Beautiful Chiang Mai and time with Grandma

Our last full day in Bangkok and we decided to try to go out to the Wat Saket and the Golden Mount. At first, we wanted to take a water taxi to try something novel with the kids, but after waiting for over half an hour, we discovered that it wasn't operational due to the Songkran festival. The temple was crowded with Songkran festivities and the prospect of climbing 300 steps in 100 degree heat while we were all still cranky and jet lagged to get to the Golden Mount was daunting, so we decided to just wander the temple grounds. Lots of whining ensued, but at least we got out of our hotel room and tried to do something.

Waiting for the water taxi

Trying to get a little culture in

After a quick nap, we returned to the cool A/C of the malls, though we couldn't even rally the kids to walk to the half mile to the mall area and had to take a taxi.

Deserts aplenty required to keep the kids' energy up

Modern Bangkok. Our hotel was next to a massive cluster of shopping malls

The next morning, we headed off to the airport again for our flight to Chiang Mai. The flight was short and uneventful, and Nik's Dad met us at the airport to pick us up. After the sweltering, sprawling, concrete metropolis of Bangkok, I was amazed at how small and quaint Chiang Mai seemed in comparison. Conveniently, the hotel we chose to stay at in Chiang Mai was immediately adjacent to my in-laws' building and after checking in, we stopped by for a quick visit.

The purpose of this trip was to primarily visit Nik's Mom whose dementia has been progressing rapidly within the past two years. It's difficult to see her in the state that she's in--she sometimes has brief and fleeting moments in which she seems to recognize me or the kids, but it's very hard to break through the flat affect of dementia. Though we've explained the gravity of Grandma's situation to the kids, there's no real understanding there and I've been trying to take as many pictures and videos for the kids as I can. We visited at least twice daily, with Nik going over on his own more frequently. It was difficult to balance time spent with Grandma with the fact that the kids are still just young and their chaotic energy isn't compatible with her care.

Difficult to capture Grandma's smile. I think the kids' visit made her happy and she would watch them the whole time during our visits

While in Chiang Mai, we did some light sightseeing. We walked the grounds at Wat Chedi Luang, though it was so hot that the kids could barely manage outside of the shade.

Colorful banners and flags everywhere for the Songkran festival

The ruined chedi was quite impressive

Refreshment required after a "long" 45 minute walk around the temple

We also visited the Chiang Mai Zoo. By far, the highlight was renting a golf cart to tour the zoo. The zoo is set on the hillside and in the heat, it proved to be a great decision. And at about $10/hour, it wasn't a bad deal either.

Ballin' in Thailand

We went to the night bazaar, though there were so few tourists and so many shuttered storefronts that it was a little disheartening to see how adversely the pandemic has affected Thailand's tourism industry.

We also took a mini bus up to Wat Pha Lat and hiked down the Monk's Trail to Chiang Mai University. The grounds at Wat Pha Lat were spectacular with Instagram-able shots around every corner. The hike down to CMU was pleasant and all downhill since we had taken the bus up the hill, though nearing the end of the hike the kids' patience was wearing thin and my assurances that "it's not too far," didn't have much effect.

Huay Kaew Waterfall before setting off. The young monks behind us were splashing around in the pool

Among all the touristy things we did in Chiang Mai, the best thing by far was visiting the Maerim Elephant Sanctuary. We had visited an elephant camp previously when we had visited Chiang Mai, though riding elephants has more recently fallen out of favor due to concerns about animal welfare. An elephant sanctuary seems like a fair compromise, giving people an opportunity to get up and close with the animals while ensuring that elephants that may have been previously living as beasts of burden can live out the remainder of their lives in relative comfort.

Muddy bathtime for the elephants. We were proud of Kai and Sora who tentatively went into the water, but Jad refused to go in

With the heat and humidity of Thailand, we visited the pool daily.

Swimming with Grandma and Grandpa

Another hotel, another rooftop pool

The kids preferred the regular pool to the muddy pool the elephants swam in

The area where Nik's parents live has been built up in recent years and there is now a trendy mall across the street. We spent a lot of time in the mall's food court, finding yummy, cheap eats.

Elephant parade at Maya

Khao soi is a regional specialty

Pie shop recommended by Joe. The kids inhaled the chocolate slice

Fun family photo op at One Nimman, a cool looking outdoor mall

$1.50 boba means daily boba! (with Thai iced tea for me)

It wasn't easy to leave Nik's Mom. I'm grateful that we had a chance to see her and my hope is that this visit will leave a good memory of her in the kids' minds. Though it is possible that Nik may return to Thailand on his own, it is unlikely that we will travel here again with the kids. It was a bittersweet visit with stressful moments, so we followed up this leg of the trip with a visit to Phuket. More about that in my next post.