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Ten Days in Thailand
updated: Feb 19, 2011, 8:30 AM

By Marc Liberts

I just returned from a 10-day trip to Thailand. Most tourists who visit Thailand head to Bangkok or Phuket. My father decided to visit his friend in the city of Chiang Mai, which is about 300 miles north of Bangkok, near the Laos and Myanmar (Burma) borders. As luck would have it, my friends from Australia were also scheduled to be in Chiang Mai visiting their friends as well. So, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit Thailand, spend time with my father, and see my Australian friends. My wife couldn't get the time off from her work, so I was forced to go it alone.

Prior to leaving, I did extensive research on the Internet about the city of Chiang Mai, the accommodations available, the types of food, and the types of tours available. I found tripadvisor and wikitravel.org to be very good resources. I also found a number of blogs helpful, but not as reliable. After experimenting with various hotel websites, I came to like booking.com and agoda.com the best for gathering information and mapping the hotels. I eventually would book my accommodations through the hotel's websites directly. I spent hours reading all the hotel reviews I could to try and winnow out the undesirable lodgings. After much research I picked a nice looking hotel for 3 nights, followed by a nice looking serviced apartment for 5 nights. Due to two big festivals taking place during my visit, I was unable to book a room for one night in the middle, but I figured I'd get one once I got there. Another really good resource for information about a destination and hotels is youtube! I searched for the city I was going to, and I also searched for the hotels I was thinking about. There were a number of videos available to watch, and they did help me make my final decisions about where to stay and what to do while I was there.

Flying from Los Angeles to Bangkok takes about 18 hours. Most of the major airlines fly from LAX to Tokyo or Seoul, which takes about 12 hours. From there, you connect to Bangkok, which is another 6-hour flight. After doing some research, I found out that Thai Airlines has the only direct flight from LAX to Bangkok - 18 hours non-stop! It is one of the longest non-stop flights in the world. Also, they fly the Airbus A340-500 on that route, and I've always wanted to fly on that plane. I was also curious to see what an 18-hour non-stop flight would be like. Best of all, Thai Airlines is part of the Star Alliance group, meaning that I would be able to get the mileage credit on this flight on my United Airlines account! Before I booked, I looked at a number of www.youtube.com videos about Thai Airlines, and discovered that Thai offers a Premium Economy cabin for this flight, and it looked pretty nice on the video. I booked directly through Thai Airlines website, and discovered that regular coach for that flight was about $1,500 round trip. For an additional $500.00 round trip, I could upgrade to Premium Economy and enjoy about 8 more inches of leg room, a seat that reclines 122 degrees, and upgraded food. Being that I'm 6'3" tall, I decided that the extra comfort was worth the extra $500.00.

Figuring that we might hit traffic, my wife and I left Santa Barbara at around 4:00 PM, hoping to get me to the airport around 6:00-6:30 PM. Being as unpredictable as it is, we hit absolutely no traffic at all, never went slower than 70 miles per hour, and made it from Santa Barbara to LAX in 90 minutes. We decided to park at the airport and kill an hour together before I kissed my wife goodbye and made my way into the Bradley Terminal at LAX.

I've flown all over the world, but for some reason, I've always left from other airports. This was my first time at the Bradley Terminal at LAX. It is impressive and massive to say the least. I quickly and easily found the Thai Airlines ticketing counter, and was surprised to find that there were others already waiting for it to open. Luckily, Premium Economy had its own special line, and I got my tickets quickly and effortlessly. After I got my ticket, I proceeded through security, where I was subjected to the new TSA scanner for the first time. You walk up to a big box, put your feet where indicated, and raise your hands over your head. It took about 5 seconds and I was done. I don't like the invasion of privacy, and I honestly don't think it will prevent the next disaster, but I found it preferable to being patted down. The line wasn't long, and I was through it in less than 10 minutes.

