Day 3:

We started off day three with another tour… this time with elephants! As far as elephant tours go, we know some people are against them. They can be seen as prisons for these animals and some may think they would be better off in the wild. That being said, we had our reservations. Are the elephant parks humane? Do the elephants actually live a good life? We definitely didn’t want to support an organization that would harm these animals or be destructive to their environment.These days there is an incredible amount of poaching and killing that goes on in the wild. So yes, elephants are meant to be in the wild, but if the wild poses a very real threat to their safety and existence as a species, then maybe having them in sanctuaries isn’t that bad of an idea? After talking with the hotel owners, we decided on a tour that they considered to be the most humane. And honestly, after our experience, they seemed like some pretty freaking happy elephants so we felt good about our decision.

Mom and baby sharing a moment:Tristan feeding the baby elephant:We were able to feed them, give them mud baths, and then got to play with them in the river. It was SO cool. With the exception of going to the zoo as a child, neither of us had really seen an elephant up close and personal. It was such an amazing experience. One thing we didn’t know was just how playful they can be, especially the baby, who’s name was Jackie Chang (which is especially cute because Chang is the Thai word for elephant). We also had the cutest most hilarious tour guide, Lee, who was about half the height of Tristan.

Lee demonstrating on Tristan how we are supposed to pet the elephants:The funniest part may have been that we were told we would be wearing “traditional Thai clothing” while hanging out with the elephants. We were given basketball shorts and oversized tee shirts…which Lee proceeded to tell us, were what Thai people normally wear these days (debatable).

Example of our “Thai outfits” that felt more like we were middle school boys in gym class: Bath time in the river:Casually lounging with elephants while also trying to avoid one of them sitting on us by accident:Baby Jackie Chang getting splashed with water and living his absolute best life. He also got so excited he was head banging and splashes us back:The whole group together:It was a wonderful experience and we are very glad we did it. When we got back to town, we were ready for some food so we decided to check out the Sunday night market. It was quite possibly the largest market either of us have ever been to (and it happens every single week!). We walked around for hours and hardly saw the same kiosk twice. We also experienced so much good food. We would walk from one kiosk, to another, to another, basically doing a walking dim sum style tour. We had fresh made waffles with Nutella, BBQ chicken skewers, pad Thai, spicy sausage, a deep fried crab sandwich, mushroom spring rolls, fried cheese balls, and mango smoothies (yes we ate all of that, no we didn’t regret a single bite).

Views of the market:This photo is called “Noodle Lover Makes Hard Decision”:A new appreciation for waffles and Nutella:Mushroom spring roll and fried cheese balls did not disappoint:For anyone visiting Chiang Mai, the markets are a must! After we felt sufficiently stuffed and unable to move, we headed back to the room to call it a night.

Day 4:

Since we had such fantastic tour experiences at the national park and the elephant sanctuary, we decided to keep it going on day four. So we did something neither of us had done before… a cooking class! For about $25 per person, we got transportation (yet again!), a tour of a local market, and a three-course cooking class at an organic farm outside the city. We also (yet again!) had the cutest, funniest tour guide, KK.

KK teaching us about different kinds of rice:At the market, KK walked us through the various ingredients and foods that many Thai people buy for cooking. It was great to check out the market with an actual local and learn some tips about Thai cooking.

Afterwards, we arrived at Smile Organic Farm, a quaint little property in the countryside about an hour from Chiang Mai. KK gave us a tour around the garden, describing what each plant was used for and even letting us smell and taste them along the way. From lemongrass, to eggplant, to basil, to limes, it heightened all of our senses.

The entrance to the farm, absolutely adorable:KK showing us the mushroom hut where she specified that they do not grow “magic mushrooms”:We wouldn’t necessarily say the outfits were fashionable, but they were practical!For the cooking portion of the tour, we each made three dishes: a stir fry, a curry, and a soup. You were given a menu with four options in each category and could chose whatever you wanted. It was totally customized! The first thing we made were spring rolls, then we moved on to curry paste, then the curry dishes, then finally the soups.

Tristan showing off his homemade pad Thai:Taylor’s homemade cashew chicken (made in honor of her mother-in-laws favorite dish!):Using mortar and pestle to make curry paste from scratch aka Taylor living her childhood dream of feeling like a boxcar child:The process was a few hours long and we got to eat each dish as we made them. By the end we were stuffed and even had to bring some home because it was so much food. To top it all off, the food actually tasted like authentic Thai food, not some half-assed pre-packaged, store bought imposter. The only thing that could have made it taste more authentic would have been for a tiny little Thai woman to be the one making it. But we’d say we did a great job!

Tristan’s green curry + hot and creamy soup:Taylor’s phanaeng curry + coconut chicken soup:It was a long afternoon and we didn’t get back to our room until about 9:30pm but it was one of the coolest experiences we have had. Plus, we each got a little cookbook to take home with us!

Today is our fifth day here in Chiang Mai and we have spent the morning in a coffee shop having breakfast, reading, and writing these blog posts! Today we don’t have anything planned (crazy, right?) so we will see where the day takes us. Tomorrow morning we have train tickets from Chiang Mai to Bangkok where we will stay for a day or two before starting the next leg of our trip.

We’re missing our friends and family like crazy and can’t wait to see them (…one day). Love you all!

-T&T