Chiang Mai, Elephant Sanctuary & Nightmarket

I denne post kan du læse mere om byen Chiang Mai, Gate market & Elephant sanctuary.

My Secret Cafe

Day 5: 11.03.2023

Vi startede dagen på en hyggelig lille cafe, som hed “My Secret Cafe”. Navnet passede perfekt da den lå gemt inde i en hyggelig lille soi (sidegade). Efter en lækker hjemmelavet toastie til morgenmad, gik vi en tur igennem Chiang Mai’s gader. Vi så lidt templer og fik udforsket mere af smukke Chiang Mai. Vi snakkede om at et stort ønske her i Chiang Mai, var at besøge et Chiang Mai, Elephant Sanctuary, så det gik vi på jagt efter.

Vi fandt et turistcenter med en sød dame der hjalp os med at booke en tur til et elephant sanctuary den efterfølgende dag. Hun gik meget op i at der kun var ét besøg pr. dag, med maks 15-20 gæster. Desuden kunne vi mærke at her blev taget ekstra meget hensyn til Elefanterne, og det var lige det vi eftersøgte. Derfor gik vi der fra med en ekstra god mavefornemmelse. 

Her efter ville pigerne gerne slikke sol ved poolen, selvom det er lidt overskyet heroppe, kan man stadig mærke varmen og solen. Jeg gik på hotellet og hyggede med lidt photo-editing og rejseblog, og fik senere på dagen en nem og lækker frokost bestående af endnu en favorit; Borbia (mini forårsruller med grøntsager og gladnudler) og Somtam, den lækre og stærke papyasalt med tomat, longbeans, chili og peanuts. 

Chiang Mai Gate Market

Om aftenen gik vi ned til et nyt nightmarkede, for at se så meget af byen så muligt. Denne gang var det Chiang Mai Gate market. Her fik vi prøvet noget mere Street food og en lidt mere exotisk oplevelse ved at spise ved gade boderne. Der var fyldt med insekter og små nattesværmere i 1000 vis, der søgte lysene fra boderne (og maden) mums. Vi fandt dog et par steder der så lovende ud. Da vi næsten var færdige med at spise, så vi en stor fed rotte løbe ind mellem nogle kasser bag området hvor vi sad og spiste. Der måtte vi erkende at appetitten pludseligt forsvandt, og så var vi ligesom færdige med at spise. På vejen hjem så vi en butik med intet mindre end 5-6 små gekkoer der hang ud, på facaden af en bygning. De er altså lidt mere nuttede, end de andre dyr vi mødte. 

Dagen var hurtigt fløjet, og så var det i seng, så vi kunne være klar til elefant turen dagen efter.
Vi skulle afhentes ved hotellerne allerede 7.30-8 om morgenen. 

Kort om byens historie:

Chiang Mai hvis navn betyder “ny by” ligger i det nordlige Thailand og er den 2. Største by i Thailand. Byen blev grundlagt i 1296, og var hovedstad i oldtidens ‘Lanna Kingdom’ i 13-1800 tallet. Byens midterste del kaldet Old Town, er kernen i Chiang Mai og er grundlagt som en slags firkant. Rundt om byen er en stor mur og voldgrav. Den var i sin oprindelse for at beskytte byen mod invasion fra nabolandene, bla. Myanmar og den burmesiske befolkning. Der er 4 byporte som føre ind gennem Old Town, og muren er flere gange igennem tidens løb, blevet genopbygget. I 1558 blev Chiang Mai erobret af Myanmar og først i 1774 blev de drevet ud af byen af en Siamesisk* konge Taksin.
Byen har igennem tiden været et meget religiøst sted, med over 117 Buddhist templer (Wat), i by-distriktet (Muang). Det vil sige, at der er et smukt tempel næste hvor end du kigger hen.

*Siamesisk eller Thai Malaysians, er en etnisk gruppe der hører til det sydøstlige del af Thailand og Malaysia. Her tales med dialekten Sukhothai, en dialekt der bruges mest i det centrale og den sydlige del af Thailand. 

