Chiang Mai (Tiger Kingdom)

This is something that I was super pumped about since Phuket when we looked into doing something like this.  And let me say, we looked into it, extensively.  There is a lot of rumors and accusations on how the animals are treated in this Tiger enclosures.  Are they drugged?  Are the mishandled?  Is it really safe?  Do the trainers hurt them to enforce not endangering tourists? Etc.  

Here is my two cents on the issue.  I have worked with horses fairly extensively for three summers. In no way do I claim to be an expert on animal issues or how animals should be treated, but these tigers seemed happy.  Yes sleepy, they are cats and therefore sleep most of the day.  We went early in the morning, when they are fairly active, and you could definitely tell they are NOT drugged.  They were playful and sometimes a little intimidating.  Once or twice the tiger eyed me up (for a snack I think!) and the trainer knocked him on the nose with a pole.  Not hard, but enough to enforce the idea that that was unwanted behavior.  And immediately the cat would walk away or settle down.  This to me seemed normal, as someone who worked with horses force (obviously not excess) is sometimes the best way to communicate with animals.  People tend to forget that this is how they communicate with each other!  When a cat does something wrong the other cat will not politely ask him not to do it again, but most likely swipe him across the nose.  So why then should we communicate with them otherwise?

The other question that came up was should these animals be tamed as they are wild animals.  And my answer to that is as humans we use many animals.  Horses only being one example.  How is this really any different?  If we teach horse to carry people, what is wrong with teaching tigers to allow people to pet them?  If people are upset about the tigers they should be upset about horseback riding and be against that as well!  But somehow I doubt these same people are.....


The only problem that I had was the enclosures were sometimes on the small side and sometimes only concrete.  This ideally would be rectified, but then again many zoos have the same issues.  Lots of these tigers had water to play in, friends to play with (although not too many in the same cage), and some space.  Yes ideally they would have huge enclosures, and hopefully that is something the Tiger Kingdom will look into (though I doubt it).  All in all it was a really cool experience and I don't think the animals are being mistreated in this particular location!  Anyway here are the cool Tiger Pictures!

BIG TIGER!!

We Were Both Suprised!

They Really Are Just Big Cats!

Definitely Wanting to Play

Having Some Fun!

Two Tigers Trying to Assert Dominance

Also Time for Tiger Naps!

The Young Ones Were DEFINITELY Active

Rammy Ram Made it To!

These were only 2 weeks old!

Pretty Cool Stuff

Chiang Mai (Sammy's Organic Cooking Class)

One of the things I really wanted to do while in Thailand was a cooking course.  This was something I had done last time (when I was about 13) and thought maybe this time around I would have a little more appreciation for it, having to cook for myself and all now!  So when we got to our hostel we asked one of the ladies which cooking class we should take, as there are almost literally hundreds of them, and she recommended Sammy's.  It was a full day, took you to a market, taught you 5 meals, and was out on a rice field, and of course only 1000 Baht (about 33 dollars!).  How could we say no?

So we woke up early, hopped into a tuk tuk and headed to the market.  Here Sammy (the owner) shared with us the difference between types of rice as well as teaching us about coconut milk.  It was pretty cool how he shaved the coconut and literally squeezed out the milk!

All the Types of Rice

Making that Coconut Milk!

The icing to the cake of this market visit was that we ran into a friend from Canada. Someone I did not even know was in Thailand.  Someone I had not only gone to school with as a young child, but also worked at a summer camp in the Rockies.  SMALL WORLD!

What Do You Think?  Most Beautiful Toilets in Thailand?

After the amazing meeting and the market we headed to Sammy's house.  This is where the cooking lesson takes place.  And what an amazing location it is!  There are hammocks to rest, lots of cooking space, a beautiful table to eat on with all your new friends, and of course the most beautiful toilets in Thailand (or so Sammy says, repeatedly!)

Amazing Place to Rest!

This Was For Our Siesta Time After Lunch

After a quick tour and some fresh bananas and cool water we got started.  Our first task was to familiarize ourselves with some of the natural ingredients that we were going to use.  All grown in Sammy's backyard of course! This was everything from Basil to Peppers and Lemon Grass.  Pretty cool working with such fresh ingredients.  Next we learned to make our own curry paste for our curry. This involved a lot of grinding!

