i'm not sure where to start!

Hello Hello everyone! 

It's been so long since i've last posted that i'm not quite sure where to even begin.  my last real post was ages ago and it was about my experiences on the farm.  Here's an update of my time in Chiang Mai.
After the farm I spent two weeks in Chiang Mai, which is about 12 hours north of Bangkok by train.  I really enjoyed it there, and I would love to go back.  I visited many markets, saw many beautiful handicrafts, silks and other handmade items, took a thai cooking class, spent a day with elephants, I went rock climbing at Crazy Horse Buttress which was pretty fantastic, I went to a yoga class, hiked to a waterfall after visiting a temple that overlooks Chiang Mai, and ate a lot of fantastic food.  I also was very lucky to see my friend Jamie Morgan while I was there.  She came up from Jakarta, Indonesia for a visa run.  It was so great to see an old friend, in another country!  We hadn't seen each other since the previous December, before she left for Indonesia.  We both appreciated the comfort of seeing a friend- I'd been alone for a little while (except for a few great days with my friend Sylvie from France who I met in Bangkok and then randomly met up with in Chiang Mai- we saw one another in a market and both of our jaws dropped to see each other) and Jamie has been living in Indonesia for almost a year, and it's been quite an interesting nine or so months for her.  With old friends you quickly step back into the same rhythme you've always had- no need to for telling your life story like you do when you meet new people traveling.  It was great catching up on Oak Park happenings, family and friends.  And of course swapping travel stories!

Overall I had an amazing experience in Chiang Mai and enjoyed my time there.  The people are friendly and helpful, there is an active expat community that makes getting involved in town happenings very doable, and the city is so easy to navigate.  There are so many things to see and do there.

The highlights were the cooking class, elephant camp, climbing, and the food!  I really enjoyed spending a day at an elephant camp.  These types of things are really popular in Chiang Mai.  You can do a trek to a hilltribe village, go bamboo rafting, hiking, ziplining, riding elephants, whitewater rafting...and you can do all of this in a few days if you're willing to pay the money.  Some tourist companies offer to design a trip to your liking- whatever you'd like to do on the above list, you can do it.  Some people enjoy these tourists packages, but I wasn't really all that interested.  I did however want to spend time with elephants because they are amazing creatures and highly revered in Thailand.  They used to be work animals, helping to cut and carry logs when logging in the north was a large industry for Thailand (late 19th centry-early 20th century) and even helped with things like railroad construction.  Once the logging industry was put to an end, the elephants lost a lot of work, and therefore it was hard for them to survive.  Elephants need to eat at least 10% of their body weight every day, and they need to drink about that much water too.  Their caretakers, called 'mahouts' (pronounced something like ma-hut but with a soft u sound) spend everyday with them, and are responsible for getting them food and water.  In the wild elephants can survive, but once they've been dependent on their mahout, survival is hard.  Soon the elephants ventured to the big cities like Bangkok with their mahouts to get handouts wherever they could.  I think within the last 20 years or so Bangkok has outlawed this practice- they do not allow elepephants and their mahouts into the city limits (how stictly this is enforced I'm not sure.  I don't know what is meant exactly by 'city limits' because Bangkok is so sprawling.  So I'm not an expert).  It sounds sort of cruel at first, that they aren't allowed into the city and the practice of feeding them your food or giving the mahouts money for food is frowned upon, but the hope is that this will drive the mahouts to seek proper care and shelter for the elephants by taking them to live in elephant camps where they have room to graze, walk and get medical help when necessary.  For the most part the elephant camps are a really positive place for the elephants as their mahouts stay with them and take care of them all the time.  A popular trip for tourists is to spend a few days at the camp and work with the mahout and same elephant everyday- feeding them, bathing them, learning about elephant behavior, and spending time with them.  I got to do all this in a day ( I didn't really have the time and my budget didn't really allow for a few days- but if you have the money and time it is well worth it).  There is one elephant camp that is supposed to be the best- I think it's called the Elephant Nature Camp that comes highly recommended.  I didn't do this one because it's a little further from Chiang Mai and a bit more expensive, but if you do want to a few days with the elephants this is certainly the place to do it- they cater to this type of package more.  If the elephants were sick or pregnant at the camp I was at the elephants were taken to the Elephant Nature Camp.  They also take in injured mistreated elephants so they act as a rehabilitation camp as well.  In short, your money is well spent on this type of activity.  For the most part it goes to a good cause, you should just do a little research to make sure.

