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Chiang Mai

My friend Andy’s wedding was in Chiang Mai, technically just north of the city in Mae Rim, about a 15 minute drive. Chiang Mai was much smaller than I was expecting. It may be one of of the biggest cities in the country, but it’s only about 1/10th the size of Bangkok. When I wasn’t involved in wedding related stuff I did a lot of venturing out on my own. My first night in Chiang Mai, I went to Nimmanhaemin, a trendy but relatively relaxed, treelined neighborhood. Its small streets are jam-packed with restaurants, bars and boutiques. I had drinks on the roof of Hotel YaYee, which had great views of the mountains & the more residential parts of the city. It’s a great sunset viewing spot.

Dinner itself was at Kinlum Kindee, a small restaurant along a crowded stretch of the neighborhood. The standout dish there was grilled field crab innards. Left in the shell, you scooped them up with sticky rice like a dip. The flavor was incredibly rich & intense, very much like sea urchin in taste & texture.

Outside of Chiang Mai there was plenty for me to do. I skipped the sketchy tiger encounters and cobra shows, instead going to the Siam Insect Zoo. It was small, but packed in a lot. I saw thousands of insects, including tarantulas, glow in the dark scorpions, foot-long walking sticks and a walk-through butterfly encounter (and got to hold most of them). The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, taking pride in their little zoo & the animals. Who knew I’d be perfectly comfortable holding a scorpion the size of my palm, but it happened! I also brought home some local raw honey from their gift shop.

High on my bucket list was, of course, elephants. After doing a lot of research on ethically appropriate locations, I ended up staying three days at Chai Lai Orchid, located along a river deep in a mountain forest near Doi Inthanon – Thailand’s highest mountain – west of Chiang Mai. Chai Lai Orchid is run by Daughters Rising, an anti-trafficking organization committed to providing housing, education and employment to marginalized women, as well as the protection of elephants. I spent three days there and loved it. The bungalows were “rustic chic” with mosquito nets over the beds and showers and toilets in a separate building, but that didn’t matter at all when you got to walk around the grounds with the elephants and giving them a pampered scrub down in the river. They also offer a number of activities including cooking classes, river rides and various hikes.

I did an all day hike to a secluded thousand-year old wat. The temple was like a beautifully carved jewel in the middle of nowhere. On the way back my guide (who insisted his name was Jackie Chan) took me over the mountain ridges to two large waterfalls, all the while pointing out which holes were tarantula holes and which were cobra holes (eek!). He also gave me a survival lesson on much of the flora we encountered: which was poisonous, which was good for digestion, which cured headaches, etc. We stopped for lunch at one of the waterfalls. He made a small fire to steam rice packed into bamboo, made bowls out of bamboo leaves, and carved chopsticks and a cup from bamboo. It was an amazing day.

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I also spent an afternoon at Doi Inthanon National Park. Up at the top of the mountain the temperature dropped by about 30F, which made for a great, cool respite from the heat. Up there I checked out the two large temples, had another lunch by another waterfall, this time at a roadside restaurant specializing in grilled salt-crushed whole fish (divine!). The road to the park was lined with blossoming cherry trees and at the roadside market I discovered my favorite Thai snack: intensely flavored dried strawberries.

Some days I hired a car to get me around everywhere. But on others I used Grab, the local ride-sharing service. Uber & Lyft aren’t in Thailand, so instead you’ll need to use Grab. I had never even heard of it until I got there. It worked great. I never had a problem with any of my drivers. One thing to note though: when you start out with Grab you can only use cash, so be sure you have what the fare will be (you know in advance) instead of assuming the driver will be able to break your large bills. It’s not until after you reach a certain number of rides (or something, I was never quite clear on it) that you can start prepaying your rides with a credit card.

Because Chiang Mai was the first stop on my trip I thought it would be a good first stop to inspire our first batch of recipes, and since starting off the day with an iced coffee or ice tea is such a ubiquitous thing to do, I thought let’s start with those: Big Gay Ice Cream’s take on Thai Iced Coffee Ice Cream & Thai Iced Tea Ice Milk. These recipes, like all the others we’ll be posting, are easy to do at home & ideal for the summer. So, let’s eat a spoonful, close our eyes & (virtually) take a trip to Thailand. 

Hugs, Bryan xo

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More of Bryan and Doug’s Thailand adventure

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WIN A BIG GAY VACATION TO AMAZING THAILAND

Enjoyed Bryan and Doug’s travels to Thailand? Well you too are in with a chance to WIN a trip to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket with flights for two from a US international airport to Thailand, including 9 nights luxury hotels included. Simply fill out your name, email address, contact telephone number and your state of residence, as well as your Instagram username for a chance to win. Make sure you FOLLOW @gothaibefree and @biggayicecream on Instagram too! We’ll be checking to see if you have.

Special thanks to our hotel partners
137 Pillars Suites & Residences Bangkok | 137 Pillars House Chiang Mai | The SIS Kata

Plus many other Big Gay Ice Cream goodies to be won!

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Terms and conditions
Terms and conditions apply. Contest open to legal US residents only of the 50 States and the District of Columbia aged over 18 on August 1, 2020 (except 19 in Alabama and Nebraska and 21 in Missisippi). Contest begins midnight EST July 27, 2020 and ends midnight EST August 28,  2020. Winner will be drawn within 4 weeks of closing date, based on correct and factual data entry including an Instagram handle. That Instagram handle must be following @gothaibefree on Instagram at the draw date (at any time 4 weeks from contest closing date.) Only one entry is allowed per email/Instagram handle, plus full and clear entry of all contact details. Failure to complete answers and contact details will result in disqualification. No purchase is necessary. Odds of winning the prize depends on the total number of eligible entries received during the promotion period. Winner will be notified by email. Sponsor is the Tourism Authority of Thailand, NYC Office, 61 Broadway, Suite 2810 New York, N.Y. 10006, USA. Sponsor’s decision is final. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute the prize, consisting of ONE (1) set of  TWO (2) return economy flights between an international airport in USA with connectivity to Thailand, and an international airport in Thailand – inter-USA domestic transfer flights are not included; and 3 x economy one-way flights for TWO (2) people between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai and Phuket, Phuket and Bangkok; with one of equal value. Hotel prizes are supplied as vouchers with their own individual terms and conditions including blackout dates. The three hotel prizes include vouchers for THREE (3) night’s hotel stay including breakfast for TWO (2) people at 137 Pillars Suites, Bangkok, THREE (3) night’s hotel stay including breakfast for TWO (2) people at 137 Pillars House in Chiang Mai, and THREE (3) night’s hotel stay including breakfast for TWO (2) people at the SIS Kata in Phuket. Prize may be substituted by partners and subject to further terms and conditions. Prizes are mutually exclusive and are subject to availability. We will try our best to ensure that all elements of the trip link up, but by entering you recognize that there may be parts of your prize that are unavailable at time of booking/travel and you may have to seek alternative accommodation at your own expense. Consolation prize fund consist of 10 Big Gay Ice Cream recipe books.

Winner may not substitute any part of this prize for cash. Employees, officers, agents and directors of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Big Gay Ice Cream and their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, contest, fulfillment and marketing agencies, their immediate families (parent, child, sibling & spouse and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and persons living in the same households as such individuals (whether related or not) are not eligible to participate in the Promotion. By participating, you agree to these Official Rules and to the decisions of the judges and Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects. Void in any state not listed above and where prohibited by law, rule or regulation. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

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