We kicked off Thailand by spending 4 nights in Chiang Mai. The weather continued to be smoking hot, and the food continued to be magically delicious. We stayed about a 30 minute walk from the center of town. Once again picked up the routine of heading out on foot for a few sights and temples early before scurrying back to the hotel to swim in the pool when the temperatures got up to 100. In the evening when the temperature would drop to the comfortable cool in the upper 80s, we would head out for dinner and to shop at one of the night markets.

We have both been to Thailand before, but neither of us had been to Chiang Mai so it was really fun to uncover some new territory together. The temples are kept up better than any other country that we have been to in SE Asia, which makes them extra rewarding when you find a good one. The city is chalk full of temples - at least a couple hundred. In addition to temples there are a number of other fun spots, so we had to pick and choose as we were constantly stumbling on to new places that looked interesting to explore. One place we checked out was the 3D museum, which had all kinds of interactive drawings for you to pose with. It was unlike anything either of us has ever explored, and was a fun way to spend a couple of hours in air conditioning.

The major highlight of the time in Chiang Mai was our day trip out to Elephant Nature Park. We got to spend an entire day with elephants! We did spend some time finding the "right" park to visit. We decided that we wanted to visit an elephant farm that would provide both some opportunity to interact with the animals, and also a glimpse into how elephants live together. We found the PERFECT place with ENP. We were introduced to the elephants by hand-feeding them fruit. They were not captive or tied in any way, just the mahout (trainer) nearby to help as needed. The amazing thing is that at this farm, the mahouts are not allowed to use any form of hook or physical training device - they only use voice, hand, and food for training. They try to really focus on positive reinforcement and each mahout works exclusively with one elephant. It was truly amazing to see the way that the animals responded to their mahout. After meeting several elephants, feeding them, petting them, and letting them sniff at us, we ate a nice buffet lunch in the outdoor viewing area. Another cool thing about this place is that it is also a dog rescue - so there are about 200 dogs running around who were rescued from dire situations after the floods in Thailand a couple of years ago. The elephants and dogs seemed to do fine together. In the afternoon, we got to go into the river with the elephants and wash them by hand! The mahout stood next to the elephants while we, knee deep in the river, splashed buckets of water up from the river onto them and scrubbed them down. The elephants seemed very content with this. After bathtime, we got to go around and meet a few of the babies. At one point, one of the younger babies broke away from his herd - including his mom, his grandma, and what was referred to as his nanny" - and came to check us out - there were about 8 of us in the group. After a full inspection, he walked away a few steps and turned back and charged our little group! It seemed to be playful in spirit, but one of the girls got knocked down - it was a clear reminder that even the tiny ones are still hundreds of pounds and very dangerous. Overall the elephant farm was one of the most special things related to animals either of has ever done (another being the Galapagos back in March). If you go to northern Thailand, this is a cannot miss experience!

As was the trend in Asia, the days flew by way too quickly and before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head to Bangkok.