I was unpleasantly surprised to find out that once you pass through security, your food and shopping options in the Bradley Terminal are extremely limited. There was only one small bar and one small gift/book shop available. My wife and I regularly fly through LAX's Terminal 7 where United Airlines is based, and there is a plethora of dining and shopping options. So, if you're flying international through Bradley, eat and have your book purchased before you go.

The plane was already at the gate when I arrived about 2 hours before departure, so that was a relief. The wait to board the flight was long and boring, but I'd rather rest and relax in the airport than stress out in my car whether or not I'm going to make it. The terminal has free WiFi, so I made use of my new iPad and sent some emails. Boarding was like any domestic airline, except that all the announcements were in English and Thai. You enter the plane in the Business class section. The Business Class seats are huge and configured in a 2-2-2 seating arrangement. To the left and front of the plane I peeked in the First Class cabin and saw only 6 seat pods arranged in a 1-1-1 configuration. It looked like the pods would allow the seat to fully recline into a bed. Must be nice! I then passed into the Premium Economy section and was pleased to see that it looked exactly like the videos and photos I'd seen. The seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration. Coach seating was arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration.

Each Premium Economy seat is about 2" wider than coach, and has at least 8" more space between rows. Also, there is a 6" wide armrest separating each seat, meaning that even my gorilla arms won't bump into yours. I hate having to share coach armrests with my seat neighbors. The best news was that the Premium Economy cabin was only about 40% full, and the seat next to me was vacant. Hallelujah! The only downside to my seat was the fact that there was a metal fitting on the seat in front of me down near my feet that blocked me from stretching out in a straight line. So I settled in, pushed my backpack under the empty seat next to me, and got ready to go.

Currently, there are only 2 planes that can make an 8,000-mile flight like this non-stop: The Airbus A340-500 and the Boeing 777-200LR. After talking to airline folks and aviation buffs like myself, the experts recommended taking the Airbus because it has 4 engines instead of the 777's 2 engines, and can therefore fly faster and get you to your destination sooner. Being the aviation buff that I am, I decided to opt for the Thai Airways Airbus A340-500 because it is a rare plane that doesn't fly many routes, and I had heard that Thai Airways was a nice airline to fly on.

I had also read about this flight and saw a few videos on YouTube about the very long take-off run needed due to the massive fuel load and weight. To give you an example, when you fly out of Santa Barbara these days on a commercial jet, you're usually flying on a CRJ-200 or its longer cousin the CRJ-700. These planes are light, don't carry massive loads of cargo or fuel, and generally get off the ground quickly and climb out at 20-30 degrees. Typically when I fly either of these two planes out of Santa Barbara, the CRJ can accelerate from a dead stop to lift-off in 30 seconds or less. If you fly domestic commercial jets out of LAX or SFO, you're usually in a twin-engine 737, 757, 767, or a similar sized Airbus A-319 or A-320. These types of planes also tend to get off the ground in about 30 seconds, and climb out at a predictable 20-30 degrees up. Also, in all these types of domestic planes, we're all used to the plane taxiing to and from the runways and gates at a predictable and normal speed.

Not so with the A-340-500 that I was on. First, it is fully loaded with a massive fuel load for an 18-hour flight. I asked the pilot what our take-off weight was, and he reported that it was about 825,000 pounds, with a fuel load of about 55,000 gallons! Because of that fuel load, the plane is near its maximum take-off weight when it pushes back from the gate. Once the engines are revved up and the plane starts to move, you can instantly tell that something is different. You can feel how heavy the plane is because instead of the usual bumps and rattles experienced on normal flights, this plane thumps quietly and heavily. Also, due to the massive weight and pressure on the tires, the plane taxies at about 5 miles an hour. So, it's a long slow crawl to the runway.

