Chiang Mai, Thailand: Karen Tribe Farmstay

The Karen Tribe people are from the Kayin State, which is the southern/southeastern region of Myanmar. They are not one people. Per Wikipedia: “Karen refers to a heterogeneous lot of ethnic groups that do not share a common language, culture, religion, or material characteristics.”

While most Karen have remained in Myanmar and comprise 7% of the population there, like the Hmong, many have migrated and made Thailand their home, especially in the proximity of the Thai/Myanmar border. “There are another 400,000 Karen in Thailand, where they are by far the largest of the hill tribes.”

When we were in Chiang Mai, Thailand last summer, Masumi and I stayed on a Karen-owned and operated agritourism farm and what an amazing experience it was! Our room was a cabin built on stilts.

Here was the view we had.

Of course, it was a real farm and people were working.

We had phenomenal time exploring the huge farm.

The food was great!

Here we are with the incredibly charming owner of the farm. He inherited the property from his Karen Tribe family, then turned the farm into a tourist attraction.

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

Chiang Mai, Thailand: Karen Tribe Farmstay | John Rachel

Chiang Mai, Thailand: Coconut Market

There are an abundance of “markets” in Chiang Mai. Usually their names correspond to their location, time frame when they’re held, who’s represented, what specialty goods are available. The night market is at night. The weekend market is on the weekend. The main street market is on the main street. A craft market features crafts by local artists.

When Masumi and I visited Chiang Mai, we drove to the outskirts of town to see a charming affair called The Coconut Market. Since I love coconut cookies, coconut shakes, coconut milk (slurped right from the coconut shell), I was anticipating a coconut paradise. Only problem was that the coconuts were still in the trees and I didn’t have a ladder.

But overall, it was a rather pleasant experience, offering a friendly, relaxed shopping excursion.

We wandered, we explored, we talked, we smiled. Everyone accepts Visa and Mastercard.

Thailand is a very laid-back country, with laid-back people. It’s fairly safe everywhere, especially compared to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where petty crime is a constant threat. Things are more intense in the south, the cities bustling, the islands hopping with full moon parties and walk-on-the-wild-side tourists.

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

Chiang Mai, Thailand: Coconut Market | John Rachel

Chiang Mai, Thailand: Elephant Camp

Masumi and I are fascinated by elephants. Around Chiang Mai, there are a number of places to see them. We chose this particular one because they are very humane in their treatment of the elephants. They don’t have rides or other activities which are often considered abusive to these amazing creatures. If you choose, however, you can bathe with them in the river. Since we didn’t have our bathing suits with us, we had to pass.

Our first big surprise was how spacious and beautiful the camp grounds were!

To put it mildly, the elephants seemed very glad to see us — it might have been the basket of food we had purchased — and generally quite content with their new home at the Elephant Camp.

Unfortunately, I doubt if any of our new larger-than-life friends will be visiting us very soon in Japan. I think they’d have trouble getting through Immigration.

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

Chiang Mai, Thailand: Elephant Camp | John Rachel