After Bangkok, we headed off to Chiang Mai.

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The original plan was to take the 12-hour overnight train on Christmas day which we were really excited about. We booked the tickets far in advance prior to our leave, and for quite some money too. But then looking at reviews the day before we left, we read stories like this and this, and decided to fly instead. Cockroaches while sleeping? No, thank you!

For our quick one hour flight from DMK, we booked through Vayama for $180 total.

Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary

Veronica did a ton of research on socially responsible and humane organizations we could support in order to get close to the beautiful elephants of Thailand. Many tourists unfortunately fall into the trap of going on a ‘humane’ tour, but end up bathing ‘rescued’ elephants who at the end of the day don’t want to be bathed by humans. After much searching, we’re proud to support Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary.

After reaching out to their team and coordinating a time when we’d stay with them, we ventured off on a 4 hour drive west of Chiang Mai. Our driver taking us into the mountainside, past Doi Inthanon National Park, and dropping us at a Karen hill tribe village. There, a family hosted us in their homestay hut.

When we arrived and were introduced to the team, we watched a video on the plight of Thailand’s Asian elephants.

We learned there are only 40,000 Asian elephants left in Thailand, and a 1/3 of them are in captivity. At their height, there used to be 200,000. The focus of Kindred Spirit is to help reintroduce these majestic animals back into their natural habitat. They have 5 elephants under their care, rented out by local families who own them but are unable to fully provide for them, which gives a sustainable source of income to the families as well. Kindred Spirit works with the elephant mahouts, staff and volunteers to study their behavior in the natural environment and to monitor their daily activity.

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After watching the video, we were introduced to our hut and had time to shower and walk around the village. It was filled with activity, with lots of animals roaming free – chickens, dogs, buffalos, and pigs. The people went about their daily business, with kids running around and women caring for the animals while the men repaired their motorbikes or watched over the buffalo trying to run away. We took photos and went on a short hike with a few of the local dogs who followed us. The organization has a home base across the river, which houses a few of the dogs which were really cute and friendly.

In the evening, we were invited into our host’s house and helped prepare dinner, cutting vegetables and talking with the Kindred Spirit staff, Alex and Jade, about our lives and work. The homestay mother cooked a delicious vegetarian meal for us, but before we started the village elder performed a special ceremony for us. He came in with white string and scrapped it across the top of our wrists before tying it around, while speaking a prayer wishing us no suffering and having plenty of food to eat.

When dinner was over, we were invited to the KSES HQ where the village ‘uncle’ showed us how to make a bamboo basket.

The hut was comfortable with mosquito netting and some shelfs, but the bed was quite hard. It was a rough sleep with the roosters crowing all around us like a symphony throughout the night too, but when the sun broke in the early morning we woke fairly fresh from the excitement of seeing the elephants. It was an adventure!

We hiked across the river to HQ and had breakfast/coffee with the team. We warmed up as it got quite cold overnight, and prepared for our hike to see the elephants. They’re free to roam as they like in the day, but during the night they are kept in an enclosed forest area so they don’t trample crops. With bananas in bags, we headed off to the area where they were hanging out and eating.

After feeding the hungry elephants, which we wish could have been longer, we observed them on top of the hill overlooking the dried up field. We saw two of the siblings being scolded for flirting, to avoid incest, and one of them rubbing their belly on the fallen log we rested on. They were at peace eating the leaves of the surrounding forest wall while we snapped photos and noted what they did every few minutes. This research is used to monitor their behavior and learn from their natural patterns. Reintroducing captive elephants to their original habitats is a learning opportunity for all. We watched them for 90 minutes before eating lunch at the nearby mahout hut alongside a creek. We were observed by one of the curious ones.

Heading back to the village, we showered and packed our bags. We drove 4 hours back to Chiang Mai through the dirt path out of the village then over winding mountain roads. The nature was spectacular, and we got to spend it with our driver’s young son too. The family connections of Thailand are strong, and we were lucky to have felt part of the village family. Our time with the Kindred Spirit team and their elephants was the highlight of our trip across Southeast Asia.

Chiang Mai Old City

We didn’t really think much about things to do in Chiang Mai, as our primary goal was to spend a night with Kindred Spirit. Fortunately though our Airbnb, Sherloft Hostel, was smack down in the center of old town so we were able to explore different parts of the city. Most of our time exploring was eating at various restaurants and on our last day, checking out the night market.