Once on the runway, the pilot revs the 4 huge engines up to full power for a few seconds and then releases the brakes. Unlike the instant g-forces you feel in a normal airliner, this one starts very slowly and then builds up over the next 30-40 seconds. We powered all the way down LAX's 10,000-foot runway and lifted off near the end. Instead of climbing right up like you would normally do in a regular plane, this plane goes up very gradually at about a 5-10 degree climb. In a normal airliner, you reach cruising altitude in 10-15 minutes. In this beast, you enjoy a long slow climb to altitude that takes about 30 minutes. Ironically, we flew out over the Pacific, turned right towards the North, and flew right over Santa Barbara! I had noticed for the past few years that looking from Santa Barbara up towards Highway 154 I'd always see large planes flying north. I only recently figured out that these planes have all departed LAX and are taking the polar route to Asia. Due to the curve of the Earth, our route took us over Santa Barbara, San Francisco, west off the coast of Oregon and Seattle, up to Alaska, over Nome, over the Bearing Sea, and then down Kamchatka Russia, over China, past North Korea, and ultimately into Bangkok.

Each seat has its own entertainment system and screen built in to the seat in front of it, and one of the many channels available allows you to monitor the plane's speed, location, headwinds, time to arrival, and other interesting information. Being the aviation geek that I am, I watched movies on my system, and set the vacant seat's system next to me to the flight information and maps so I could geek out on that information as well. The iPad that my wife bought for me so I could watch movies was never even taken out due to the good entertainment on the plane.

I was served three very nice meals, all on real porcelain dishes, all with real silverware. Beverages and alcohol were complimentary, as were the hot towels and other little nice amenities. When I arrived in my seat, a clean pillow and a blanket in a plastic bag were both waiting for me. All the flight staff genuinely acted as though they appreciated my business. Overall it was an excellent flying experience.

I don't sleep well on airplanes, so I was awake for most of the 18 hours that the flight lasted. I spent most of my time watching free movies and television shows. As we flew out over Nome Alaska and the Bearing Sea, I was able to see the Aurora Borealis for the first time in my life. Unfortunately, it was very far away, but I could see it for about 2 hours. Right after we arced over Alaska and headed south towards Russia, we started to hit some moderate to severe turbulence. When flying domestically in the United States, most airliners assiduously route themselves around any type of uncomfortable weather, and the American flying public has grown accustomed to smooth flying most of the time. However, flying out over the Pacific Ocean exposes the plane to what we would consider moderate to rough air, and during the flight, we encountered some moderate to severe turbulence. Luckily, it didn't last long, and it wasn't that unpleasant. I had just forgotten how rough flying could be.

The last leg of the flight took us south over China and right by North Korea. Flying close enough to North Korea to see the lights of some of its cities did make me a bit uneasy. Luckily, there was no problem at all, and we headed south all the way into Bangkok.

Because we'd been flying in the direction of the setting sun for 18 hours, we left in the dark and nearly kept pace with the Earth's rotation. So we flew in 18 hours of continuous darkness. When we finally landed in Bangkok, it was about 7:00 AM and the sun was finally coming up. It was strange to spend 18 straight hours under the stars!

Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok is enormous. I had a 1:20 minute layover, and I had been concerned that it might not be enough time. I was correct. Suvarnabhumi International is huge, and most of the signs are in Thai. The signs that do have English aren't always easy to understand, and there is an unusual customs and immigration procedure if you are catching a connecting flight. I had to ask 3 different airport staff before I was able to figure out what I needed to do and where I needed to go to get my next flight. It was at that point that I realized that all the moving walkways only moved in one direction - the wrong direction for me, so I had to hustle all the way across the airport to get to the gate I needed to be. When I finally got close, it became apparent that my gate wasn't clearly marked, and it took another 10 minutes to figure out where it was. I finally made it with about 15 minutes to spare, and made my connection. If you can, schedule at least a 2-hour layover to catch connecting flights when you fly internationally into countries where English isn't spoken well. The 55-minute flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was easy and uneventful. It was unusual however, that the plane was a 747-400. In the United States, you'd never take such a big plane on such a short trip.

