And it was! EVERYWHERE and EVERYTHING we did in Chiang Mai was a cultural experience.
Cooking -
We did a half-day cooking class with Asian Scenic. At which we learned a little about Thai ingredients and traditional markets before we got down to business in the kitchen!
I am no cook. I did try my hand at some Korean cooking when I first got here, but my kitchen skills really stop at boiling pasta and grilling a chicken breast. So I was nervous. Making Thai food, in a large group, off of instructions that were sort of/kind of shouted at you in a rapid manner. Go! Make tasty food that you will have to eat! Ahhhh...
However, it turned out good! I made a delicious mini feast for myself, that I thoroughly enjoyed!!
- First course - Pad See uw stir fry
- Second course - Khaw Soi curry
- Dessert - Fried Bananas
While I won't say I took away great cooking skills or techniques, I did have a great time and would highly recommend Asian Scenic to anyone passing through CM that has a desire to cook.
Hill Tribe Trek-
Worthless. Ok, that's a bit harsh. It wasn't worthless, it was exploited. SUPER exploited. But then that's me off on my wild and crazy expectations again. What did I expect to find? Did I think I was going to be equipped with exploration gear, cutting down tree branches, trekking through the wild jungle, discovering a population of people that the world had never seen before?! No. I'd be dumb to think that. Especially, since I paid to be apart of a group that got driven around on this "trek". I did expect it to be a bit more National Geographic and not Ripley's Believe it or Not though.
We were told some interesting information from our guide, which at the time I thought was very insight and have now completely forgotten. Oops. But the women of the Long Neck and Big Ear tribes were beautifully adorned in traditional garments and accessories. I just wish they hadn't been trying to sell me stuff the whole time. But again... wild and crazy expectations.
The Hill Tribes (Karen, Ahka, Palong and Lisu) we got to see were a bit more real, more believable, but to their disadvantage they were living normal lives and therefore were a bit dull in comparison to the flashier women of Long Neck and Big Ear. Uh cruel world! Had I only had my priorities right I would have paid more attention!
In addition to seeing various tribes of Northern Thailand, the tour price also included a trip to an Orchid and Butterfly farm. Why not! We didn't see any butterflies, but the orchids were beautiful and a great backdrop to take some glamour shots...
Elephants -
OMfreakkkkkkkkkkkkkkingG
Unbelievable. Amazing. Fantastic. Wonderful. Inspiring.
Take any ONE of those words, look it up in a Thesaurus, don't stop until you've spent the entire day coming up with more words that continues the above expressions and then you'll have a small understanding of how INSANELY INCREDIBLE Patara Elephant Farm was/is!
The only bad part is, I feel as if I do Patara an injustice when I talk about it. In fact, I find I can't talk about it. It should be an easy question to answer - "What made it so great?". But my words are so small, so short in coming close to the experience we had there. I spent a day fully engaged with an elephant! She was in my care and I was in her's! It was... uhhhhhh!!! I know no words that can translate the experience I got from it!
All I can say is that it is one of the top moments of my life.
Muay Thai boxing -
Not really my thing, but still neat to see. There was a lot of pre-fight dancing, some flying kicks, wild swings aimed in the general location of the opponent's head, and then fight-over-someone-won. I don't know. I did learn one thing. I should never, EVER place bets on sporting events. I lost every time!!
Now do you understand why I love elephants so much?!
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