It was good we kept our legs fresh that day, because our second city adventures began practically the moment we touched down in Chiang Mai. The airport was tiny but welcoming, and our driver was the consummate jokester. “You are here, my VIPs! Come, come, your extra special ride is right this way!” Our extra special ride was a well-loved khaki-colored van with dated advertisements and colorful, intricate decor on the ceiling. We arrived at the hotel, threw our bags into our rooms, and turned back around to await our transport to the cooking class.
I can’t recommend Scenic Asia cooking school enough. Our apron-clad hosts were friendly, relaxed and flexible. They had set up everything in advance to make it easy for adults and kids, with separate stations ready to go and extra helpers on hand to prevent missteps. The only others in our group were two friends, Margot and Morgan, who were a pair of delightful Belgians on a girl’s trip.
We started out by walking to a local market for vegetables, then picking herbs straight from the garden in the back of the cooking school. Once we returned, class was broken up into five courses—yes, five! A starter (for me, som tum), a fried rice dish (khao pad krapow), a soup (tom kha gai), a curry noodle dish (khao soi), and a dessert (the famed mango sticky rice!).
None of us made the same menu, however, as we had at least three choices for each course. I have to give our guide and his many helpers a huge thank you. You would not know that we were all making multiple different courses, as it was so well organized.
The food was DIVINE. The depth of flavor is next-level delectable when you’re eating something where it was grown, where it is the taste of HOME. In Thailand, I fell in love with tom kha gai. I’ve had coconut soup many many times from local Thai restaurants, and I was under the impression that it was basically tom yum soup with coconut milk added to it. Turns out I’ve been wrong for decades. While it does use many of the same ingredients, it’s a completely different dish. I could have gulped the broth like wine had I been given the chance. My tongue was swimming in flavorful spices and herbs. What an incredible start to experiencing Chiang Mai, which became my favorite stop in the Land of Smiles.
The next day was one that I will probably be retelling for a lifetime. We awoke early, slipped on our water sandals and bathing suits, and prepared for a day spent amongst massive trees, a rushing river, and elephants!
A bumpy, steep ride to the mountains took us to a gorgeous elephant sanctuary run by a small indigenous tribe. Our guide, Sam, greeted us with a big smile and quickly led us onto a path to his village. He taught us a few words in the local dialect so we could say hello to the local granny selling trinkets. Then onto the main event.
The touch of an elephant’s skin surprised me. Spiky short hair covers them like long astro turf. Their eyelashes are made of dreams, and they are so incredibly playful and smart! We got to feed them lunch and their medicine, a fibrous ball of herbs mashed together with banana and rye grain, and take lots of pictures with them. One of the elephants, Maithong, and I…well, I’m pretty sure we drank in the wisdom of each other’s souls while I fed her sugar cane and her medicine ball. Her eyes were infinite, her strong body a testament to years of a life I could never understand. In Thailand, elephants are endangered because of mass deforestation, so instead of running wild and happy, they must be protected at places such as Chai Lai Orchid Elephant Sanctuary. Though Chai Lai is not a wild existence, the 22 rescued elephants here are cared for with love, companionship, and respect.
Afterwards, Sam took us to the river where we took a bamboo raft over some rapids. It was gorgeous, like out of a dream—until Chrissy’s daughter, B, got bumped overboard by a big rapid and my auntie instinct kicked in! I starfished out on the raft and held on tight until we could get her back on. It was a truly terrifying few seconds, but B was a pro and shook it off quickly.
Back on land we watched Sam and N cook our lunch over an open fire that they built themselves, and ate it overlooking the river. Suddenly, we saw familiar faces – Margot and Morgan from cooking class were on the same tour with a different group! We all laughed and smiled at what a small world it is. After cleaning up lunch, we walked over some bamboo bridges to a huge waterfall, splashed with the elephants in the afternoon sun, and passed out hard in the van when it was time to go.
After a good night of rest, we were prepared for a long day of temple tours. Lots of magnificent art and history. Our guide was really nice and we instantly connected over the fact that he got his hospitality degree in the Pacific Northwest! What are the chances!?! Small world strikes again.
Which brings us to the last leg. At this point, the Thompson effect had finally kicked in and I was waking up without an alarm at the crack of dawn, which gave me the perfect opening to sit and reflect on everything that Chiang Mai had given me. The connections, the food, the laughs, the emotions I felt. What a beautiful city. I was so blessed to experience Chiang Mai, but it was time for Krabi.
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