Secret Elephant Sanctuary

Day 6: 12.03.2023

Jeg var den første til at blive samlet op på hotellet. De ankom 07.25, og vi kørte 07.30 videre for at samle pigerne op. Desværre havde de sovet over alle deres alarmer, og vågnede ved at jeg ringede og vækkede dem. På få minutter fik de samlet deres ting, de heldigvis havde lagt klar dagen før. Afsted kom vi, videre for at samle resten op. Der skulle kun 10 personer med på turen i alt, hvilket var perfekt. Ikke for mange, ikke for lidt. Turen hen til selve stedet, tog ca. 1 time. Vi stoppede inden da, ved en 7/11 så vi alle kunne få købt lidt morgenmad.
Secret Elephant Sanctuary ligger gemt lidt imellem nogle bjerge, så turen frem var lidt en oplevelse.

Elefant-trøjer og medicin

Da vi ankom skulle vi først i nogle bestemte trøjer, så elefanterne kunne genkende os som fredlige mennesker, og vide at vi var der for at fodre dem. Så startede med at hjælpe med at lave noget medicin/vitamin tilskud til dem og fik revet en masse bananer fra hinanden.
Efter en hike ned af nogle stejle skråninger, hen over sten og buskadser, blev vi mødt af elefanterne. De voksne stod pænt på ræd og række ved en etablering til fodring. Det var på trods af, at der ingen rigtig indhegning var, kun i området hvor fodringen foregik så der ikke kom nogle til skade ved et uheld. Det er jo trods alt store dyr.  Baby elefanterne var en anden sag. Der var to, en på 3 år og en på 1,5år. De rendte livligt og begejstret rundt, på deres søde, lidt klodsede måde. Ens hjerte smeltede fuldstændig med det samme.

Smukke elefant-navne

Jeg husker ikke navnene på alle elefanterne, men mindste kaldte de Junior, what a cute name. Den ældste og største kalde de Mae Dao som betyder “Mor” stjerne. Hun er flokkens Monark og den der bestemmer. Den næstældste hed Tanwakhm, som betyder December. Der er typisk kun en enkelt han elefant i grupperne, som holder sig på afstand fra selve gruppen af hunner.
Under fodringen af elefanterne fik jeg både et kæmpe smækkys på kinden, en elefantkrammer og lærte hvordan man fodre elefanten i munden frem for snablen. “Bon” betyder op, og sagde man det løftede elefanten snablen, og åbnede munden.

Elefant-badning og Traditionel Thai mad

Efter fodringen gik de lidt rundt, og spiste nogle bambusgrene og hyggede sig. De gik over i et vandhul, fik badet og smurte sig ind i mudder, for til sidst at gå over til et større vandområde for at køle ned. Vi havde muligheden for at være med til at bade og smører dem ind. Vi valgte dog at  springe den del over, da vi gerne ville respektere elefanterne under besøget. Til sidst fik vi en lækker Thaifrokost på terrasse tilbage ved lejeren. Inden vi kørte retur, ænsede vi oppe fra bjergsiden, at hele to hanner, stod i udkanten af dalen og åd af nogle træer og buske. Som jeg skrev før, er det ret usædvanligt at man har mere end én han, tilknyttet gruppen. Man kunne tydeligt se deres hvide stødtænder gennem alt det grønne. De så store ud, så jeg er ret okay med at den del blev på afstand.

Oplevelsen var helt fantastisk, og uforglemmelig. At være så tæt på så store og majestætiske dyr kan ikke sammenlignes! At vide, og selv at se at de har det godt, var det vigtigste af hele oplevelsen. 5 ud af 5 stjerner for Secret Elephant Sanctuary.
Klik her, for at se priser på turen, og andre gode muligheder for udflugter til en overkommelig pris!
Vi betalte omkring 1200 baht for turen, pr. person, inkl frokosten, vand og frugt.

