroom then watched a woman cook breakfast for her baby in her one-door house; houses never have more than one door. After I bought some homemade goods from the souvenir tables, I jumped back on the elephant. The Hilltribe people migrated south from China over 100 years ago and are now in Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. There are six major tribes: The Karen, The Hmong, The Yao, The Akha, The Lahu and The Lisu. The main profession of all these tribes is farming and each tribe has their own culture, religion, language, art and dress. The Lisu tribe like to settle near the tops of mountains and as close as possible to streams. Supposedly, The Lisu are the best looking people, which is why they are the least bashful and is perhaps why the camps choose their village over the others.

Float Down the Ping River

After the elephant ride, the majority of folks go on a private gentle float (cost is 500 baht) down the Ping River. It's so slow and popular, it's almost like Disneyland, so it's important to get there early to avoid the crowds. Even with a float in front of me and behind, it was still very relaxing. We just sat back and enjoyed the natural sights. We spotted a Kingfisher. The raft is long, probably 20 feet, and is made from bamboo; it's doubled up so you don't get wet. Our captain didn't speak English but that was okay. We had Chintana and there wasn't much to say, anyways. I could tell he was cool though. Just his facial expressions and the huge spliff of whatever he was smoking, said it all. He then handed me a bamboo reed so I could steer. When Mike took over, he started singing like he was in Venice. Man, you can take boy out of Italy but you can't take Italy out of the boy. BTW: The water is shallow, only about four feet deep, but in September during the rainy season, it's six feet higher. In the old days, this is how people would get to Bangkok but it took them three months. Yikes!

When to Go

What's nice about Chiang Mai weather is that there isn't the high humidity that you'll find in Bangkok. It's also dryer here. The best time to go is between mid-November and January when the average temperatures range between 56 degrees Fahrenheit and 83 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius). Up in the hills gets even colder so bring a sweater. The hot season is considered March to May when the temperatures range between 63 degrees Fahrenheit and 97 degrees Fahrenheit (17 degrees Celsius and 36 degrees Celsius). The wet season is mid-June to November but the rainiest period is during August and September.

Note: This trip was sponsored in part by Tourism Authority of Thailand.

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