It's our first day in Chiang Mai (the rose of the north). We wake up early enough to take advantage of the free breakfast, which is just toast & coffee/tea. It's basic but its fuel & we definitely needed it for this day. Another big day of local small temples, museum's & the night markets.
We set off to pound the pavement & explore Chiang Mai. It's a city that has a lot of history.
Perhaps not as widely known as Bangkok & Phuket, but Chiang Mai is a gem for its own reasons & a very special place in Thailand. It was first founded in 1296 by King Mengrai & was the capital of the Lanna kingdom until 1558. It was a 1.5km square, walled city with a moat.
Before we start to plan what we want to do in the next few days. Nat has bounced down the stairs & declared that she now wants to see elephants! I couldn't be happier & make this a priority to research the local sanctuaries & book us in for a whole day experience on Tuesday.
We set off to pound the pavement & explore Chiang Mai. It's a city that has a lot of history.
Perhaps not as widely known as Bangkok & Phuket, but Chiang Mai is a gem for its own reasons & a very special place in Thailand. It was first founded in 1296 by King Mengrai & was the capital of the Lanna kingdom until 1558. It was a 1.5km square, walled city with a moat.
The Lanna Kingdom (The Kingdom of a million of rice fields) was the Kingdom that occupied Northern Thailand, parts of Myanmar, China, Burma & Laos.
Because of its prime position, it was the main trading point for Southern China & Burma. This is one of the reason's that it was constantly invaded & attacked.
In 1557 it was successfully conquered by Burma & became one of their states. The next 200 years following this Burma & Siam would were constantly fighting over Chiang Mai & it was frequently being conquered & Taken, only to be taken back again.
Finally, in 1774, the King of the Lanna Kingdom combined forces with Siam to drive Burma out of the Kingdom once & for all. Then in 1892 the Lanna Kingdom became part fo Siam & was slowly concentrated to a 20,000km radius around Chiang Mai. In 1932 Chiang Mai officially became a province of Siam & in 1949 Siam became Thailand.
The modern day Chiang Mai, is a perfect harmony of sleepy Thailand & travellers convenience with history & provincial charm. The old city still remains, with the 4 corners of the wall intact, as well as some other sections, including a gate. Theres nothing Tom & I love more than an old walled city! Our accommodation is just outside the old city & near the night bazaar.
We're in a great ;location to start exploring Chiang Mai.
We see Buddhist temples on nearly every street, especially in the Old City & can see a big gold one glinting on the mountains just outside the city, which we make plans to go see.
Nat stops at The Coffee Shop to refuel with a coffee & we read that the beans used in this coffee shop come from Gray St, Brisbane, Australia. It's a taste of home!
Nat & I somehow loose the boys while weaving in & out of various shops that are selling all kinds of things. It's mostly fashion, hand made trinkets & art.
We catch up with the boys outside the museum & make our way inside.
The tickets cover the entry for 3 very different sections of the museum's & we have a few days to see all 3 buildings.
We start with The Lanna Folklife Museum which is all about the history of Chiang Mai, the Lanna Kingdom & the integration with Thailand. The museum was very modern, had relevant, to the point information that was combined with interesting displays. It was in an old, charming 2 storey house that also had a coffee shop, souvenir shop & a friendly ginger cat at the end.
We spend a couple of hours here in this exhibit, before we all start to get hungry. We decide to come back & do the other 2 sections of the museum on another day.
Nat & I somehow loose the boys while weaving in & out of various shops that are selling all kinds of things. It's mostly fashion, hand made trinkets & art.
We catch up with the boys outside the museum & make our way inside.
The tickets cover the entry for 3 very different sections of the museum's & we have a few days to see all 3 buildings.
We start with The Lanna Folklife Museum which is all about the history of Chiang Mai, the Lanna Kingdom & the integration with Thailand. The museum was very modern, had relevant, to the point information that was combined with interesting displays. It was in an old, charming 2 storey house that also had a coffee shop, souvenir shop & a friendly ginger cat at the end.
We spend a couple of hours here in this exhibit, before we all start to get hungry. We decide to come back & do the other 2 sections of the museum on another day.
It was about 15 frustrating minutes walking the streets trying to find food. It's frustrating, because earlier this morning, the streets were dominated by food & now, we seem to be in a section of Chiang Mai that has no food & is mostly residential.
It's great when the boys finally find somewhere & we all pile on to a table.
After lunch, we start to walk back through old town towards the wall. Luckily, on our way we walk past a fish massage spa place. This is high on the list of things that we want to do today.
In we all go & dangle our feet into the warm tanks of water full of fish. I'm sharing a tank with Tom & nearly immediately the fish swarm Tom's legs & feet.
Nat & Dom have separate tanks, but the fish in their tanks aren't really interested. Dom in particular moves tanks a few times to try & find hungry fish.
I'm not sure the reason why they are interested in some people & not others. Nat & Dom did have a 15 minute fish spa done the previous night, perhaps they don't have enough dead skin to interest the fish. After about 10 minutes a few fish start to show interest in my feet & leave Tom.