Retur til Old City, Chiang Mai

Da vi kom tilbage gik vi hvert til sit for at få os et meget tiltrængt bad og slappe lidt af ovenpå de mange indtryk. Ens hjerne er totalt stimuleret af sådan en tur, så det passede meget fint. Om aftenen tog vi på en restaurant pigerne havde opdaget og anbefalet. Vi delte nogle buchettas og hvidløgsbrød. De fik en pizza, og jeg en kødfri pasta med trøfler. Det var uden tvivl en af de bedste pastaretter jeg har fået i Thailand. Yum! 

Pigerne ville gerne i byen igen, men jeg havde lidt ondt i hovedet og gik derfor hjem og slappede af, ovenpå dagen.
Det var det for dag 6.

– Josie

For at læse de tidligere post(s) fra rejsen, kan du klikke her for at få et overblik!
Se den søde video af den skønne oplevelse her under, eller klik her.

 

ENGLISH

In this post you can read more about the city of Chiang Mai, Gate market & Elephant sanctuary.

My Secret Cafe

Day 5: 11.03.2023

We started the day at a cozy little cafe called “My Secret Cafe“. The name fit perfectly as it was tucked away in a cozy little soi (side street). After a delicious homemade toastie for breakfast, we went for a walk through the streets of Chiang Mai. We saw some temples and got to explore more of beautiful Chiang Mai. We talked about how a big wish here in Chiang Mai, was to visit a Chiang Mai Elephant Sanctuary, so we went in search of that.

We found a tourist center with a nice lady who helped us book a trip to an elephant sanctuary the following day. She was very keen on helping us, and explained that there was only one visit per day, with a maximum of 15-20 guests. Furthermore, we could feel that extra consideration was given to the elephants here, and that was exactly what we were looking for. Therefore, we booked the trip and left with an extra good gut feeling.

After this, the girls wanted to soak up the sun by the pool. Even though it’s a bit cloudy up here, you can still feel the heat and the sun. I went to the hotel and enjoyed some photo-editing and travel blogging, and later in the day had an easy and delicious lunch consisting of another favourite; Borbia (mini spring rolls with vegetables and happy noodles) and Somtam, the delicious and strong papya salt with tomato, long beans, chilli and peanuts.

Chiang Mai Gate Market

In the evening we went down to a new night market to see as much of the city as possible. This time it was the Chiang Mai Gate market. Here we tried some more Street food and had a slightly more exotic experience by eating at the street stalls. The street was full of insects and little nocturnal swarmers, looking for the lights from the stalls (and the food) yum. However, we did find a few places that looked promising. When we had almost finished eating, we saw a big fat rat run in between some boxes behind the area where we were sitting and eating. Then we had to admit, that the appetite suddenly disappeared, and we where done eating at. On the way home we saw a shop with nothing less than 5-6 small geckos hanging out on the facade of a building. They are a bit cuter than the other animals we met.

The day flew by quickly, and then it was off to bed so we could be ready for the elephant tour the next day.
We were to be picked up at the hotels as early as 7.30-8 in the morning.

Brief history of the old city:

Chiang Mai whose name means “new city” is located in northern Thailand and is the 2nd largest city in Thailand. The city was founded in 1296, and was the capital of the ancient ‘Lanna Kingdom’ in the 13-1800s. The central part of the city, called Old Town, is the core of Chiang Mai and is founded as a kind of square. Around the city is a large wall and moat. In its origins, it was to protect the city from invasion from neighboring countries, i.a. Myanmar and the Burmese population. There are 4 city gates leading through the Old Town, and the wall has been rebuilt several times over time. In 1558 Chiang Mai was conquered by Myanmar and only in 1774 were they driven out of the city by a Siamese* king Taksin.

Throughout time, the city has been a very religious place, with over 117 Buddhist temples (Wat), in the city district (Muang). That is, wherever you look, there is a beautiful temple.

*Siamese or Thai Malaysians, is an ethnic group belonging to the south-eastern part of Thailand and Malaysia. The Sukhothai dialect is spoken here, a dialect used mostly in the central and southern parts of Thailand.

