Soaking in the culture

We arrived in Chiang Mai late Sunday evening and checked into the Tamarinde Village resort. Super pretty but we didn’t realize it’s full beauty until morning when we were awoken by roosters. Little K told us she wasn’t feeling great after taking her vitamins and then didn’t want to eat much at breakfast except for an apple sauce. We thought maybe she was just tired/jet-lagged when she said she didn’t feel well, but weren’t sure. We didn’t know if we should continue forward with our plans for the day, but she said yes she still wanted to go.

We learned our lesson about giving Little K her vitamins before food (even though the gummies don’t say they must be taken with food) because she puked in the taxi. Or maybe it was the motion sickness J sometimes gets… who knows. Luckily I had a pair of undies and a T-shirt for her in my purse….no shorts though. And she was wearing a dress. So when we arrived at Doi Suthep we promptly purchased a dress for Little K. She picked out a dress that was pretty customary to local culture so EVERYONE thought she was the cats pajamas. She attracted a lot of attention already being Caucasian and with her sun kissed highlights, but add a little cultural dress and everyone wanted to meet her. Our mini-celeb accepted some photos and declined others. Rightfully so she only accepted hugs from one or two kids.

We started the climb up to the temple and the view was beautiful with lush green plants, flowers and butterflies everywhere. You can pay to take a cable car up as option; however, the walk up wasn’t bad, even with a three year old. When you get to the top, the temple is stunning. A few things to keep in mind when visiting is that women need to cover their knees and shoulders (so I wore a dress that did both) and you need to remove shoes before going in. Once in the temple, you need to be respectful. Don’t speak loudly, don’t take any selfies with any Buddha statues and kneel in places where it asks you too. Some temples also require that you remove hats and sunglasses.

Doi Suthep happened to be the first temple we visited and it was breathtaking for us despite the large crowds. After exploring the temple and walking back down, we took our taxi over to the Chiang Mai Zoo and Aquarium which I highly recommend if you love animals or have kids who do. This zoo was more interactive than any of the US zoos. For less than $1 US you can purchase baskets of fresh veggies to feed the animals. Naturally this meant we fed hippos and giraffes (and maybe more than once.) 😊 The animals have a decent amount of space and it was sooooo hot; if we had to walk the whole time we wouldn’t have made it to see all the animals. Luckily you can rent a golf cart to drive your family around for around $10 US per hour. We got lunch at the zoo (chicken and rice) for something like $1.50 US per person. You’ll want to bring your own bottled water with you or plan to by some there because like I said, it was HOT!

Little K really enjoyed seeing the panda since she brought her own little panda “Baby Bear” along for the adventure.

Most places in Chiang Mai require cash so you’ll want to make sure you bring enough and exchange your money.

After the zoo, we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta. After nap, we decided to walk around the city a bit. Chiang Mai is pretty walkable so we walked or took tuk-tuks to get around. I recommend asking your concierge how much a Tuk-tuk to certain places should cost or you may get ripped off. That also gives you a ballpark so you know what negotiating power you have.

We stumbled upon a cute little family-run restaurant Farm Story House which we later found out has received certificates of excellence from Trip Advisor and we know why…. it was delicious. We tried fried durian chips, apricot soda and some traditional Thai dishes including my now favorite Pad Krapow Gao (Spicy Thai Basil Chicken).

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel for an early bedtime. What about that for a first day in Chiang Mai?