The Cooking Course I took was really fantastic.  I went through the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School, located within the Old Town area, very close to where I stayed.  Similar to the elephant training camp, you can choose to do one day or many day experiences.  I again just did one day- but I cooked about 6 dishes, and I even got a cookbook!  The cookbook includes all the recipes from the course I took, as well as all the other courses, so you can learn how to make a lot of dishes even if you only experienced making a few.  The course was really well run and organized and they had a really friendly staff.  We had demonstrations in a demo room for every dish, and then we went back to our kitchens and made the meal, and then we ate!  In the demonstrations the staff would explain every ingredient and tell us an appropriate substitute because it's hard to find some of the ingredients once you're outside of Thailand, or they may be really expensive.  I don't have a kitchen where I live now, but when I return home I will certainly be testing out my skills.  Thai food is actually really easy and fast to make, it requires few materials and little prep time.  The longest dish to prepare is actually sticky rice- which is different from steamed or 'regular' rice- it needs to be soaked overnight and it is prepared a little different way I think.  Basically all you need to cook Thai food is fish sauce, a wok, a wooden spatula and a big knife.  Ta daa!

Climbing. climbing, climbing...so much fun.  The Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Association is the place to be for climbing.  Their shop is a gear shop and climbing gym with a bouldering wall and some climbing fitness equipment and they organize all their trips there.  The outdoor climbing is located about 35 minutes from Chiang Mai, and it's really easy to get to.  Only a few turns and you're there!  The climbers in the area and those who work at CMRCA work hard at maintaining the crags and bolts, and they're always on the lookout for new climbs at Crazy Horse Buttress.  My climbing guidebook for Thailand is somewhat outdated and it's not even that old- that's how fast the climbs in Thailand are being developed- even in the south.  So it was fun talking to the staff about the good places to go and what the climbs are like.  The rock is limestone so if youre' a fan of that it's awesome.  Lots of nice pockets and such.  There is a nice range of climbs at Crazy Horse and the surrounding crags, but I stuck to the easier stuff because I was out of practice since my last climbing excursion on Tonsai Beach/Railay Beach in the south.  I really wanted to enjoy the climbing and the scnerey, and that I did.  Climbing at Crazy Horse is really, really fun.  A lot of fun climbs, and a handful of short multi-pitch stuff. You can also climb in some of the caves which is pretty cool.  There's plenty of hard stuff for you to get pumped on as well.  Climbing in Chiang Mai is definitely one of the reasons I'd like to go back there!  Even though you sweat constantly and when you get off a climb you're basically dripping, it's all good.  Bring your mosquito coils, those will go a long way to keep the bugs away.

Check out CMRCA's website for new goings-on, and I'd highly suggest picking up the guidebook they advertise on the website if you plan on climbing in Northern Thailand- a Climbing guide to northern thailand- those folks wrote it- they eat, sleep and breathe those crags so they know what's up.  you can pick it up at the shop.  the staff is so friendly and warm, they will chat with you all the time and help you in any way possible- the right gear, how to get to the crags, help you find a partner, anything.  They even wrote down directions in Thai script for me to show the song tao drivers and bus drivers when I was on my way to the farm because one of the guys who works there is from the town I was headed to- Ban Lo Pahan- it turned out to be really helpful!

http://www.thailandclimbing.com/
The food- Good lord there is never a dull eating experience in Thailand.  In Chiang Mai especially there are so many great choices.  Because of Chiang Mai's location and easy access, and longstanding trade relations, many different foods are available- Burmese food, Chinese food, and northern and eastern Thai cuisine.  Additionally, there are so many food markets and while I was there, a food festival- so I was always trying new foods.  Eating is always an experience here- not just your average trip to jimmy johns (although I do miss a vito or a roast beef from time to time...) Some favorites are Khao soi- also known as Chiang Mai noodles- a soup with rice noodles, and mango curry.  Yum!

So that is the brief overview of my time in Chiang Mai.  It's definitely a popular spot to visit, but well worth it.  Plus, there are so many bookstores!  I stocked up on a few books before I left so that I would have some reading material until I got to another spot with books in English.  I've finished Barbara Kingsolver's Pigs in Heaven and now I'm reading David Sedaris' Naked.  Hilarious.  I can't put it down.  Next in line is Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume.