Northern Thailand is just beautiful, in a different way than southern Thailand. Its all jungle. Lush, beautiful, eerie jungle. Chiang Mai is like the central hub of the north. There are tons of stuff to see and outdoor adventures to experience.
One of the main things to do is visit Doi Suthep, a famous temple on top of a mountain. You can take a taxi to the bottom of the steps and hike to the top. It was a little misty and foggy the day I went which made for a very mystical setting.
There are also a ton of temples around Chiang Mai, especially in Old Town that you can walk to. The one below is the most visited temple in the area and was awesome to see. The architectural design of these temples are simple beautiful!
Another popular activity to do is see the Elephants. There are several companies with day trips to the elephant training facilities and after some research I found a great one with Chiang Dao tours. It started off with a visit to the Long Neck Karen tribe in the area where the women wear these copper wire necklaces that elongate your neck. And elongate there necks they did! Crazy to see and a little creepy.
Next we went to visit the elephant training center. Definitely my favorite part of the day. It is so amazing how smart these animals are! First you get to see the elephants up close and feed them. Then you watch them bathe with their trainers in the river (very cool!) and then on to the show. The trainers demonstrate how the elephants pull logs in the forest and stack them. They also performed a variety of tricks from bowing to putting hats on their trainers heads to finally, and my favorite, PAINTING! The elephant actually painted a picture.. it was crazy!! The trainers handed the elephants the paint brushes and they painted a picture of a tree. It was utterly shocking! And might I say, the elephant was a pretty fine artist :)
And now for the 90 minute elephant ride! Something I have always wanted to do, and it didn't disappoint. We rode through the jungle, over streams, under the green canopy and climbing over rocks. It was an incredible experience.
Lastly after a wonderful lunch at the foot of a beautiful mountain, we went bamboo rafting down a river. It was pretty peaceful most of the ride... we just got to enjoy the ride and take in the scenery. There were the occasional rapids and it ended with a section that definitely got my heart rate up and.. not gonna lie... was a little frightened the raft was going to fall apart.
All in all it was a great day! We got to do and see several highlights that Chiang Mai has to offer. I would definitely recommend this day trip to anyone who visits the area.
Chiang Mai also has the best place to buy souvenirs in the country... the Night Bazaar. I spent two night strolling through the Night Bazaar and still didn't see all of it. Hundreds.... even thousands of merchants come here to sell their goods. For a backpacker it is a shopping haven. Filled with hand crafts, parachute pants, and little gadgets, it is the perfect place to pick up your token from Thailand!
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