15 minutes in to the experience & I have a swarm of fish per foot & that's when I had a horrible realisation that we had all applied some sort of Deet based insect repellent this morning. I think this is probably a reason for them not liking certain people. I'm more worried that we've inadvertently poisoned them. I hope I'm wrong & just being paranoid. Surely if the Deet was bothering them, they wouldn't be swarming around my feet like this....
After 30 minutes it's time to dry off our feet, leave the fish spa & continue our way home.
At the time of writing this post, I did a google search to find out more about the fish. They are called Garra Rufa, a non migratory, fresh water, Carp species that are native to the Middle East, where they have been used for medical purposes in strict conditions & with great success for treating Psoriasis. In the wild these fish will eat plankton, however when kept in tanks at Fish spa/pedicures/massages, they eat the dead skin on your feet.
Nat & Dom have separate tanks, but the fish in their tanks aren't really interested. Dom in particular moves tanks a few times to try & find hungry fish.
I'm not sure the reason why they are interested in some people & not others. Nat & Dom did have a 15 minute fish spa done the previous night, perhaps they don't have enough dead skin to interest the fish. After about 10 minutes a few fish start to show interest in my feet & leave Tom.
15 minutes in to the experience & I have a swarm of fish per foot & that's when I had a horrible realisation that we had all applied some sort of Deet based insect repellent this morning. I think this is probably a reason for them not liking certain people. I'm more worried that we've inadvertently poisoned them. I hope I'm wrong & just being paranoid. Surely if the Deet was bothering them, they wouldn't be swarming around my feet like this....
After 30 minutes it's time to dry off our feet, leave the fish spa & continue our way home.
At the time of writing this post, I did a google search to find out more about the fish. They are called Garra Rufa, a non migratory, fresh water, Carp species that are native to the Middle East, where they have been used for medical purposes in strict conditions & with great success for treating Psoriasis. In the wild these fish will eat plankton, however when kept in tanks at Fish spa/pedicures/massages, they eat the dead skin on your feet.
After reading the information on the CDC's website (Centres for disease control & prevention) I won't be getting another one. A report was published in the dermatology section of the JAMA (Journal Of American Medical Association) in September 2018 about a lady who had a fish spa in South East Asia. Six months later she suffered such a severe, acute case of Onychomadesis that she required specialist dermatology treatment. There has been many cases of fungal infections & bacterial infection's both superficial & septicaemic, from the infection entering the blood stream, when the fish bite you & draw blood.
The fish have proven to be 'skin doctors' of a micro size when it comes to treating some skin problem's in strictly controlled conditions. The fish spa's of South East Asia however sound like the exact opposite, the tank's are very unhygienic & are spreading fungal & bacteria infections. You just dont know who had their feet in the water before you or what they may have had...
After reading all this, I dont think I'll be doing that again, I'm not a sook, but I really like my nails!
It's late in the afternoon when we get home. My feet are sore from walking & in areas they are sensitive from the fish.
It's late in the afternoon when we get home. My feet are sore from walking & in areas they are sensitive from the fish.
We all decide to have a few hours to chill out before we go to the Sunday night hand made craft market.
It's after 7pm when we all assemble & make our way towards the night market in the old city. Initially there's some confusion about where to go, but then Nat takes the lead & before too long, we have arrived! It's another HUGE market!
The major streets within the old city have been shut down to traffic & hundreds of stalls are on the streets. As well as stalls, there is stages with performers, food, beverages & amusements.
We loose each other many times in the chaos, but we all agree on a direction to walk in & always find each other.
It's after 7pm when we all assemble & make our way towards the night market in the old city. Initially there's some confusion about where to go, but then Nat takes the lead & before too long, we have arrived! It's another HUGE market!
The major streets within the old city have been shut down to traffic & hundreds of stalls are on the streets. As well as stalls, there is stages with performers, food, beverages & amusements.
We loose each other many times in the chaos, but we all agree on a direction to walk in & always find each other.
Tom is busy with the DSLR photographing the action of the market. Nat & I are stopping at most fashion & craft stores, with earrings being a favourite for the night. Dom is on a foodie's mission & I'm sure has aspirations to try every kind of skewer, ever known to man.
We don't realise the time & it's 10pm, all of a sudden. We've only seen about 4 streets worth of stalls & were hungry. We find a section of stalls down a side street that do amusement things & food.
Tom & I get a container of sushi to share & we are shocked to work out we paid $3 AUD for 10 pieces! The boys try their aim at one of the amusement stalls with BB guns & paper targets. Nat & I join them for a game & we all deliver a few kill shots.
After this we all make our way towards the old city wall & the gate. Tom & I are tired & head back to the hotel, while Nat & Dom stay out a little later exploring Chiang Mai night life.
- Alli
We don't realise the time & it's 10pm, all of a sudden. We've only seen about 4 streets worth of stalls & were hungry. We find a section of stalls down a side street that do amusement things & food.
Tom & I get a container of sushi to share & we are shocked to work out we paid $3 AUD for 10 pieces! The boys try their aim at one of the amusement stalls with BB guns & paper targets. Nat & I join them for a game & we all deliver a few kill shots.
After this we all make our way towards the old city wall & the gate. Tom & I are tired & head back to the hotel, while Nat & Dom stay out a little later exploring Chiang Mai night life.
- Alli
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