Rammy Ram is Ready to Start Cutting!

Rammy Ram Was More Than Happy To Help

Making Curry Paste!

After that it was cooking time!  We each made three dishes for lunch.  I made a Green Curry, Pad Thai, and a coconut soup.  All were so delicious!

My Three Amazing Dishes!

After eating, of course we needed a break!  Food coma!

Hammock Time!

Looking Out on the Fields

After a quick (read 1 hour) siesta it was back to cooking!  This time we made an appetizer and a dessert.  Both were group efforts and super delicious!

Spring Rolls!

Working Hard to Make Dessert!

My Mango and Sticky Rice Creation!

Finally it was time to go home.  What an amazing day!  Great food, great new friends, and a great time!  We even got a cooking book so we could make the same dishes at home!  I loved this course.  It was easy, in English, and Sammy was so funny and friendly. Would absolutely do it again!

Sammy and His Wife, Our New Friends!

Chiang Mai (Wats)

We spent so much time walking around Chaing Mai looking at all the Wats.  These are the Buddhist Temples with lots of amazing architecture.  Our first and furthest stop was Doi Suthep.

Rammy Ram Made It To The Temple

Amazing Gold Bell

Lots of Bells!

View From the Inside

Amazing Temple From the Front 

After spending time up there in Doi Suthep, which is on top of the hill near Chiang Mai, we headed back to the city to explore some of the 300 temples in the city itself.  We walked around over the next 5 or 6 days and walked into lots of different places and saw all these cool amazing sights. 

Amazing Scuptures At Wat Chiang Man

Found the Goat (Me....Year of the Goat!)

We Found a Wat with Lots of Horses!

Amazing Colors with the Bright Blue Sky

One of my Favorite Wat's, All the Zodiac is Hung Up

Very Old, Obviously!

Anyway at this point I can barely tell you which one is from which Wat.  We walked in and out of so many in the city and spent time looking around and taking pictures.  It was really awesome and quite beautiful!  It definitely makes me excited for the retreat we are about to go do!

Chiang Mai (The City)

So we have been in Chiang Mai for a while now and I am loving it!  I am going to blog Chiang Mai a little differently that the other blogs.  I will break it up into what we did which might no be necessarily in chronological order.  This blog will be about the city and the food!  Which is always pretty important to me!

So we flew into Chiang Mai from Koh Samui, caught an taxi to our new home for a couple days.  The Mojito Guesthouse 2.  This is a very cute little hostel with a really cool chill area.

This Is Our Nice Little Home

The Amazing Chill Area, With A Pool and Everything!

From our amazing hostel, which is in the middle of the old city, we can easily walk all around and see lots of the amazing architecture.  There is also tons of delicious food all around.  One of our favorite restaurants is called Bamboo Bee's its a vegetarian restaurant right near Wat Chiang Man.  Really cute, small restaurant, with only one chef, who does everything!  She cooks, makes smoothies, and does shopping!  The restaurant only fits about 10 people with the kitchen in the front so we can watch her cook!

Our Amazing Breakfast at the Bamboo Bee's

An Amazing Smoothie we Had

The Delicious Kitchen

Chocolate Banana Frappe!

The MAJESTIC Veggie Burger!

Our Very First Delicious Meal at the Vegetarian Restaurant. 

Amazing Orange/ Ginger/ Lemon Smoothie. 

Another Amazing Restaurant We Went To!

 We also spent lots of time in Chiang Mai going to all the markets that are around the city.  The Night Market, The Saturday Walking Market, The Sunday Market.  It was really awesome, lots of cool things and amazing foods!  We had mushrooms wrapped in bacon, sushi, lychee drink, ancient ice cream (which we called butter on a stick), Pad Thai, and Buns.  All in all it cost us less than 5 dollars a person and it was delicious!  We also bought some cool Thai Pants and our white clothing for the meditation course that we are going to take in a couple days.

Butter on a Stick!  So Yummy!

On one of our last nights in Chiang Mai the Dutch were playing soccer so we headed to the famous Holland House to watch and what we came across was amazing!

All Dutch Food!  Including REAL CHEESE!

Us Cheering them On!

So Many Dutch People!!!!

That was our overall experience in Chiang Mai!  I will also write a post about the Wat's, our Cooking Class, and of course the Tiger Kingdom!  Stay tuned!