I finally arrived in Chiang Mai around 900AM local time, 2 days later, according to the calendar. You lose a day traveling to Asia because you cross the International Date Line. I was able to find a taxi, and it took me on the short 10-minute ride to Downtown Chiang Mai for about 150 Thai Baht, or about $5.00. A similar ride in Santa Barbara from my house to the Santa Barbara Airport recently cost me over $25.00! The driver spoke a little English and was friendly and helpful. He gave me his card, told me to call him any time I needed a ride, and offered his services for any 12 continuous hour period for 1800 Baht (about $50.00) all-inclusive. I took his card and kept his offer in mind.

I arrived at the Centara Duangtawan Hotel Chiang Mai at around 1000AM. I figured that I'd check in, have them hold my luggage, and I'd do a little exploring while waiting for my room. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my room was ready, and I could check in early! In addition, they heaped on me a bunch of free drink coupons, free laundry coupons, and a few other coupons for discounted tours and shopping. I made it up to my room on the 21st floor, and promptly took a shower. The room was nice, and met most of my expectations. I discovered that the drapes were broken, so I couldn't open them, as I would have liked to show the beautiful view of the city and the mountains that I had. The carpet was stained in numerous places, and the window frame was damaged as well. None of these issues were deal-breakers, but they did decrease the experience. The bathroom was big, all marble and granite, and very nice. There was ample closet space in the room. The hotel also has a nice all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet every morning that was very good. Overall I'd rate the hotel a solid B.

Three of the biggest disappointments of the hotel were the ‘free' WiFi, the ‘free' laundry, and the hidden charges. The ‘free' WiFi was only for 30 minutes per day. They had a number of options to upgrade your WiFi time, and I ended up choosing 2 hours for about $5.00 per day. Not a big deal, but irritating nonetheless. Also, the ‘free' laundry turned out to be only free for underwear and socks. I got a bill for the shirts and pants I had put in the bag. Again, only about $5.00, but also irritating. Finally, when I booked the room on the hotel's website, it seemed to indicate that all the taxes and fees were included. However, I got a bill at the end for about $30.00 in hidden taxes and fees. Not a deal-breaker, but irritating nonetheless.

The Centara Duangtawan Hotel Chiang Mai does benefit from its great location - right in the heart of Chiang Mai's famous Night Market. One of the main reasons I selected this hotel was its generally positive reviews and its proximity to the Night Market. The Chiang Mai Night Market is held on the sidewalks of the two main roads around the hotel. The Night Market also spills out onto various connecting alleys, into stores, and into small malls along the route. There is an endless amount of shopping and eating to do all along the way. I walked the Night Market and snacked my way through it on four of the nights I was there. It is a must do in Chiang Mai, and it is held every night. My favorite vendor was squeezing oranges and selling fresh squeezed orange juice for about 30 baht ($1.00) for about a quart of juice. I would usually have 4-6 per night, and he was always happy to see me coming!

I thought I would be heavily jet-lagged due to the 18-hour flight, 15-hour time difference, and the loss of an entire day because we crossed the International Date Line. All that, added to the fact that I didn't get much sleep on the flight made me worried that the jet lag would get me. However, I was surprised to discover that after my first night there, I only felt as though I was a few hours behind the local time. That feeling passed on the second day, and I was comfortably synced up with the local time thereafter.

Transportation in Chiang Mai for tourists primarily is done either by Taxi, Tuk Tuk, or Songthaew. Taxis are easy to find at the airport, hotels, and major tourist attractions. However, they are almost impossible to hail on the street. Tuk Tuks are three wheeled motorbikes that seat two comfortably, and more if necessary. The nice thing about Tuk Tuks is that they are everywhere, and if you see one driving around without a passenger, you can easily hail it. In fact, if they see you walking around looking in the street, they will often stop to offer you a ride. It is best to tell your taxi or Tuk Tuk driver where you want to go, and negotiate the price before you get in. Most Westerners wanted to haggle over the fares, but I didn't as long as the offered fare was reasonable. Many budget conscious travelers opt for the Songthaew - a pick up truck that has a shell that covers two benches in the bed of the truck. It can seat about 10 people in the back, but occasionally I saw more people piled in. The Songthaews either run set routes, or you can negotiate with the driver to take you directly where you want to go. Generally, Songthaews are the cheapest mode of travel, but I don't like sitting transverse in the back of a pick-up truck, and I don't like sharing my ride. For a dollar or two more, I'd rather have a Tuk Tuk.

