Matthew, Sophie and Thomas go to Chiang Mai

Four days in Chiang Mai and they were packed! Ready for a trip to Koh Lanta after this, but we had an absolutely amazing time even if it was a little sleep deprived, think Thomas was in shock that holidays have mornings!

Day 1

We arrived on the overnight sleeper train from Bangkok, which was actually quite a pleasant travel experience. We had departed at 6 o’clock, with the Eastern Oriental Express heading off just before us adding a classical ambience. We were able to read our books and play board games for a few hours before heading to the comfortable beds and waking up having completed our journey.

Upon arrival we went to our hostel where Thomas had been since the afternoon before. We checked in and organised a pair of mopeds so that we could head to Crazy Horse Buttress for a day of climbing. The climbing was great and Thomas got to experience real rock for the first time. Sophie also managed to flash a 6a on top rope. At the end of the day we went to ‘the Rooftop’ at the top of the crag for our last route of the day. There were incredible views and it was a nice way to finish a good days climbing.

- Thomas on top rope.

Day 2

We had an early start as we were heading to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. We were collected by one of the pick up trucks that serve as taxis in Chiang Mai at 8AM (ok, not really early) for the 2 hour journey.

- They're behind you.

After changing into our traditional Karen hilltribe garb we were introduced to the elephants, including a delightful 10 month old baby. We fed them bananas by hand before giving them bundles of a variety of long grass. The dexterity of their trunks is unbelievable and they would collect 7 or 8 bananas individually off whoever was offering before sticking the whole lot in their mouth!

- Feeding Lady Gaga (yes that was her name).

We then headed round the huge facility to see two other groups of elephants. The highlight of this was getting to watch a 57 year old elephant as she gave herself a shower, picking up a trunkful of water before squirting it over her body.

- Thomas with the ladies.

After lunch and a brief lesson making herbal digestion balls, we headed for a mud bath! The elephants and ourselves got thoroughly covered! Watching the two babies was a treat as they rolled around, absolutely loving it. We then went down to the river to wash it all off. It was amazing to see even the big elephants completely submerging themselves as they lay down in the water and it made them look even bigger when they suddenly emerged!

- Bathing in the river.

There’s a lot of problems with how elephants are treated in this part of the world. I don’t think there is a perfect solution, but these elephants were well looked after and seemed happy. However, after visiting I don’t think that it is a true sanctuary. Although some of these elephants were taken from harsh working conditions, some have clearly been bred for here. The santuary is people’s livelihoods and the elephants have to come from somewhere. I think the only thing that justifies a santuary like this is that it gives the people in this area a brighter future and they certainly do seem to treat the elephants as well as they can.

Day 3

After some discussion over breakfast (at Amaka, where we had breakfast every day, would not look out of place on the Belmont Road) we went to Doi Suthep, which is up in the hills just on the outskirts of the city. Here we went on a trek though the jungle (actual jungle!) for a few hours, our targets were a couple of waterfalls. It was an experience going through the forest and you started to question whether the term ‘tiger kingdom’ on all the taxis was actually still the reality! At the bottom we reached a particularly impressive waterfall, what was even more impressive though was the sheer volume of incredible butterflies!

- Mon That Than waterfall.

- It's a butterfly.

In the evening after watching the national anthem in glorious IMAX 3D, we watched Black Panther, which was good fun, however we didn’t get to bed until well after midnight and had to be up at 7AM the next day catch our transport to Crazy Horse!

Day 4

For our last full day in Chiang Mai we were back in Crazy Horse for another round of climbing. It was super hot and our choice of area in the morning was not as shaded as it could have been! Notable achievements including Thomas leading his first route, Sophie blasting up a tricky traversing lead route and I onsighted my first 6a back up at the rooftop. The route was called Skyscraper and the finish is the highest accessible point at the crag. I had been warned about the bolts terrible positions and this proved true and probably had something to do with me completing it as falling did not seem very appealing! It was a really cool route though and it was nice to achieve my climbing goal for the trip.

- View from the Rooftop.

- Another climb at the Rooftop.

In the evening we went to the Chiang Mai Saturday night market, it was completely packed, but Sophie and Thomas managed to acquire the compulsory pair of elephant trousers! I am still looking for the perfect pair and a Chang beer tank top to complete the 'I've been backpacking in Thailand' look!

Day 5 - Travel Day

- Goodbye breakfast with Thomas.

This morning we have said farewell to Thomas over our standard breakfast, this afternoon we are flying to Krabe where we are going to spend a night in the town before heading onwards to Koh Lanta for 3 nights. Here we plan to get some reading done whilst lying by the pool, it’s going to be jam packed!