Elephant Nature Park (Thailand 4)

Still victims of jetlag, we have been constantly waking up at 7am. With some time before our shuttle pick up for the Elephant Nature Park, we decided to go get some breakfast. Walking around Chiang Mai in the early morning was kind of uneventful as the city doesn't really wake up until a little later. We ended up getting some porridge for breakfast from a street car near the hotel and it was delicious. Best 30baht (~$1USD) I ever spent!!

Just before 9am, we were picked up from the hotel for the Elephant Nature Park. Our tour group consisted of 3 other couples from all around the world (UK, Sweden, and Spain!). Our guide, Sai, was a chipper young  Thai fellow whose humor and wit kept the day interesting. The ENP is more of an elephant sanctuary and rehabilitation center then it is an elephant camp, so the day was more educational than it typically is. We spent the day feeding, washing, and just hanging out with the elephants. Many of the elephants at the park had tragic stories, but it was wonderful to see them in such a safe and happy environment. They had distinct personalities and it was fun to get up close and personal with these gentle giants.

Enjoying the shade during snack time

After bathing

Playing in the river

The herd

Once we got back to the city, we were kind of pooped (and were rocking awesome farmer tans). Lazy and wanting a low-key dinner, we went to the Kalare Night Bazaar, which was a food court across the street. We actually read about the food court from the Lonely Planet guide but wandered into the market as it was just across the street from the hotel. The food court consists of about 8-9 different vendors who have similar but different menus. Instead of buying the food directly from the stalls, you first purchase vouchers and use those coupons to buy the food. I'm not 100% what the rationale is for that, but the food was good and super cheap. The meal for 2 ended up being about $5USD.

Right outside of the hotel was the night market. In Chiang Mai, the vendors were as fierce as the Bangkok vendors (at least in my experience). That kind of dampened my shopping spirit as it seemed less likely that I'd be able to strike a good bargain.

After some walking, I decided to get another Thai massage at  Fah Lanna, a well-ranked spa on TripAdvisor. The massage was moderately priced ($10USD/hour) but my masseuse had hands of STEEL. Afterwards, I ended up being sore from my massage. Ahh!! I guess that's a good problem to have though...

No big plans for tomorrow, so it should be a chill day :)

Till next time, xoxo