Thailand Part 2, Chiang Mai

After all the crowds, sensory overload and intensity of Bangkok, I was looking forward to Chiang Mai. Everyone told me ‘book more time in Chiang Mai and less time in Bangkok’ and I can see why. Chiang Mai is more of the cultural experience I was looking for. A bit more slower paced, cheaper, with more of a feeling that I am experiencing a more authentic version of Thailand, not a major city.

Chiang Mai is located in the Northern Mountains and is is about 800 years old. There are still remains of the brick wall and moat that surrounded the old city.  It is relatively close to the ‘Golden Triangle’ consisting of the boarders of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. The location is within close range of a variety of hill tribes like Hmong (long necked tribe) and Karen tribes. Most of which came to Thailand from other countries to escape persecution and fighting. Lots of elephant sanctuaries, markets, street food, rafting, zip lining and over 300 (!!) temples within the city alone.

The flight was a very quick 1 hour, and my hotel was 15 minutes away.  I signed up for a couple of small tours so I first met with a representative to review the itineraries. Was given a notice detailing the first outing to an elephant sanctuary, the notice said ‘bring a change of clothes or swim suit as you have the option to bathe an elephant’. BATHE AN ELEPHANT?!?! I totally lost my shit. How awesome would that be?!?! To get THAT close to an elephant?! The only thing I could think of was ‘those are going to be the cleanest elephants EVER!!’ After meeting the rep, he explained that the itiniary I received was outdated and the park does not offer that anymore. Totally crushed. I am guessing it was deleted due to tourists like me who would make Mohawks and beards out of bubbles on the elephants. Oh well, I was still GOING TO SEE ELEPHANTS!!! BEST DAY EVER!!

Had a bit of an elephant experience in Bali, the park in Bali was very well manicured and also offered elephant rides. While I like to believe the elephants in Bali are treated well, the reality is most elephants that are tame enough to give rides are beaten into submission. While I did not ride the elephants in Bali, we did get close enough to feed them, pet them and I was able to take a few ‘elephies’ (elephant selfies) like my profile picture. One lesson I have learned in life is that, in general, the taller/larger the person or animal is …..the more gentle they are. Do not mistake how powerful they are and be mindful of that, but usually, they know their own strength and use it only when needed.

Our group went to Elephant Nature Park, there are quite a few parks in Chiang Mai and this is one that really is a sanctuary. No rides are offered, most elephants are rescues from working in the forestry industry, are seniors, have major health issues, are blind in one/both eyes or have part or their leg blown off from stepping on land mines. Something disturbing we were told is that some elephant owners will take them into the cities to beg. Particularly babies as they will bring in the most money for their owner. This practice is legal in Thailand except for Bangkok.

Elephant Nature Park has a variety of animals needing extra love and attention. About 500 cats, dogs and water buffalo also living among the elephants. Some of the smaller animals have a red collar on to indicate they have behavioural issues and may lash out. I am wondering how we can implement that with humans. The elephants with behavioural issues are kept in a separate area away from others. We were taken outside the area where these elephants are kept and one male greeted us by picking up stones with his trunk and throwing them at us! Witnessed one large elephant gently (for an elephant) smack a water buffalo with his trunk for trying to take his food. They really have similar behaviours to people.

Our day consisted of feeing elephants, being guided around the park and meeting a variety of elephants and hearing their heart breaking stories. Some elephants we could not get close to while others almost wanted to sit in your lap. I am grateful for my previous experience in Bali as I was the only person in our group not afraid to get close up to the them after our guide let me know they were safe to approach. Most of the time, they would come up to me. One large female was bathing in the river with her adopted family, as she started to get out of the water, she looked at me and made a bee line over to me! This made some people in our group a bit nervous and take a few steps back but it was amazing! Our guide said she was a friendly elephant so I let her approach me and check me out as I was checking her out. After noticing the elephants would use the river as their bathroom in addition to bathing….I was grateful I was not stepping into the water to scrub them down after all.

Elephants typically live into their 80’s and we were taken by the home of one senior female in her 80’s who has a handler live in a shack a few feet away from her enclosure. She is blind, has a variety of medical issues, wears a blanket and has a fire going close by all the time as she is always cold. Her handler cares for her 24/7. We were kept at a distance from this elephant so she does not get stressed and can live out her days in peace. Very humbling to witness.

I have always had a fascination with world religions. Growing up in a multicultural area, always had friends from different backgrounds. Remember back in grade 4 a friend showing me her families prayer room and being totally fascinated by it. Lucky enough to have Sid Bentley as my Social Studies teacher back in grade 10. The whole semester was World Religions. This was pretty ground breaking back in the 80’s within the Surrey school system. Every week he would bring in a different religious leader to speak to us about their faith and we would learn about that religion for the week. His legacy and curiosity carries with me to this day long after his passing. Everything he taught reinforces the we really are one, we are all connected. I always visit a local religious building whenever I travel to better understand the local culture and people.

