Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip (each photo is a thumbnail linked to a higher quality picture.):
21) Our destination for the night was Aoi's (Somket Silphisuth) Cooking School & Homestay in the tiny village of Baan Mae On. After spending the afternoon meeting Aoi's family we then tied on aprons and learned to cook a traditional northern Thai dish for the evening meal.
21) Dinner at Aoi's was fantastic. In addition to the delicious food the elementary school children from the village brought over traditional musicial instruments which they not only played for us but which they also tried to teach us to play.
22) After dinner the school children also performed some traditional northern Thai dances...and yes, taught us one of the dances as well. As a cultural exchange Rosie then did a demostration of classical ballet dance moves and taught the kids some basic ballet positions.
23) The next day Aoi's daughter led us on a bicycle tour through the neighboring two villages where we visited the local fresh market, a women's sewing coop and a mushroom farm.
24) The final stop on our bicycle tour was a rice farm where an elderly woman showed us the historical methods used by Thai farmers to plant, grow, harvest and process rice. We even had a chance to crush the rice with a heavy wooden pounder and then winnowed the rice from the lossened hulls with a woven straw pan.
25) After the bike tour we jumped in another songthaew for the ride into the city of Chiang Mai. After checking into our hotel we then took a taxi to the top of the mountain just to the west of the city to visit the temple of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. This is a very sacred temple and is highlighted by this spectacular golden stupa. We made an offering, received a blessing from a monk and listened to the monks perform their evening chants.
26) We stayed in Chiang Mai for two nights and for the day in between we took a songthaew up into the mountains to the village of Mae Wang. There we visited Camp 9 of Elephant Jungle Sanctuary . This organization rescues elephants which were abused in logging and tourist "elephant ride" camps. They've built multiple camps in northern Thailand where the elephants are kept in natural settings and where tourists can come interact with them - feeding them, bathing them and covering them in mud. Here is Alan with one of the eight elephants we got to see on our visit.
27) Jonna and Rosie also got to give the elephants some lovin'.
28) Our final morning in the north of Thailand was spent on a bicycle tour of the Tha Wang Tan sub-district just outside Chiang Mai with Click And Travel Online . We stopped at a stunning temple, visited a 100+ year old leper sanctuary, cycled through teak and giant bamboo forests, saw rice and vegetable farms, learned about Northern Thai open air crematoria and went to the ruins of the short-lived capital of the Lan Na kingdom before it was moved to Chiang Mai.
29) After our ride Jonna and Rosie had another Thai massage and we ended the day by boarding an overnight train for our return to Bangkok.
30) After arriving back in Bangkok and getting checked into our hotel we headed out to find breakfast. This street cart filled the bill with yummy dumplings made with a rice batter, coconut milk and filled with savory herbs. Add a Thai iced coffee and the day is off to a good start!
31) Next we set out to explore parts of the old city which we'd intentionally skipped on the sightseeing tour we'd taken when we first arrived. The highlight was Wat Pho and the most striking temple within the Wat Pho complex houses this giant reclining Buddha.
32) The colorful architecture of the various temple buildings and stupas in the Wat Pho complex are quite beautiful.
33) We also found an area in Wat Pho where dozens of statues were being restored which lead to this artsy photo of a Buddha with golden leaf being applied to the face. Afterwards we took a taxi to the Jim Thompson House and then later met our good friend Rebecca for dinner at the fancy malls in the main shopping district.
34) The next day we again headed into the old city but this time it was to visit the Grand Palace. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the much beloved king who had reigned for 70 years had passed away in October 2016 and his body was lying in state within the palace. As a result, there were long lines of mourners and a lot of military guards all around the entrance. Nonetheless, we were among the first tourists allowed in for the day and were able to see the temple complex while it was nearly empty! The highlight was seeing Wat Phra Kaew, the most sacred (and most ornate!) temple in Thailand.
35) Another artsy shot showing the detail of some of the Garuda statues adorning Wat Phra Kaew.
36) After our night in Bangkok we boarded another overnight train, this time heading further south to LangSuan. Upon arriving we immediately bought some breakfast food that we could give as offerings to the monks making their morning walks through town. We then went to the town's fresh market to buy food for the family that would be hosting us for the night.
37) From LangSuan we had a short van drive and then a short ferry ride over to the island of Koh Pitak. After dropping our bags off at our homestay we hiked the loop around the island. Along the way we stopped at an empty beach for a dip in the Gulf of Thailand. The water was so warm it was like floating in a big bath tub. Still, it was a few degrees cooler than the air so it was refreshing nonetheless.
38) Our lodging on Koh Pitak was provided by Ban Pa-Sri homestay. The family are primarily fishermen but they also allow guests to stay in their home. As with our previous homestay, we were treated to fantastic hospitality - friendly people and delicious food.
39) We were also treated to a beautiful sunset looking west across the bay towards the mainland. After the sun had set the water sparkled with the lights of the local squid fishing fleet.
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