A bit of nature

  Chiang Dao, Thailand
Wednesday, June 6, 2007

In order to counteract the five days of craziness in Chiang Mai, Mike and I decided to take my family to Chiang Dao so that they could experience a little bit of nature. On Wednesday morning we packed all of our things, rented a car, and then squeezed everyone and our things into the little enclosed space. Seventy-two kilometers later we were pulling up to the Yang Tone Farm-stay, which was just as amazing as when Mike and I were last there. This time all the fruits were ripe, which provided us with fresh picked papaya, mangoes, and lychee. The Chiang Dao mountain was still as magnificent, with its limestone cliffs jutting out of the earth. We unpacked our things and then piled back into the car, eager to get to the caves.

After parking near the entrance, we stopped briefly to feed a huge number of gigantic coy and catfish. All it would take was a small sprinkle of the pellets and the fish would swarm the area pushing each other up and out of the water while making sucking noises with their mouths. Six bags of fish food later we were tired of it...although I imagine the fish could have kept eating for hours.

We climbed the small flight of stair and entered the damp, cool cave. It had been raining since Mike and I were here last, making the scent of the caverns a bit rank. After paying for our guide the five of us climbed into the darkness. Within a few moments we could detect bats above our heads. Our guide spoke little English, but we were still able to make out the figures created by the stalactites and stalagmites.  Although the cave was impressive I had more fun watching my lanky brother and father attempt to squeeze through the narrow passages between each room.   

That night Mike and I decided to take everyone out to a street-food dinner of bat mee geow nam (Egg noodle soup with red pork and wantons), which was perfect since everyone could adjust their own spiciness.  We stuffed our bellies and then headed back to the farm.  The evening was spent relaxing outside and enjoying the beautiful butterflies and birds.  What a perfect respite after being in Chiang Mai.

The next morning we were treated to an authentic Thai breakfast complete with fried chicken, friend pork, sticky rice,  eggplant dip (which was very similar to the dip Mike and I had in Laos), sausage, and fresh fruit.  Every time one of us came close to clearing our plate, we were served even more delicious food.  Near where we were sitting there was a bush of purple flowers that was just covered in butterflies.



A few more hours passed by before we had to load the car with all of our things and head back to Chiang Mai for our flight and we passed the time with card games and books.  It was so nice to just sit in the cooler air and look around us.  Sadly it came time to pack up our things and head back to the city, although we were lucky enough to arrive with enough time to eat a great Indian food lunch before heading to the airport.  The five of us caught a songtheow there and arrived two hours before our flight, only to find out that it was canceled.  Luckily we didn't have a connection flight from Bangkok.  Five hours later we were boarding our flight and saying our final goodbyes to Chiang Mai.