Secret Elephant Sanctuary

Day 6: 12.03.2023

I was the first to be picked up at the hotel. They arrived at 07.25 and we drove on at 07.30 to pick up the girls. Unfortunately, they had slept through all their alarms, and woke up when I called, and we where waiting outside their hotel. In only a few minutes they collected their things, which they had luckily prepared the day before. Off we came, on to pick up the rest. There were only 10 people on this trip in total, which was perfect. Not too many, not too little. The trip to the site itself took approx. 1 hour.
We stopped before then, at a 7/11 so we could all buy some breakfast.
The Secret Elephant Sanctuary is tucked away between some mountains, so the trip there was a bit of an experience.

Elephant shirts and medicine

When we arrived we first had to wear certain shirts so that the elephants could recognize us as peaceful people and know that we were there to feed them. So we all started helping to make some medicine/vitamin supplements for them, and tore apart a bunch of bananas for them.

After a hike down some steep slopes, over rocks and bushes, we were met by the elephants. The adults stood neatly in rows at an establishment for feeding. This was despite the fact that there was no “real” enclosure, only in the area where the feeding took place so that no one was injured by accident. After all, they are big animals. The baby elephants were another matter. There were two, one aged 3 years and one aged 1.5 years. They ran around lively and excited, in their sweet, slightly clumsy way. One’s heart completely melted instantly.

Beautiful elephant names

I don’t remember the names of all the elephants, but the smallest they called Junior, what a cute name. The oldest and largest they call Mae Dao which means “Mother” star. She is the Monarch of the pack and the one who’s boss. In elephant groups, the female is the leader, not the male elephants. The second oldest was called Tanwakhm, which means December. In a typically elephant group, there’s only a single male elephant to mate with, who keeps his distance from the larger group of females.

During the feeding of the elephants, I got both a huge peck on the cheek, an elephant hug and learned how to feed the elephant in the mouth rather than the trunk. “Bon” means up, and when you said it, the elephant raised its trunk and opened its mouth. Such an exciting experience.

Elephant bathing and Traditional Thai food

After the feeding, the elephants walked around a bit, ate some bamboo branches and enjoyed themselves. They went over to a waterhole, bathed and smeared themselves in mud, and finally went over to a larger body of water to cool off. We had the opportunity to help bathe and put mud on them. However, we chose to skip that part as we wanted to respect the elephants during the visit. In the end of the trip, we had a delicious Thai lunch on the terrace back at the tenant. Before we drove back, we noticed from the mountainside that two males were standing at the edge of the valley eating from some trees and bushes. As I wrote before, it is quite unusual to have more than one male associated with the group. You could clearly see their white tusks through all the green. They looked big, so I’m pretty okay with that part being left out.
One of the workers explained that they had an elephant ready to mate, and that’s why there was two suiters. A female elephant is pregnant in 24 months, yes you read right, it takes 2 years to produce a cub.

The whole experience was absolutely fantastic and unforgettable. Being so close to such large and majestic animals cannot be compared! Knowing and even seeing that they are doing well, was the most important part of the whole experience.
5 out of 5 stars for Secret Elephant Sanctuary.

Click here to see prices for the tour and other great options for excursions at an affordable price!

We paid around 1200 baht for the trip, per person. including lunch, water and fruit.

Return to the Old City, Chiang Mai

When we got back we went our separate ways to have a much needed bath and relax a bit on top of the many impressions. One’s brain is totally stimulated by such a trip, so it suited very well. In the evening we went to a restaurant the girls had discovered and recommended. We shared some buchetta and garlic bread. They got a pizza and I got a meatless pasta with truffles. It was undoubtedly one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had in Thailand. Yum!

The girls wanted to go out in town again in the night, but I had a bit of a headache and therefore went home and relaxed, on top of the day.

That was it for day 6.

– Josie

To read the previous post(s) from the trip, you can click here to get an overview!

Watch the sweet video of the wonderful experience, by clicking here.