Overall, there’s a lot more going on in the east side of the old city than west. If you’re looking for action, try to stay in the west near the Tha Pae Gate. Nearby there is a main street with bars and restaurants.

Cooking Love is by far the best Thai restaurant at affordable prices, but be prepared for a short wait. The service we found wasn’t the best either, but good food.

Night Market

The night market starts around 6pm. We got there right on time, and noticed that many of the stalls were still being set up. Walking around, many vendors will look to get your attention. Be sure to bargain prices down and shop around stands so you get a feel for acceptable prices. Many sellers will offer you a low first buyer price too. If you turn it down – be prepared to feel like crap as they desperately lower the price further.

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By the time we left an hour later, it became really crowded. If you don’t like crowds, we recommend going right when it starts.

Overall, we wish we spent more time in Chiang Mai. There are a lot of waterfalls and opportunities for natural exploration.

We landed in Bangkok late at night, so we played it safe staying at a hotel for late check-in and booked a shuttle from Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

Immigration was a bit confusing, due to our long 19 hour travel time (2 flights – 13 hours from San Francisco to Seoul, and another 6 from Seoul to Bangkok) and lack of signage explaining exactly where we needed to go. We initially got into the foreigner line for immigration, but was stopped midway by a customs officer explaining Veronica needed to go through the health inspection as she was using her South American Argentine passport. It turns out, passports from South America and Africa need to go through health inspection first. It’s essentially just filling out a quick form and getting a stamp. They never even checked her yellow fever certificate, but you should have it ready just in case. After we got her health inspection checked, we got back into the foreigner line and cleared immigration without hassle.

Tired from our long journey, we fell quickly asleep at our hotel (Le Siam) in Silom district, ready for our big first day.

Day 1

Lumphini Park

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Lumphini Park is one of the larger urban parks in Bangkok, and was only a 10 minute walk away from our hotel, so it was where we spent most of our first day. It was hot and humid, around 33C, so we sweat a lot walking only a short distance. That said, the park was beautiful and a nice reprieve from the busy streets of Bangkok.

There’s a large artificial lake where you can rent peddle boats (40 Bhat for 30 minutes). When we first got to the lake, we saw a water monitor fishing and eating cat fish. Tourists were getting pretty close to it, but we kept a safe distance and admired the dragon-like animal. It turns out there are hundreds of them throughout the park, and they are becoming a pest for the bicyclists and runners. Be careful for these animals if you’re going around the lake so you don’t hurt them or yourself. The city government plans on sending most of them to sanctuaries in the near future. There are beautiful turtles too, and you can watch the fish jumping to eat food off the water surface.

We saw locals practicing tai chi and exercising throughout the park, so it was a nice stroll to people watch and observe the locals enjoying the space and nature of the park. We recommend grabbing water at the park’s entrance or beforehand as there aren’t too many stands inside. Overall, it was a great way to spend an afternoon. We ended up coming back a second time to rent a swan boat and peddle around the lake.

Patpong (Silom) Night Market

After sweating a lot walking around Lumphini Park, we headed back to the hotel to shower and rest. It’s so hot in Bangkok, this sort of became our routine. Do something in the morning before it got too hot, then rest in the afternoon in time to head out at night.

The Patpong night market was right across the main road from our hotel, and was fun to walk around. It’s open everyday from 6pm to 1am. The area is part of the red light district, with strip clubs and bars scattered throughout. You’ll be asked to go inside them, with guys promoting sex shows. Be prepared to say ‘no’ or to ignore them, and it’s not a big deal.

The stands offer many different types of goods, ranging from common Thai souvenirs to backpacks, electronics and clothes. Always negotiate the prices given by the vendors, as this is common practice and expected. Also come to expect vendors being a bit pushy if you’re looking at their items.

Day 2

Grand Palace

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On Day 2, we wanted to get out of Silom and check out the Grand Palace and nearby Wat Pho. We heard Grab (an Uber for Southeast Asia) was becoming more popular, so we downloaded the app to give it a try. At first, getting to the Grand Palace, Grab was quick and easy to use. It automatically loaded our hotel’s location, and gave us a set price to the Grand Palace. Within a few minutes, our personal taxi was there and the ride was quick and smooth. We got there right at 8:30am when it opened, and we were shocked at how many people were already there. The line went fast, but wrapped across the street and took about 15 minutes to get through leading up to the ticket office. Unfortunately on our way to get tickets, James was pulled aside and told that his shorts weren’t allowed. They covered part of his knees, but that was still not appropriate and we were forced to buy expensive 200 Bhat pants (Tip: If you need to get pants, go outside the Wat and they are only 100 Bhat and most likely can get cheaper with negotiation). We were a bit frustrated by this because we saw other tourists inside wearing the same length of shorts. It was just bad luck I suppose, but at the end of the day, relatively cheap for us Westerners.

