9
| Apr 2010 |
Hero Material and I made our way to the airport — this time Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort arranged for it — and got there in one piece and with plenty of time to spare. Phuket airport is one of the worst I've ever been to, alas. It's nowhere near as nice as Bangkok, Incheon or Narita.
One thing I suggest that people do is eat before boarding. This time we flew economy, and the food was horrid. I can't stand mayonnaise — I hate the smell of it, the color, the taste of it, the texture — and it was in all their food. So I couldn't eat anything. By the time we landed in Chiang Mai, I was extremely hungry and was getting a nasty headache from the low blood sugar.
Chiang Mai airport is much better than the one in Phuket. The Airport Taxi company was very good, and we were able to get to Le Meridien Chiang Mai for just 120 baht (less than $4).
I really liked the main entrance.
And the elephant fountain just looks awesome.
The hotel appeared very new and modern.
And of course, our room (the most important thing!):
Le Meridien Chiang Mai also gave us a nice platter of fruit with a memo from the general manager congratulating us on our marriage. I have no idea how they knew I love eating. LOL. Fruit in Thailand tastes awesome. Crisp and juicy and sweet. *bliss*
The hotel also has a lovely pool.
Since I was starving, we decided to go out and walk around and find a place to eat. This is what it looks like outside our hotel.
After we ate something — I think it was some kind of curry or whatever…I can't even remember to be honest because I was that hungry, and my head hurt too much. But afterward, I felt so much better, so Hero Material and I decided to walk around some. We found some interesting street shops.
And look what we found!
He's only four years old. We got to feed him some sugarcane. He wasn't chained, and his owners didn't use sticks or anything to make him move around, and it was obvious that he wasn't being abused. It cost me 20 baht to feed this little sweetie. :wub:
After that, we got a foot massage at a place called Let's Relax, on the second floor of the big McD building you saw above.
Around 9-ish or so, we returned to the hotel and asked our concierge about going to the elephant camp. We thought about doing a group tour, but decided against it because we didn't want to be at the mercy of whatever schedule the tour company decided on. The concierge recommended that we take a taxi out there. He made our reservation and everything. Yay!
Day 6 — (BIG) elephants here we come…! W00t!
April 9th, 2010 at 10:43 pm · Link
I love those pictures!! It sounds like you are having quite the adventure. :)
April 9th, 2010 at 10:48 pm · Link
He’s so cute! I did not know they stay that little even at four years old. Now I feel like i need one for my ‘farm.’
I’m really enjoying your series on the honeymoon. How fitting for a romance writer =)
April 10th, 2010 at 12:27 am · Link
I just love those markets. I wish I’d gotten to Chaing Mai when I was there.
April 9th, 2010 at 11:05 pm · Link
Thanks, Colette. Alas, our adventure’s over. I didn’t get a chance to upload any pics, so I’m basically copy / pasting my travelogue here. :)
Debb — Thanks. They do stay very small. Seven-year-olds are not much taller than I am, and I’m 5’7″.
April 10th, 2010 at 11:05 am · Link
pics of inside hotel soooo lovely. However, I noticed Burger King and Big Mac outside :D hehe.
Cute elephant, at 4yrs he is still a baby :)
Thanks hun :)
April 10th, 2010 at 11:30 pm · Link
You should have seen the Starbucks and Subways, too, hahaha. Resistance is futile.
As for the elephants, Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants, which is why even at a few years old they’re still “cuddly”. It might be different on the veldt.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:41 am · Link
Charlotte — maybe you can visit later… :)
Dionne — Hero Material’s right about the madness of western chains in Chiang Mai. There were so many of those, though we did our best to avoid them all. Even at 7, elephants look teeny. :)