Rogers Do Singapore: Chiang Mai

Chinese New Year is the most celebrated holiday in Asia and it lasts for an entire month. Singapore declared Feb 8th and 9th national holidays! To escape the festive craziness, we jetted to Chiang Mai for some relaxation at a Wellness Spa - the Rarin Jinda.

Chiang Mai is in northern Thailand, which has cooler weather and mountains - much different from the sunny beach vacations we took in southern Thailand. The entire town had its own vibe - a gorgeous river flowing through it, tuktuks, live music and bars, tons of temples, a crazy large night market, and of course - cheap massages.

In fact, the massage scene in Chiang Mai was better than anywhere I have seen in Thailand. We enjoyed massages every day as we needed to test all the different places (right?). At one point, during a Thai massage, I looked over and a tiny Thai woman on her back had lifted Jim with her hands/feet... dangling him like a rag doll in the air. Only in Thailand folks.

Business Class and Mimosas #making5amflightsbearable #thisismytiredsmile

Breakfast with a View

Scenes from one of the Wat Temples #buddha-ingsohard

Ice Cream Tuk-Tuk

Beers in Bamboo Bars

Jim's Favorite - Old Ruins

Need power?

Night Bazar

The one time Jim let me pick dessert... #coconutmilkwithfrozenpeasandcarrots

Don't worry - we found him a lava cake after the beaker disaster

A Peace Sign Selfie in a Tuk-Tuk - #asia

Massages aside, the main reason for our Chiang Mai excursion was to visit the elephant sanctuaries. Chiang Mai has several sanctuaries for rescued elephants - most are rescued from the logging industry across the mountain border in Myanmar. The entire day at the sanctuary was incredible. Elephants are amazing creatures, and I can definitely say that I am now an elephant lover for life.