Outdoor paradise + cooking school = Chang Mai!!!

Leaving Laos was one of the harder things we have had to do so far on our trip.  We thought that nothing could compare to the warm and friendly lands of Laos.......we were wrong.  Again we opted to hit the pavement and head to the bus station as it is now our favorite mode of transportation.  The trip was broken into two sections, one overnight bus from Luang Prabang to the border and then the border to Chaing Mai.  We could really see and feel the difference when we crossed the border into Thailand from Laos.  The roads were different, the buses were different, the scenery was different.    

Upon arriving we decided that we should map out an itinerary for the next few days, a foreign concept to us the past month.  Chaing Mai has so many activities to offer, making it very difficult to choose which ones to do.  So after much debate we went with the following plan:

Day 1- Mountain Biking.  Day 2/3- Two Day/One Night Trek & Rafting.  Day 4- Cooking Class  

Day 1: 

Being novice mountain bikers the Hike & Bike tour immediately jumped out at us.  The brochure looked more like a ski map with everything from green circles (easy trails) to double black diamond (expert) runs.  The outfit we went with is run by a guy who is originally from Hawaii and moved to Northern Thailand a while back.  He set everyone up with the right gear and provided an hour long Google maps presentation on the in's and out's of the mountain.  We spent the first half of the day with 2 guides trekking straight up the side of the mountain. Apparently they do not believe in switchback trails and blazed a path directly up the mountain stopping at some waterfalls and some great view points looking out over the city.  The bottle of whiskey that our guide said he drank the night before did not phase him one bit, as the pace was non stop for hours at a time.  It was pretty much the first time we had a workout the entire trip, so we did not mind it at all.  Once reaching the top we broke for lunch at a cool little mountain village.  Next we suited up with helmets, shin guards, elbow pads and riding gloves......no joking around.  

Then we did a couple of practice runs in front of the guides so they could gauge our skills and make sure we had ridden a bicycle before.  Once they were satisfied that we were not going to kill ourselves the downhill portion of our trip began.  The mountain was awesome and extremely challenging.  You have to watch out for every little rock and stump while keeping an eye on the person in front of you to see which path to take.  About half way through the guide must have thought we were ready for some black diamonds as he took us off the main path and down a steep little chute peppered with the aforementioned obstacles plus heavy dirt and trees on either side.  First, the guide goes down effortlessly. Next Shaun makes the attempt missing the rocks but getting stuck in the dirt.  This led to a chain reaction of Rayann skidding out narrowly missing a few trees followed by an Irish guy in the group veering off course, and his bike, to miss everyone.  This happened pretty much all the way down the mountain.  Usually ending with the same result of the guide gliding down at top speed followed by the group bouncing all over the place and getting thrown off their bikes.  We both escaped the mountain unharmed.  Even Rayann who had many near misses with trees and close calls almost getting thrown over the handle bars never once hesitated hurtling down the steep runs.  

At the end of the course the whole group was rewarded with a swim at the lake at the bottom of the mountain followed by dinner and sunset on a wooden bungalow right on the water.  To say the least day 1 was awesome! 

Day 2 & 3:

We ended up booking our trek on a whim with a guy named Tony, of Tony's Tours.  We went into his shop planning on booking the trek with a bigger outfit, but soon changed our mind.  He was a good guy, and said he was from one of the surrounding villages.  He grew up poor, and always got picked on because the city people looked down on the village people.  Rayann fell for this hook, line and sinker.  After such a good sales pitch, how could we say no?  We opted for the 2 day, 1 night trek that included elephant riding and bamboo rafting!!  We even ended up booking our cooking class with him.  Our group left the next day and included  5 Dutch guys in their mid twenties, 2 French Canadian girls, and a couple from Prague.  We really couldn't have asked for a better group of people for this adventure.  The 5 Dutch guys were a riot, and were a lot of fun when it came time to sit around the campfire.  The trek unfortunately was not as demanding as the previous day, however it was no less beautiful with sweeping views of the valley below (we even got to see a mountain range over in Mayanmar).  There were waterfalls, and hilltop villages and some hot springs along the way.  We arrived at the village we were camping at for the night at about 5pm leaving enough time for a shower, aka a dip in the river with a bar of soap.  Once cleaned everyone put on some heavier clothing, as it got a little chilly at night because of the elevation.  The dinner was really good and we got to hang out all night with our new friends from around the world!

The next day we were up early and the group was split into two.  The 5 Dutch guys and two French Canadian girls were doing the 2 night trek, so stayed behind while we left the village with the couple from the Czech Republic.  Our transportation was waiting right outside tied to a tree............2 giant elephants!!  We later found out from our guide that it was a mother and child elephant and they arrived early that morning from a neighboring village.  We hopped on Noi (the younger elephant meaning small) and started down the river with our driver "Butterfly".  These animals are huge and pretty much go at their own pace.  To "steer" the elephant Butterfly would rub the inside of Noi's ear to move him left or right.  Pretty amazing.  Rayann even got to try her skills at steering Noi, while Shaun and Butterfly sat behind and enjoyed the ride.  

After about a 2-3 km ride on the elephants we said goodbye to our driver and elephant and boarded the bamboo raft that was constructed in our village the night before!  The safety check before heading out was to take our shoes off and stand on the raft to see if it could hold all our weight.  Since there was only about 4 inches of water over the raft and it didn't sink, it passed their requirements and we pushed off for our second leg of the day.  Now Tony had told us that since it was dry season and the rapids were not flowing, we couldn't opt for the white water rafting part on the river.  We pretty much got the white water rafting without the raft!  Each of the guys got a bamboo pole to push ourselves down the river, and to use to steer around the rocks and through the rapids.  We are still not sure how the boat made it down in one piece.  Every few kilometers we hit another set of rapids armed only with 3 bamboo poles and a raft that barely held our weight.  Only in Thailand..........It ended up being the highlight of the trek!!

Day 4:

I'm sure some of you are asking the same question.  How on Earth did Shaun get Rayann to take a cooking class, especially on vacation?  Kidding.  The cooking class was great.  The one that we chose was Thai Farm Cooking School.  Hands down the most unique one, driving us 20km outside the city to their organic farm for the day!  They took us all around the farm showing us the ingredients that we would later be using in our meals.  They even gave us some cool aprons and hats so we looked like professional cooks......well kinda.  We got to choose 4-5 dishes including curries from scratch, spicy soups, papaya salad, pad thai and fried spring rolls.  The day was broken into two sessions to give us a little breather in between to digest and take a nap in the shade of a tree on the farm.  Our instructor was awesome, and made the whole experience that much better.  Watch out Nina.......you are going to have some company in the kitchen!    

Link to the full set of photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/rayann.torres/Thailand#

-Shaun and Rayann