World Travels With Jeff: Exploring Chiang Mai, Thailand

My visiting friend, Linda Weaver and I took several days to explore Thailand's second largest city, Chiang Mai. Located about 700km North of Bangkok and about 100km South of the Burma (Myanmar) boarder. Chiang Mai is known for it's temples, art scene, interesting food and it's reprieve from hot and humid Bangkok.

The art scene I found to be non-plus. The best restaurants were good, but not remarkable. The food of Northern Thailand is nothing like Southern Thailand (which Westerners are more familiar with). Like Cambodia, Northern Thailand cuisine leans more toward bitter greens and rather pungent fish with rice. An acquired taste that I have yet to attain.

For me (and I think Linda as well) the highlight of Chiang Mai were the ZOO'S!

Those that follow this blog know I just love third-world zoo's. While in most instances, zoo's I have visited in South East Asia tend to animals as well as First-world zoo's, there is a big difference. In Western zoo's, animal enclosures are mostly idiot-proof for those that want to get too close. Not in third world zoo's. In the third world, there is often only chain link fence and a single, waist-high bar to keep visitors out of an animals reach. Here, there is a significant difference in the concept of liability and responsibility. Enclosures are much more dangerous and easy for visitors of poor judgement to get right to the fence where animals with arms grab people or their belongings.

Guests handling wild animals is also unique to the third-world. As cute as some of these animals are, I wouldn't dare. Linda on the other hand has an affinity for animals that is calm, gentle and irrepressible.

Restaurant in the foothills of Chiang Mai.

"Mahouts" and their charge.

Elephant takes the hat of the boy, wears it on his own head and then returns to the boy's head with attention to the fit of the boys head properly as he found it.