After I arrived, I walked out of the hotel to get my bearings and do a little exploring. A Tuk Tuk was sitting right outside the hotel, and the driver asked me politely in English if I needed a ride. I had heard that Tuk Tuk rides often include an un-scheduled stop at a retail store, and I was a bit wary about that - as I had experienced that in Mexico more than once. I asked the driver how much it would cost for him to simply drive me around the Chiang Mai Old City and New City for 2 hours, stopping anywhere I wanted. He asked for 300 Baht for a 2-hour tour (about $9.00) and I gladly accepted. We took a long, lazy drive around town, with my driver pointing out all the interesting markets, temples, and points of interest. I had him stop at one flower garden, and one market briefly so I could look around. It was an excellent experience, and I was glad I did it. The only downside to Chiang Mai is the air quality. There are too many diesel vehicles in the city and it has a bad inversion layer problem like Los Angeles due to the city's geography. So, you have to get used to smelling diesel fumes in a hurry. I used Tuk Tuks successfully for the rest of my trip. I used taxis for longer rides to enjoy the air conditioning, quiet, and extra room.

Eating in Chiang Mai is fun, easy, and best of all - cheap! There are tons of options, ranging from gritty street food vendors located all over the city, to good local restaurants, all the way to fancy dining in the big fancy hotels. I tried everything, and didn't have a bad meal anywhere. Many of the tourists I talked to were avoiding the street food due to fears of food poisoning, Hepatitis A, and other noxious things. My local friends who live in Chiang Mai advised me that all of the street food is generally safe. They cautioned to use good judgment, look at the food being prepared, and decide accordingly. I ate everything on the street from pad thai to satay to papaya salad to roti and had no problems. I also tried a few restaurants, which were excellent as well. Because of the lack of refrigeration, Thai cuisine tends to focus on very fresh meat and produce. They also tend to heavily season their food, and they like spicy food. I encountered two dishes that were possibly the spiciest dishes I have ever eaten: papaya salad and a soup that was obscenely spicy. The problem with the soup was that it tasted so good that I couldn't stop eating it!

Touring in Chiang Mai is also fun, easy and inexpensive. I first went to the Maesa Elephant Camp with my Australian friends. The camp is located about 15 miles north of Chafing Mai near the town of Mae Rim maesaelephantcamp. If you take a cab, it will cost you about 500 Baht ($15.00) for the round-trip ride, and your taxi will wait for you if you like. Upon arrival, we found a number of vendors selling bananas and sugar cane, which you can feed to the elephants for about 40 Baht ($1.25) per bunch. I bought a few and we walked up to an area where there were about 10 large elephants and their handlers waiting for our snacks. Unlike in the US where you'd be at least 10 yards away from the animals, in Thailand you can walk right up to them! I was told that in Thailand, if the elephant steps on you or clobbers you with his trunk or tusks, it is your fault! However, the elephants seemed tame and well handled, and we were able to enjoy feeding them for about 15 minutes. We then proceeded down to the river and we watched 3 elephants being washed and playing in their river. We then headed up to the show ring, where we watched no less than 20 elephants playing soccer, moving logs, painting, and doing other elephant things. It was enjoyable and fun. We decided we wanted to ride the elephants, so we made an appointment for later in the afternoon to do that. In the meantime, we bought more bananas and went over to the elephant nursery where we fed a one year-old elephant and his mother, and we got to see a three week-old elephant and his mother. After visiting the nursery, we boarded our elephants and took a leisurely one-hour safari up and down the steep hills of the area. Before finishing, our trainer let our elephant wade into the river for a drink and brief wade around. It was a great experience!

