Travel Rewind: Glamping in North Thailand

Our last six months in Malaysia were pretty frenzied, so I didn't have the chance to blog about a few of our final adventures. Now settled (and unemployed) I've got ample time to retrace our steps. So, in January we squeezed in our fourth and final farewell journey to our northern neighbor, Thailand.

View down to one of the family cabins, from the tallest tree house, Tamarind

As you head north from Chiang Mai towards the Burmese border, you quickly leave behind the dusty plains and climb steadily into lush, green, hilly forests. I've blogged about Chiang Mai previously, and as a major tourist destination (and Thailand's second city) it's no surprise that surrounding hills are increasingly populated with small resorts, home-stays and elephant camps. I like Thailand's beaches and islands (almost) as much as the next guy, but it does make a nice change of scenery from Germans in speedos, if you know what  I mean.

Tamarind House

There's a lot of good stuff in the area, especially if you fancy a few days of peace and quiet. I stumbled upon a place called Rabeang Pasak Tree House Resort. Naturally it was the 'Tree House' part that caught my attention and a bit of research revealed, much to my delight, exactly what I had envisioned in my head - a small, picturesque spot in the hills with Swiss Family Robinson style tree houses.

At the time of our visit the resort was less than three years old, with just six cottage-style tree houses that sleep two (about $60 a night) and two larger family-size units (4+ people $100 a night) - all built by the owner 'Lee' a local and former architect.

Let me say here and now, that this place probably isn't for everyone. Think 'glamping' rather than five star resort territory. The cabins are basic, piled with old blankets and bargain basement mattresses, but cozy and complete with indoor plumbing and hot water (most of the time). Each tree house has unique features, such as outdoor showers or private balconies, some are ground level, others are in the treetops.

Bamboo House

The treetop houses are the most popular, but I can't recommend Bamboo House enough, it's ground level but has a private patio that backs onto a small stream and is very cozy - especially if you are visiting in the cooler winter months.

There is also a farm-like quality to the place and there are lots of animals about - dogs, chickens, piglets and cats. The owners do a terrific job of keeping the animals out of the eating areas and none of the animals are aggressive. A few of the more solicitous cats might try and find a warm spot with you at night but they quickly work out where they are welcome and where they are not.

Meals are simple but hearty Thai fare and there is a fridge full of cold Chang beer (the nearest market is 40km away, so if you're fussy or suffer allergies you need to let them know in advance).

The owners are helpful and friendly far beyond the call of duty and work really hard to get everyone in the tree house they've requested - we stayed three nights and ended up moving each night to try out new houses and accommodate others.  If you are going to be put over this, I'd recommend that you get over it ahead of time or find somewhere else to stay. The staff are helpful in moving your stuff and if you're dragging around massive suitcase full of high heels and handbags for every occasion- you've packed for the wrong vacation.

Once the sun goes down things wind down pretty quick. The area is replete with hiking trails and there are even a few bicycles free to use. Pack your hiking boots, load your Kindle up with reading material, kick back and enjoy. This is special spot.

Best of Asia (so far): Markets

Carrying on with our favorite stuff in Southeast Asia we are going to skip a few and move on to 'best markets.'  I've always been a sucker for a good market - particularly the kinds of markets where the floor isn't crawling with rats and slick with animal entrails.  And while there are a lot of gross out markets in this part of the world there are some truly amazing ones too.

The Russian Market in Phnom Penh is labyrinthine maze where I'm pretty sure you could buy literally anything you needed - from a new hose pipe or used stereo to your weekly grocery shop and designer clothes (made during an illegal third shift at one of Cambodia's many textile factories).

The weekend market in Kuching is a wonderful outdoor affair (particularly if it isn't raining) where you can buy fresh green peppercorns for a few cents - it also has the most impressive range of fresh and dried chilis that I've ever seen.

Vientiane has lovely markets too, entire warehouse sized rooms that are literally overflowing with leafy greens, herbs, rice, onions, ginger, and coffee.  Beyond food, you can buy large bundles of silk, handwoven longyi, scarves, quilts and more. Prices are so low as to almost be offensive.

