ChrisJenTravel.com – Honeymoon Trek

Three days in Bangkok was all anyone needed. The air was filled with smog and smoke, the kind emitted from diesel trucks. With no where to go, many locals live their days with medical masks covering their mouths and noses, filtering the air to simply breath. Everyday, I blew my nose not knowing the amount of black mass that would escape. Chris’ allergies fought back and his cough from California continued to resurface. Chang Mai was a blessing, still smoggy, but most days would be spent in the rural areas away from the heavy city air.

After the 12-hour, freezing bus ride, we were picked up at 5am from the bus stop by a taxi driver, taken to a tour office and given handwritten vouchers for the days to come. Although we kicked ourselves for buying tours in advance, everything so far was running smoothly. Our first morning, we were unable to check in to Thailand Guest House until the late morning. We walked the dark streets and found a café open, tiredly drank some java and debated how to spend our day. We knew that we couldn’t check in and crash…our only free day would be wasted. Instead, in classic Schroeder style, we dropped our bags behind the front desk, rented a motorbike for the day ($3) and headed out for some exploring. Having our own transportation was a favorite freedom of ours. Relaxing to not be reliant on others and their interests. We excitedly mounted the motorbike and circled the city.

Chang Mai is a classic Thai city, the second largest, but still much smaller; surrounded by mountains and overflowing with hip eateries and chic resorts. Although you don’t see them all from the street, they exist nestled in between shabbier neighbors or in the backyard of their hotel. We grabbed a local magazine and flipped though the pages over breakfast, devouring the cheap smoothies, eggs and fresh fruit. The featured restaurants, hotels and shops mirrored those in Miami – straight lines, feng shui, candlelit, heavy solid curtains strategically creating puddles on the floor, all set in a lush garden of orchids or simple room resembling a blank gesso canvas.

The city was young and thriving and much cleaner than Bangkok. Art and the people creating it filled the city. The people were friendly and took great care in their environment – mixing their tradition and culture with the future. We buzzed around on the motorbike, wind blowing against our faces and decided that we would head north about 45 minutes to an elephant camp. The camp was in the mountains, nestled over a river. Missing Morgan, we thought we could fill our void for a moment as we stared in awe at them. We stood face to face with them, stroking their trunks and feeding them bananas and sugar cane. They graciously took the treats from our hands and tossed them in their mouths, like tiny tic-tacs. They were overflowing with personality, much like Morgan, and everyone who was in their company revered them as is customary in Asia. Monks wrapped in bright orange cloth lit up with laughter as they fed them. Their large docile heads like mounds of freckled cement smiled. The wire-like hairs glistened on their tightly folded, leathery dry skin. Strolling past the bathing area, we made it to the playground. Surrounded by serene mountains, elephants nursed their young. Some were led by passionate locals, who taught them soccer and bowling. Others held brushes with their trunks and painted abstract images like Picasso. They took a dip in the river, submerging to cool off. After a fulfilling, animal-loving day we happily returned to the city and checked into our hotel, quickly realizing the catch. We overpaid to stay in a complete dump – worse than all in Central America, yet surrounded by hundreds of inexpensive options. Although it was the month of the King’s 60^th anniversary and the city was busier than normal, we could have arrived and booked everything while paying less. With only 3 days in Chang Mai, we took the attitude of lesson learned and focused on enjoying our time in a cultural land, far, far away.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 29th, 2006 at 6:21 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.