That night, we went to the Riverside Restaurant in Chiang Mai and made special reservations to eat on one of their two boats, which are moored on the river. More information about the restaurant here: theriversidechiangmai. After an amazing dinner was served, the boat left the dock and we cruised up and down the Ping River for about an hour. Great food and an excellent experience!

The next day I walked up the street and checked into my next hotel for one night, the Dusit2 Boutique Hotel in Chiang Mai dusit.com. Accommodations for that night were difficult because the city was packed with tourists who were enjoying the Chinese New Year's celebrations and the Chiang Mai Flower Festival. The Dusit2 is a stunningly beautiful boutique hotel located in the heart of Chiang MAI's Night Market area. The hotel is situated about a quarter mile off the main road, making it a quieter spot. The lobby was beautiful, I was greeted with a cool refreshing drink, and the room was decorated in a chic modern motif. The bathroom was also beautiful. The only problem I had there was that the free WiFi didn't work in my room. Other than that, I really enjoyed my one night at that hotel and highly recommend it.

The next day, I hired a Tuk Tuk to drive me to the apartment I rented about a half-mile north of the Night Market area. After a quick 5-minute ride, I arrived at Studio 99 Serviced Apartments. I wanted to get a more ‘local' experience of Chiang Mai, and I hoped that renting an apartment in a residential area would provide a more local feel to the city. Studio 99 Serviced Apartments exceeded all of my expectations. The facility is a 6-unit apartment building, with 2 apartments per floor. The only downside is a lack of elevator. Other than that, the building is immaculate, the front desk staff (who also can arrange tours) is excellent, and the service was outstanding. If you ever go to Chiang Mai, I highly recommend you consider staying there. I rented a two-bedroom balcony apartment on the 3rd floor. It has a kitchenette, refrigerator, two sofas, two full bathrooms, and two full bedrooms. All the rooms have their own air conditioning. The staff came every day and serviced the rooms and bathrooms. Laundry service was available right across the alley for about $2.00 for 4 pounds of dirty clothing. You can get more information about renting an apartment from them here: chiangmaiservicedapartments.com.

I met up with my father and his friend that night and we had an interesting Thai dinner at a local mall. The next day, my father and I met up and decided to watch the Chiang MAI Flower Festival parade. We walked about 5 minutes up to the main road, and found a nice coffee shop where we decided to watch the parade. The parade was similar to the Rose Parade in Pasadena, except the floats aren't quite as large or elaborate. However, the parade went on for about 6 hours! I met a nice couple and their baby from New York who were traveling through Thailand.

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The following day, my father and I walked about 10 minutes north to the Worokot Market. I had heard that Worokot was an authentic Thai market where the local Thai do their food, fruit, vegetable, meat, seafood, and dry goods shopping. My father and I were probably the only tourists wandering around the market that day. The market is extremely busy and chaotic, but very interesting! We both really enjoyed wandering around all the nooks and crannies of the market, and I bought a few cooked snacks that were excellent. One of my favorite snacks in the market was a Chiang Mai Sausage wrapped in a fresh hot waffle! The Thai have recently become fascinated with waffles, and they wrap waffles around just about any meat, fruit, or vegetable you can imagine. Thai love their food to have sweet, sour, salty, savory, and spicy elements, and I guess the waffle works for them. It was good!

