Travel Title: Celebrating Our 1st Wedding Anniversary in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
When: Jan 2016
About The Trip:
Purpose: Celebrating Our 1st Wedding Anniversary in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Days/Nights: 4 Days 3 Nights
Arrangements: Travel Agent / Self-guided Tour
Route: Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA – Chiang Mai THAILAND (3 nights) – Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA
Traveling Method & Time:
Kuala Lumpur – Chiang Mai = aeroplane (≈ 2 hours 45 mins)
Around Chiang Mai = taxis & tuk-tuk
Chiang Mai – Mae Taeng = taxi (≈ 1 hour)
Mae Taeng – Chiang Mai = taxi (≈ 1 hour)
Chiang Mai – Kuala Lumpur = aeroplane (≈ 2 hours 45 mins)
Details:
Chiang Mai (or sometimes written as Chieng Mai) is the largest and most culturally significant city in Northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province and was a former capital of the Kingdom of Lan Na from 1296–1768. It sits astride the Ping River, a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River and is situated amongst the highest mountains in the country, approximately 700km north of Bangkok.
In Thai language, Chiang Mai means “new city”. It was so named because it became the new capital of the Lan Na kingdom when it was founded in 1296 by King Mengrai, succeeding Chiang Rai, the former capital founded in 1262.
The city was surrounded by a moat and a defensive wall since nearby Burma was a constant threat, as were the armies of the Mongol Empire. With the decline of the Lan Na Kingdom, the city lost importance and was occupied by the Burmese in 1556. However, the Burmese occupation was short-lived, as the Thai King Taksin managed drive out the Burmese in 1775 and the city formally became part of Siam again by an agreement with Chao Kavila, the eldest son of Prince Chai Kaew of Lampang in 1742. He grew up to become its ruler and then joined forces with the ruler of Chiang Mai, Prince Chaban and Taksin in Thonburi to wage war to remove the Burmese from Upper Northern Thailand.
After regaining Chiang Mai from the Burmese, the city slowly grew in cultural, trading, and economic importance to its current status as the unofficial capital of Northern Thailand, second in importance only to Bangkok.
Chiang Mai has a tropical wet and dry climate. Chiang Mai weather is divided into 3 seasons – Hot, Rainy and Cold. The Hot Season is from the beginning of March until mid May, the Rainy Season is from May to October and the Cold Season is from November to February. Its Cold Season is usually dry but this didn’t happen when we were there last January for our 1st wedding anniversary. It was 11 degree Celsius and it rained all the time.
But it did not spoil our holiday. Nope, not at all. We did go out to see the city. So, here are the things we saw and did in Chiang Mai.
Day 1:
The day was all about our 1st wedding anniversary celebration. We reached Chiang Mai International Airport at about 8:30 am and headed straight to our hotel, Rati Lanna Riverside Spa Resort, located about 15 mins drive from the airport. It was sunny with temperature about 20 deg Celsius. We stayed indoors the whole time.
At 5:00 pm, both of us were ready for our special dinner arranged beautifully by the hotel staff. Of course, that came as an extra charge of RM800 per couple to the bill. But we didn’t mind, in fact, we loved doing this. It happens once a year, so why heaven should we mind!
The dinner started at 5:00 pm with the 30-minute sunset cruise along Ping River and some appetizers on the boat. Subsequently, we adjourned to the hotel’s terrace for the main course.
Moments after we were seated, we were served authentic Thai cuisines and … wow, the food was simply awesome! And the desserts, yummy! And there’s a pianist and a female singer at one corner of the lounge, serenading us with some beautiful love songs.
Done with dinner, we went back to our room, to enjoy some hot bath together in the bathtub filled with red rose petals.
Oh, what a lovely evening! Even though it was drizzling outside, but still we truly had a great romantic time together.
Day 2:
We woke up early the next morning and quickly had our breakfast. After we had finished eating, we went straight to the lobby and saw our driver, Mr Tong, was already waiting for us, the same taxi driver who fetched us up from the airport. For a one-day tour around Chiang Mai for just THB800 (approx. MYR100) for two, I must say that was quite a good deal and that was what he offered us. And we actually contacted him after the dinner last night to confirm and sorta ‘seal the deal’. You can contact him at +66835737798.
The first place we decided to go see was the famous Mae Taeng Elephant Park. Actually, there were so many elephant parks around Chiang Mai, but we chose Mae Taeng as it was recommended by Mr Tong. The rain had not stopped since last night and the temperature dropped from 20 deg Celsius to 11 deg Celsius. Brrrr…. Damn, it was so cold and we did not bring our jackets. So you can imagine the torment we had to go through.
The drive to Mae Taeng Elephant Park took about 45 minutes from our hotel. But the road was okay with less traffic all the way. Upon reaching the place, we went to the ticket counter and paid THB1950 per person for a package inclusive of entrance to the elephant show, elephant riding, entrance to the Mae Taeng Hill Tribes Village, ox cart riding and a full buffet lunch. They serve halal food here for Muslims, so all you need is to request for it. The package was exclusive of the rafting trip down the river. Time taken to complete doing all that stuff was 4 hours.
This will be my last time doing the elephant riding and ox cart riding. It’s just too painful to me to see those animals being worked out so much like that to help the sanctuary earn some money. It is just not right, close to cruelty. Sanctuaries are meant to be homes for the ‘homeless’ animals as their homes were taken away from them to give way to the economic development in the country. They’re not there to entertain humans. But nevertheless, we bought a painting drawn by an elephant named Suda, just a small deed to help the sanctuary raise funds. Well, I don’t know. Still feeling so guilty inside.
