Chiang Mai Day 2

December 11, 2009

DAY 2

After talking with Mattieu and Emelia on the way to the media party at the beautiful Amari Watergate Hotel (http://www.amari.com/watergate/) in Bangkok, we decided that we would wake up early and add a Microlight flight to our itinerary. We ended up booking our flights through Chiang Mai Sky Adventure (http://www.skyadventures.info/) and we were pleasantly surprised. It was a extremely foggy when we reached the field where the aircrafts take off and we were in danger of not being able to fly, but luckily the fog lifted a bit. Microlight flying gives you the sensation of flying like a bird; you have the cold air whipping you in the face and you can look directly down from 1000 feet in the air. The Microlight planes are capable of flying for 3 hours continuously, but the company we chose provides flight for 30 minutes maximum. Being afraid of heights, it was harrowing at first, but strangely peaceful as the flight progressed. The views of the Chiang Mai countryside were gorgeous, and my pilot, Apple, pointed out all of the essential landmarks and was able to answer my many questions. We have some great video footage, which will help you understand why you should add this activity to your next trip to Chiang Mai!

Next on the list was Baan Thai Cookery School (http://www.cookinthai.com/). I am not much of a chef, but after taking the half day class, I am confident that I can whip up some semblance of a Northern Thai meal. Aubrey and I met some really nice people from Germany named Patrick, Ana, and Katja, and fellow American named Linda from Oregon. We had a great instructor named R and he showed us how to cook Northern Thai dishes, such as Penaeng red curry, spring rolls, hot and sour prawn soup, deep fried bananas, papaya salad, and mango sticky rice. Needless to say, after learning to cook these amazing dishes as well as dining on them, we were stuffed.

The Scorpion Tail Boat Village (http://www.scorpiontailed.com/) company picked us up from the Baan Thai Cookery School. The owner was so gracious and told amazing stories about the Ping River, the main river in Chiang Mai. He was so entertaining and wove amazing tales about the history of the great river. In fact, we have some upcoming videos dedicated to some of his humorous stories. We also were shown the Scorpion Tail Boat Village, where tiny villas were shaped like boats. Our guide showed us some of his skilled handiwork, which impressed us so much that we made some purchases. The generosity shown by the Scorpion Tail Boat Village was overwhelming and the trip down the historic Ping River was both relaxing and informative.

After the Scorpion Boat trip, we made an unscheduled visit to the Chiang Mai Night Safari (http://www.chiangmainightsafari.com/main.htm) and we ended up being very thankful that we did. As we entered, we came upon a baby hyena on a leash. We played with the baby hyena for about 15 minutes and he took a liking to our “Vote for Aubrey and Parker” flyers we have been passing out, pawing and sniffing it. I think we might have a new fan! Afterwards, we were able to go into a private room with a baby WHITE TIGER and feed it milk and hold it! Considering there are only 300 white tigers remaining in the world, this was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We got some priceless photos of the not-so-little and very rambunctious tiger quenching his thirst! Still buzzing from our amazing opportunity, we were led to meet the CEO of the Chiang Mai Night Safari, Mr. Narong Tananuwat. Mr. Tananuwat was very gracious to take time out of his schedule to answer many of our questions about the now famous Chiang Mai Night Safari. We were offered a sneak peak into the inner-workings of the successful zoo/educational theme park, including the shocking revelation that our beloved white tiger, Henry, is scared of live chicken. Instead he insists on roasted chicken, making him the pickiest eater in the whole zoo! We have MUCH more in-depth information coming shortly as well as some incredible video footage, so stay tuned!

-Can’t wait for tomorrow,

Aubrey and Parker (AubParkThailand) Chiang Mai