As a special treat, the big hotel I stayed at for my first few nights was having a special Chinese New Year's dim sum buffet at their restaurant on the 24th floor of the hotel. The view was amazing, and the food was great too. We thought that ‘buffet' meant we would be seated and then get up and grab our food. Not so here - they bring you about 20 dim sum straw baskets, each containing one or two tasty dim sum morsels! So, my father and I sat there, bewildered, as the waiters brought us about 20 dishes to our table! My favorite was the Bao - a pastry stuffed with marinated pork. The most interesting dish was marinated jellyfish. The jellyfish was probably dried first, and it was more chewy than gelatinous. It tasted good but had an unusual mouth-feel.

That night, we walked about 10 minutes east to check out Chiang Mai's famous Sunday Walking Market. The market is in the Old City, and extends from the Tha Pae Gate all the way down Ratchadamnoen Road to the beautiful Buddhist temple called Wat Phra Sing at the end of the road. Ratchadamnoen Road is closed, so the market is located all the way down the road on both sides of the street. Thousands of shoppers visited hundreds of vendors. The Sunday Walking Market is similar to the daily Night Market, but is bigger, features more handcrafts and hand made stuff, and has lots more food options on the main road and especially down the side streets and alleys. We walked all the way up and down the main road, and also hit most of the side streets and alleys as well. I didn't buy much, but I did snack my way around. I had sticky rice with banana, pork satay, pad Thai, fried banana pastry, and 5 small bottles of fresh squeezed orange juice. If you are in Chiang Mai on Sunday, I highly recommend the Sunday Walking Market.

The next day, my father and I wanted to go to the Tiger Kingdom, so we could pet a tiger and get our photos taken. We asked the staff at the Apartment what was the best way to do it, and they called and got us a taxi and gave us advice on the best way to enjoy the tigers. She negotiated us a very good price on the round trip for only 500 baht (about $15.00). The driver spoke good English, and we chatted with him all the way to the Tiger Kingdom. He told us he'd wait for us, and then would drive us back. When you arrive at Tiger Kingdom, you are greeted by one of their staff members, who explain your options. The smartest thing to do is to buy the entire package so you can visit personally with the cubs, small, medium, and big tigers. We didn't have that much time, so we opted for just the big tigers for about 1,200 baht for both of us (about $35.00). The waiting area is a terrace above the big tiger cage, which is an excellent perch to watch people with the big cats and grab some photos. Then, when your number is called, you are led into the cage area, where you are instructed to read the rules and sign a waiver stating basically that if you get bitten, clawed, or eaten - it is YOUR fault. We signed and waited for our turn. When your number is called, a trainer meets you and escorts you into the tiger cages. For the big cats, two trainers armed only with 2-foot long bamboo sticks escort each person or group. Standing in a tiger cage with 3 large tigers is an amazing and frightening experience. Each group pairs off with one of the tigers, and you get to pet them, lay down with them, and get your picture taken with them.

The tigers are nocturnal and generally sleep 22 hours a day. So, they all seemed a bit sleepy and non-threatening as far as I could tell. The trainers were able to get them to play from time to time, but most of the time the tigers were content to wander around, socialize with each other, or swim. We were in the cage for about 10 minutes with the tigers. It is a once in a lifetime experience that I also highly recommend. You can get more information about Tiger Kingdom here: tigerkingdom.com.

That night, we met up with my father's friend and his Thai housekeeper, and we took them out to dinner at a restaurant they liked. The food was outstanding, and the menu was in English and Thai, and also had photos of each dish, thus making it much easier to understand what you were ordering. The only caveat is that they don't tell you how spicy anything is. The housekeeper, who is from the south of Thailand, suggested we try Chiang Mai specialties, and I followed her advice. The first dish I had was a soup featuring spicy river prawns with noodles. It was the spiciest dish I had while in Thailand, and they warned me it was going to be hot, and then laughed at me as my face turned red, my eyes watered up, and my nose started running. Luckily, my iced tea had cream in it, and the cream kills the fire in your mouth almost immediately and totally. I also had another Chiang Mai special dish of yellow chicken noodle curry, which was excellent. We also shared fried soft-shelled crabs and another prawn dish that was really good.