The ticket was 500 Bhat per person. We thought about getting an audio guide (an additional 200 Bhat per person), which is rented next to the ticket office, but it was quite expensive considering you only can have them for 1.5 hours and once you return them you can’t get back inside. You also need to leave your passport or credit card with them, so keep that in mind if you aren’t comfortable doing that. Instead, we grabbed one of the free printed brochures located left of the palace entrance (Note: There’s no Spanish translation, only English, Chinese, and French.) The free guide was fine for us, as we could use it to get a brief explanation and history of the buildings we were seeing around us. If you prefer a personal guide, you can find them outside the Palace and negotiate a rate.

Once inside the palace, be ready for jostling around huge crowds, and it’s nearly impossible to get a photo without anyone in it. The architecture is beautiful however, if not for the crowds taking a little bit away from the charm of the place. One big bummer too is that foreigners aren’t allowed to see most of the palace grounds. Tourists are kept inside a relatively small section of it were most of the attractions are, but the palace is large with many other things to see which are only available to Thai people. That to us took a lot of the value away from the fairly high entrance fee compared to other attractions around Bangkok.

We couldn’t leave without seeing the famous Emerald Buddha, which is located inside a wat. You need to take your shoes off and wait in a line to enter. Once inside, you can’t take photos and it’s really crowded. We stepped in, saw the statue for about 2 minutes and left because of the heat and crowds. (Tip: If you have a zoom lens, you can get a shot of the buddha from the outside of the wat.)

After exploring all of the areas we were allowed to (roughly 2 hours taking breaks from the heat), we headed out to see the reclining buddha at Wat Pho.

Wat Pho

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It was really hot, so we hung out inside a small cafe to cool off before heading inside Wat Pho right across from the Grand Palace. It was only 100 Bhat per person, and includes a free water (although we didn’t see this water once inside). The crowds weren’t as bad as the Grand Palace, and we had access to many more buildings that were just as beautiful. To be honest, we preferred Wat Pho over the palace because you were able to enjoy it more in peace and access most of the place. It was a much better value overall. Like any other wat, you’re expected to take off your shoes upon entering. What’s nice about Wat Pho however, is that you can take all the photos you want, although the large buddha is a bit difficult to capture in a single shot. It measures 46 meters long, 15 meters high, and is covered in gold leaf. Upon exiting, you can purchase coins to deposit into bowls as a donation and gain merit.

Getting back to our hotel was a bit of a mess however. Grab wasn’t reliable, and since the first day was hit or miss throughout our time in Bangkok. We had to try for 30 minutes before a car was available, attempting numerous times and failing before a driver accepted. We talked with a few Tuk Tuk drivers, but their prices were quite inflate. Once inside the taxi, there was a lot of traffic getting out of the Grand Palace area, and a typical 15 minute journey became 45 minutes.

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Day 3

The BTS Skytrain & Wat Arun

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On our 3rd day of sight seeing, we didn’t want to wait in long lines again so we just opted to see the outside of Wat Arun, which is across the river from the Grand Palace. It was impossible to get a Grab taxi this day, so we took the advice of a couple we met at the hotel who mentioned taking the skytrain to a river boat.

The BTS Skytrain station (Silom) was right near our hotel. We were able to easily navigate using the electronic kiosk, where you select the station you want to exit and it automatically gives you the price per ticket. You can pay with either cash or credit card. We took the S train to Saphan Taksin (60 Bhat/person/each way), where a boat launch is located. For 100 Bhat/person/way, we were quickly ushered onto a long boat and took off towards the Grand Palace. The drivers of the boats go quite fast and make the water splash a little, so try to keep your mouth closed as the water seems dirty. We were there in less than 10 minutes. Overall, it was a wild adventure and a beautiful way to experience Bangkok.

We got off the boat and ventured towards the ferry, but the line was really long so we opted to stay on the Grand Palace side and eat at a restaurant with a nice view of the wat. We found a decent, yet expensive, restaurant – Eat Sight Story. They have a wonderful balcony overlooking the riverfront and wat across the way. We’re sure during sunset it’s a beautiful view. It was a wonderful way to end our time in Bangkok!

Next stop: Chiang Mai