The next day started bright and early wth a 6am pick up by Thongbang. She was our guide for a couple of temples, to give offerings to monks, ask questions about the temples and Buddhist rituals and take us to Monk Chat, a program at one of the learning facilities. We started outside a temple where vendors were set up to sell offerings to people to donate to the monks. Monks live off donations and start their education as early as 12. As this education is free, most families in the hills and villages will send their sons down as they can not afford to pay for a good education.  The offerings consisted of food, money and flowers (to the statues not the monks). Our trays consisted of cooked, packaged chicken, a packaged drink and a couple other items. I asked about the chicken as I assumed Buddhist monks were vegetarian. I was told not necessarily, they eat the food that is donated to them. They did not kill the animal. We would place one item from our tray into the monks bowl, bow our head and receive a chanted blessing from the monk in Sanskrit and then move onto the next monk until our offerings were all given. We did not have to kneel unless the monk was seated otherwise we could remain standing and bow our heads. The monks were all barefoot as they are essentially begging for food. They start their day getting food donations, then clean the temples and surrounding area, eat and then meditate. Monks eat twice a day and only for nourishment, not for pleasure or entertainment and can not attach themselves to food. Totally foreign concept to me! As their teachings teach that they are not their feelings, they do not have stress and anxiety, Monks live in the moment and do not have a need to suppress their feelings with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream after a stressful day.

Monks have 227 rules to follow one of the main ones is bringing loving kindness to everyone and to put yourself in the place of others all the time. Kindness and compassion. Always look for God in others. When they reach the age of 20, they can become a commoner or continue wth their studies. Buddhism is not a religion but an education system. Buddha says ‘not to believe in him, learn for yourself, purify your mind. This must be done by yourself and the ultimate goal is nirvana.’ It teaches that we are all suffering from the same attachments and we are all the same. Buddhist nuns seem to be quite rare as women have more family responsibilities and as a nun, they must live in groups. Nuns have to shave their heads, not wear makeup and wear white robes.

We then went to Wat Umong, a 700 year old temple in the city. The grounds are very meditative and set in nature with quite a few walking paths for contemplation and reflection. There is also a learning facility, students from all over come to learn meditation or Buddhist teachings. Students have strict rules to follow like some of the following:

• Must wear white
• No make up, no entertainment
• No sexual misconduct
• No stealing or killing
• Must practice non attachment

Quite a bit of the original temple remains alongs with a vast maze of tunnels. I had to bend down in quite a few of the tunnels due to low ceilings. You could still see remains of the original buildings and the area where one building was torn down, the statues from that building were still standing in a kind of ‘statue graveyard’. The monks here live off the grounds in huts in the forest to better concentrate on their meditation. The monks then gathered for breakfast and we knelt on the floor in front of them afterwards giving a financial offering.

Then our guide took us to a local market to grab some drinks, fresh pork rinds (OMG!!!) and some breakfast. I swear you will never get fruit juice as fresh as as in Thailand. I will sorely miss the orange or pineapple juice made in front of me.

We then went to Wat Suan Dok to learn about the temple and meet a local monk for Monk Chat! Our tiny group sat down outside with Ram, a first year Masters student from Nepal. We could ask him anything and he was so accommodating, patient and kind. He grew up Hindu and we spoke about a lot of the similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism. I was a bit surprised to see Ganesh (Hindu god, 1/2 human, 1/2 elephant) in so many of the Buddhist temples here but he explained the story of  Ganesh and Buddha are intertwined and Buddha is also from India. He explained ‘in Hinduism, Buddha is a God, in Buddhism, he is a person’.

After a full morning of temples and temple protocol, I was off to discover more on my own. With 300+ temples in Chiang Mai, you do not have to walk very far to find one. Each temple is run on donation and most are 500+ years old with quite a few over 700+. One of the main temples I was told by Ram I had to see was just outside town, on top of the mountain looking onto the city, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.  The ride was about 30 minutes and had hairpin turns. We passed quite a few cyclists and the odd brave runner going up the mountain. By the time we reached the top I was quite motion sick, then I saw the mountain of steps I had to climb to reach the temple! If you are familiar with the Grouse Grind, I nicknamed this the Buddhist Grind. After climbing some steps and reaching a platform,  I noticed there was MORE steps to go! MUCH more! Thankfully I did this trip early in the morning so the sun was not out in full force yet.  I heard there was a tram to take people up but, I could not find it and I wanted to beat these dang steps on my own. After not running or being very physically active for a while, this was my goal. Seeing other tourists having the same frustration and determination was a small comfort. We would cheer each other on. Thankfully, cheering does not need any translation. Would also check out all the local markets, night markets and crafts made by hill tribes.

After reaching the top, the views of the city were obstructed by fog/smog so I was unable to get the picture I was looking for but the monks were very friendly and I made an offering, lite candles, prayed and gave thanks. Chiang Mai is a beautiful city full of Thai culture, closely situated to a variety of other locations and things to do/see. After this excursion, I am a bit ‘templed out’ and ready to start the next adventure.

One thing I am LOVING about travelling alone is really connecting with the world around me. Not speaking the local language, being a minority, no one knows me, but yet….I am part of a MUCH bigger picture and we are all connected.

Next stop, back to Bangkok for 36 hours then Tel Aviv!

Lessons

• Always look for God in others
• There is beauty everywhere, sometimes you just have to look harder to see it
• Go outside your comfort zone, try something totally new. Talk to people, connect. that’s what travel is all about.
• For me, this entire adventure is a huge love letter to myself and purely selfish

Stats to date

9 flights, 7 airports, 29,996+ kilometres travelled (!!!)

#herosjourney #journeyisitsownreward