The following day, my father and I took a tour of the Golden Triangle area of Thailand, which is in the far north of the country. The group tour was set-up by the staff at the apartments, and was about 1,800 baht (about $50.00) for both of us, including bottled water and lunch. The van picked us up at the apartment early in the morning, picked up a few other folks at other local hotels, and then set off north up into the mountains. The van had a driver and a dedicated tour guide named Tom, who spoke very good English, and told us about all the interesting stuff of the area and sites we'd be visiting. On the tour I made friends with a nice man from Singapore, who spoke very good English, and two Israeli girls who had just finished their military service, and were touring Thailand for a few months. After driving for an hour up into the mountains, the van stopped at a natural hot spring at Chiang Rai. There are two springs, one, which is boiling hot, and another, which is less hot. Vendors sell raw eggs to steep in the spring to make hard-boiled eggs.

The van then drove about 30 minutes north to the White Temple in Chiang Rai. We got out and explored the outside of the temple, and then went in to see the interesting and unique artwork inside that was being done by a famous local artist.

After the White Temple, we drove 30 more minutes north until we reached the Golden Triangle area where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma) all meet at the Mekong River. We boarded a boat and then cruised down the Mekong River, seeing some of casinos that the Chinese had built in Myanmar and Laos, as well as some local villages and fishing boats. We got off the boat in Laos at an, ‘economic zone' in the town of Donxao, where the locals are selling mostly counterfeit luggage, clothing, and other interesting stuff. They are famous for their whiskey, which is infused with whole cobras, scorpions, tiger penis, and some other type of animal that looked like an armadillo. My father and I tried all of their crazy whisky, and my father bought a cobra whiskey to give to his friend. Most of our group purchased counterfeit goods at very cheap prices. An interesting stop to say the least.

We then boarded the van and drove another 30 minutes all the way to the most northern town in Thailand called Mae Sai, which borders with Myanmar. We walked right up to the border, but were unable to cross because we didn't have the proper visas. We shopped in Mae Sai for a while, and then re-boarded the van for a short drive east to visit some native hill village people. We visited the Yao tribe and the Akha tribe and saw their primitive living arrangements, and our guide gave us an interesting lecture about the tribes and their ways of life. After that, we re-boarded the van for the 2-hour ride back to Chiang Mai. Overall, an interesting and informative tour that I would recommend you take if you visit the area.

The following day, my last in Thailand, I took my father to the brand new Central Airport Mall in Chiang Mai to see how the rich Thai shop and eat. We found a really crowded restaurant that was serving an interesting looking Asian buffet of different types of food. It was about 800 baht ($24.00) for all you can eat sushi, hot pots, thai food selections, stir fry station, and Korean cooking station. We ate everything in sight and definitely got our fill on this splurge.

The following morning I packed up my stuff, thanked the staff at the Studio 99 apartments, and headed off to the airport. My short flight from Chiang MAI to Bangkok was on time and uneventful. When I arrived at the Bangkok airport, I got lost again, and a nice security guard had to chase me down and remove me from a restricted area that I had wandered into. It was no big deal, and I eventually made my way to my gate. Once onboard, I again was happy to discover that the Premium Economy section was only half full. Both of the rows in the middle of the plane next to my row were empty. Unfortunately, a first-time Thai flier sat down next to me, and didn't realize that she could switch seats into the empty rows next to us. I started up a conversation with her, and she told me it was her first flight and she felt more comfortable sitting next to someone. The flight back is only 15 hours long due to a persistent 150 mph tail wind. Upon arrival at LAX, it takes about 30 minutes to get through the immigration line, 30 minutes to get your bags, and another 30 minutes to get through customs if you don't have to go through their secondary screening, where they open your bags and go through your stuff. If you hit that, figure at least another 30 minutes.

Overall, Thailand was a great experience, and I'm glad I made the trip. My wife and I are taking a 13-night cruise across the Atlantic in May, so look for my next travel report after that. Bon voyage!