A Passport is a Girl's Best Friend

I have found my foodie zen place. I literally want to pull up a stool at every vendor and devour whatever they serve me. Everywhere you go, you'll find vendors offering fresh-cooked food, sometimes while perched on little plastic seats around a makeshift picnic table, others are to go on a stick. It seems as though you can wander the streets of Thailand for weeks, pointing at every single thing that looks tasty, eat until you burst, all without ever trying the same thing twice. And you'd have difficulty spending more than around $10 a day doing it. This is what heaven must be like. Sweet, curry, vegetable, rice, noodle and meat filled heaven. Thai ice tea Durian - the most disgusting smelling fruit in the world. "Your breath will smell as if you’ve been french kissing your dead grandmother" Anthony Bourdain Not food, but might fool you in case you we're paying attention mmmmm grilled corn Fried quail eggs and all the meats on a stick ...

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, often refered to as Doi Suthep, is about 9 miles from Chiang Mai and is a sacred site to many Thai people.  According to legend, a monk named Sumanathera had a dream that told him to go to Pang Cha and look for a relic. Sumanathera ventured to Pang Cha where he found a bone, which was said to be Buddha's shoulder bone. The bone displayed magical powers (e.g., glowing, able to vanish, move and replicate itself). In 1368 Sumanathera took the relic to what is now northern Thailand. The bone was placed on the back of a white elephant by the King and released it into the jungle. The elephant is said to have climbed up Doi Suthep, trumpeted three times before dying at the site. It was interpreted as a sign and King Nu Naone ordered the construction of a temple at the site. We took a tuk truck (a red covered pick up that acts as a cab in the north) to the base of the temple. Then climbed 300 steep steps to the top where the temple is located. Saf...

"The elephant is a friend of man. More than the dog, it's constant. And now indeed our turn has come To be the friend of the elephant." ~ Paul Hippeau Today, I made several new friends, and they just happen to be elephants. Elephant Nature Park is a sanctuary and rescue center for elephants in Mae Taeng District about 1.5 hours outside of Chiang Mai. Founded in 1996, the centers goals are to provide a haven for distressed elephants from all over Thailand. The park has rescued over 40 distressed elephants throughout Thailand and neighboring countries. Most elephants have been rescued from street begging, logging, or tourism others were disabled, orphaned or blind. In addition to elephants, they have rescued over 400 dogs and 200 cats. With such a beautiful cause and exciting experience, I wanted to spend at much time as possible with the elephants, so we chose Pamper a Pachyderm full day experience. Pamper a Pachydermn is an elephant camp neighboring the pa...