Solo in Indonesia has a terrific antiques market that is full to bursting with local handicrafts such as shadow puppets, Javanese-style masks and clay tea sets. Not to forget the amazing selection of Indonesian coffees  - I think we came home with two kilos of beans.

However, the overwhelming winner in this category is the weekend walking market in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Late afternoon on every Saturday and Sunday the
centre of this city of 160,000 people is pedestrianised and out come the vendors.  The entire city centre is transformed into a huge market covering several square blocks.  Locals and tourists alike ply the streets in search of a bargain - clothes, scarves, old jewelry, new jewelry, paintings, sketches, trinkets, textiles you name it.

Forming part of Northern Thailand's 'Golden Triangle' Chiang Mai is a hub for many indigenous tribes to come and sell their goods.  Perhaps the most well-known group is the Hmong People (who are spread over the mountainous border areas of Thailand, China, Vietnam and Laos). The Hmong played a significant role in (unsuccessfully) fighting the Communists in Laos in the 1970s - many received asylum in the US where they have formed small Diasporas - particularly in Minnesota and Northern California.


I digress. Hmong culture in Northern Thailand appears to be alive and well and they produce some truly stunning products.  I swore that Chiang Mai was not going to be a shopping expedition, but how could I pass up this beautiful bedspread - painstakingly hand-dyed with blocks?  $60 well spent, methinks.

Oh, and there is food. Lots and lots of really, really good food.

Pachyderm Playtime

No trip to Chiang Mai would be complete without spending at least a day with Asia's largest mammal.

The hills around Chiang Mai are full to bursting with a wide range of elephant parks, sanctuaries and trekking agencies. As ever with Asia, animal welfare is rarely top priority and it's worth doing a bit of homework to make sure you are supporting a place that properly looks after the elephants.

We settled on the Elephant Nature Park which is home to 38 rescued and rehabilitated elephants - mostly former work elephants that sustained serious injury or elephants that were orphaned at a  young age.

The Asian elephant is endangered with only 25,000-33,000 elephants left in the wild.  Their once vast habitat covers a huge area expanding from India and Nepal in the west; east to Vietnam and south to Malaysia and Indonesia.

 Much smaller than their African cousins, the Asian elephant still weighs in at about 11,000 pounds when fully grown. Despite their massive size, these animals are truly gentle giants - even the most wary visitors are boldly feeding, petting and even bathing with the elephants in no time.

The park is in a lovely setting, surrounded by hills, lush jungle and a shallow stream - which is essential for elephant bath time! The park gets busy, but they have pretty effective crowd control by limiting numbers and by breaking visitors up into small groups.

The park allows you to spend a lot of time with the elephants - and a lot of that time is spent feeding.  These massive vegetarians eat for 16-18 hours a day and take in well over 300 pounds of fruit, vegetables and grass each day.

Bath time is of course of the highlight.  These elephants bathe everyday to rinse off and cool down, but no sooner are they clean than they go and roll around in the very mud they just rinsed off.  The sun is strong in this part of the world and a good coat of mud and dirt makes for a pretty effective natural sunscreen.

On the whole it's an incredible experience (if a bit pricey - even by western standards at around $75.00 a head) but it's all for a good cause and a great way to support a local business.  Just be prepared to get a bit dirty and maybe even get covered in a bit of elephant snot.

For those of you accessing this from the Register Mail, you can view the rest of my photos from the Elephant Nature Park and read the full blog at www.wherecanigetadrink.blogspot.com.

Close encounters . . . of the Galesburg kind

Sitting in Chiang Mai at a small local restaurant serving up breakfasts of congee and dim sum a middle-aged white guy sauntered over to our table and announced, 'Ever since people like you (meaning tourists) starting turning up in here they put up their prices.'  He then cracked a smile and in a deep Midwestern drawl said, 'Where ya'll from?'

