Day 4 – Chiang Mai

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Day four already. This hotel was awesome. We got a full breakfast buffet. And I got my first taste of Thai Coffee. Man this will definitely become a life long obsession. They only put condensed milk into their coffee. Which is delicious, but sure its a billion calories.

So we set off on our bus (which by the way was Finding Nemo themed) to this crazy temple on a mountain top. The bus ride is not for those who get bus sick. The roads to this temple are full of hair pin turns and you are never far from the edge. However, we got to this really old temple (Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep) that had 309 stairs to climb to get in.

Alex and Alla climbing 350 stairs to the temple.
Alex and Alla climbing 309 stairs to the temple.

So why is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep cool? Well legend has it that a white elephant carrying a relic (possibly a bone from Budda,) was released into the jungle, wondered to the top of this mountain, trumpeted 3 times and died here. The temple was then built in its place. 

 

They also tell fortunes at the temple. To get your four tune, you have to rattle the tube of sticks until 1 falls out. It will have a number on it. That number will then match up to the paper fortunes they have at the side. In addition to having your fortune told, you can also get blessed by a monk. It is very cool. You line up and the monk grants you peace then ties a string on your arm. The string will bring you good luck while you have it as long as it is not cut off.

Andrew getting blessed by a monk
Andrew getting blessed by a monk

After Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, there was an optional trip to Tiger Kingdom. When told that I get to play with baby tigers all day, of course I decided to go. When you get there you get to choose (for different costs of course) Which tigers you wanted to see. I choose to see the 3 month old tigers and the 6 month old tigers. 

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Cuddling a 3 month old tiger

As you can see a 3 month old tiger is adorable but big. And they like to play in the water a lot. It is crazy how powerful their lungs are. They move their chest up and down a lot. The bigger Tigers were a lot more sleepy. Tigers are actually nocturnal. So they sleep most of the day. So that  was actually what ended up making it safe to visit them.

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We ended off the day with a Thai Cooking class. The instructor was amazing and cracked lots of jokes and taught us that Pad Thai is the easiest thing to make ever. We definitely are still making it for dinner now.

 

 

 

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1 Comment

  1. Hello there,

    I read your review about this trip on Contiki! I will make this tour next March, I hope I will have a great time visiting Southeast Asia. I already did a Contiki around Europe, and a TopDeck in Middle East, Jordan and Israel. I can’t wait to see these baby Tigers. 🙂 By the way, I’ve been in Canada already, you are from a very beautiful country!

    Cheers from Brazil,
    Felipe

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