Located not far from the elephant park, is the Mae Taeng Hill Tribe Village. Women of the Kayan Lahwi tribe, also known as Padaung (sub-group of Karen tribe), are well known for wearing neck rings or brass coils that are placed around the neck, appearing to lengthen it. The women wearing these coils are known as ‘giraffe women’ to tourists. According to the Kayan women, they acknowledge these ideas and often say that their purpose for wearing the rings is cultural identity, associated with beauty. Mae Taeng is one of the many Long Neck “villages” in Thailand, set up for tourists and these villages are not neccessarily managed by the Padaung people themselves.
After the visit to the hill tribe village, we adjourned to the bullock-carts area. Oh man, do we really have to do this? Poor animals! But pejam mata, naik aje la… after this, no more bullock-cart riding in my life. This would be the last.
Please, please, people… I suggest you to not opt for any sort of animal ride, it’s cruelty! I can never be able to combat that guilty feeling I’m still having inside until now.
Once done with all the activities, it’s time for a breather and lunch. They served halal food here for Muslim, so.. ‘yay’ (like I care! *rolls eyes*).
We still have some time to waste so we chose to visit the Saa Paper & Handicraft Center located not far from Chiang Mai city. So, it’s another 45 minute drive back to the city and to the handicraft center from the elephant park. The center is located at 99/16 Baan Nongkong, Sankampaeng Rd., Chiang Mai, Thailand and it was comprised of a shop a factory that manufactured handmade stuff like paper umbrellas, paper hand fans, notebooks, etc on-site and a shop selling the finished products.
The history of making of ‘Saa paper’ umbrellas in Northern Thailand dates back to the days of the Lanna Kingdom. ‘Saa paper’ is made from processing the bark of a tree of the Mulberry kind. Then using a mesh mould, the processed bark is then formed into sheet.
On my visit to the factory, here’s how a traditional saa paper umbrella is made:
- The processed bark is formed into sheet using a mesh mould. The processed bark is then formed into sheet using a mesh mould. During this visit I found that everything used to make the umbrellas was manufactured on site, except for the ‘saa paper’.
- Prior to this, the frame of the umbrella is made from hand cut bamboo with a handle made from pine.
- After assembly, a starchy glue is used to fix the ‘saa paper’ or other covering to this frame.
- After drying, lacquer is applied for water proofing purpose.
- Next is the painting and decorating activities by the factory’s artists and all the work is free style hand painted using oil based paint.
- More lacquer (water proofing) is applied.
- The final products are then left in the open for further drying.
Next is the Thai Silk Village located not very far from the ‘saa paper’ umbrella factory. It is the place you can find all kinds of hand-woven Thai silk products in classic and elegant designs and of the best quality. The center was established in October 1991 and was formerly known as Le Bombyx Societe Anonyme. It is now a famous one-stop Thai Silk shopping destination for Chiang Mai visitors.
We got back to our hotel at about 6pm and it was almost dark and it was extremely cold. We ordered room service for dinner, and then fell fast asleep.
Day 3:
It was about 10 deg celsius and still drizzling outside this, but we both decided to proceed with our plans for sightseeing around Chiang Mai city. The places we went to are as listed below:
- Wat Chiang Mun – is the oldest Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai and is located inside the Chiang Mai’s old city (which is contained within the city walls and moat). It was built in 1297 CE by Mangrai, the 25th King of Ngoenyang (r. 1261–1292) and the 1st King of Lanna (r. 1292–1317) as the first temple of Chiang Mai on the location of Wiang Nopburi, a fortified town of the Lawa people which had been used by him as a camp during the construction of his new capital city Chiang Mai.
- Wat Chedi Luang – Literally known as ‘Temple of the Big Stupa’, it is a Buddhist temple in the historic centre of Chiang Mai. The current temple grounds were originally made up of three temples — Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Ho Tham and Wat Sukmin.
- The Three Kings Monuments – The Three Kings Monument in Chiang Mai stands roughly in the center of the walled city, in front of the old provincial administration building, which now houses the Chiang Mai City Art & Cultural Center. Previously this was a district where the former rulers of Chiang Mai built their palaces. The sculpture of the three kings – King Mangrai of Lanna (center), King Ngam Muang of Phayao (left) and King Mangrai’s contemporary and reporteedly good friend King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai (right) – has become something of an iconic image representing Chiang Mai.
- Tha Phae Gate – it is one the many scintillating sights of Chiang Mai, built in 1926 as the east entrance to the old city district. It is part of the wall that surrounded the city. The whole rectangular shaped interconnected walls were built with the purpose of protecting the city from the Burmese invasion.
- Kalare Night Bazaar – the bazaar is situated about one-third of the way down from the top end of the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar on Chang Khlan Road. The Kalare Night Bazaar is a less hectic haven for a rest as compared to Chiang Mai Night Bazaar and is host to many shops including antiques home decor, jewellers, tour operators, shoe and clothing outlets and many others. Basically, it is a large undercover arcade full of shops with an open food court and entertainment area. The food court operates on a “Coupon Dining” system.
We took a tuk-tuk back to our hotel, and imagine the biting cold we had to endure along the way. Brrrrrrr……
Day 4:
Nothing much left to do in Chiang Mai, so we packed our stuff and chilled at the hotel for a while before taking a taxi to Chiang Mai’s International Airport. Thank you Chiang Mai, you had been fun and challenging!
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