I said I currently resided in KL, but we were all - for lack of a better term - 'native Americans.'  We gabbed for a minute about the virtues of Malaysian cuisine and he turned to ask my travel companions where precisely they were from, two promptly responded with Colorado (unashamedly ditching the home states of Alabama and Texas) and then my third companion did something I gave up doing years ago, she said, 'Galesburg, Illinois.'

Pinpointing Galesburg geographically during a foreign encounter can be a bit of a challenge. Few people (Americans often included) have a detailed image in their head of the location of cities and states across our vast country.  So I often say 'near Chicago' or just 'Illinois' and am pleased when I get a response of 'that's kind of in middle, right?'

Well, this jolly character had no trouble pinpointing Galesburg at all.

'Galesburg, Illinois you say?  You know Galesburg is the only place in the world I've ever been where you can get fish bait and tackle out of a vending machine at a gas station.'

Turns out our new found friend had once worked for the Knox County nursing home and was now a permanent resident of Chiang Mai where he runs a small guesthouse.

We carried on for a bit and eventually the Alabama origins of one of our party were exposed. Unsurprisingly, he knew a little something about Alabamaians too.  He says,

'Well, I know a guy from Alabama out here. He sounds like a first class hick but he's smarter than hell and he's got two masters degrees and speaks and writes fluent Thai.  I asked him awhile ago if he ever wanted to go back and put that fancy education to use and make some money. 

Nah, this guy says. See I'm not the most attractive guy in the world and back in Alabama the girls wouldn't piss on me if my heart was on fire but out here they can't get enough of me and the weather's warm and the beer cheap.'

 Needless to say it's a small world and growing smaller and this little encounter with home put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Thai tales

Apologies for the hiatus, but I've been on the road ticking off a few more stops on my endless travel checklist. 

My most recent adventure took me to Thailand's second city, Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai is not the image of Thailand that probably pops into your mind.  No tropical islands with sandy beaches, sparkling water and all night parties.  Instead think dense jungle and limestone mountains - at a glance northern Thailand seems to have more in common with Laos or Northern Burma than its own vibrant southern half.

Chiang Mai is about as laid back as an Asian city of 150,000 people can be. It's firmly on the tourist trail, but the locals seem to have (mercifully) adopted an attitude of laid-back indifference rather than the in-your-face and buy-my-stuff approach.

The city is old - established in 1296 parts of the original city walls still stand and the old town is mostly surrounded by a large moat.  Colourful Buddhist temples abound and when temple fatigue has settled in there are plenty of places to drop in for a cold (and cheap) beer.  It goes without saying really that the food is superb and the choices endless.

As usual, the best stuff is often the cheapest - pad thai, mussel omelettes, double-fried radish, crispy pork, spicy grilled beef from the local street vendors is pretty much a no-brainer.  I'm also pleased to report no tummy troubles on my end, but I think I'm developing immunity to some Asian bugs - a few of my less-indoctrinated travel companions didn't fare quite as well - but were genuine troopers nonetheless.

Perhaps the real highlight of Chiang Mai is the Sunday Walking Market.  The market is exactly as it sounds - every Sunday at 4:00 the major thoroughfares of the city centre are shut down and vendors hawking food, clothes, jewelry, trinkets, paintings and more set up camp for the evening.  Tourists and locals alike ply the streets in search of a good bargain - and at Thai prices bargains abound.

I've been to enough markets that I generally consider myself immune to the temptations of the same old stuff - but even I picked a up a beautiful handmade bedspread made by the Hmong people who live in the nearby mountains - at a truly extravagant $60.

But one of the main reasons people flock to Chiang Mai is because it serves as the base for some of the best elephant camps and trekking in the world. Hear all about our day with our pachyderm friends in the next installment.

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 For those of you accessing this blog via the Register-Mail don't forget you can access the whole back-catalogue of my travel adventures at www.wherecanigetadrink.blogspot.com .

You can also check out my photos of Chiang Mai.