Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand) Tourist Guide


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Chiang Mai Reflections and a ‘Night Safari’ Adventure

Text & Images : Jeffrey Warner

Throughout many life seasons, I’ve proclaimed that I will ‘some day’ live where many others come for vacationing. This was the vision. And I’ve now been in Chiang Mai for nearly two years.

A primary element keeping me here is that Chiang Mai – the ‘Jewel of the North’ – is a big-city-small-town offering a nearly idyllic balance between manageable doses of metropolitan culture coupled with healthy amounts of soul-nourishing nature.

Chiang Mai, in my opinion, is a special place because, in addition to being part of a country brimming with beautiful people and minimal living costs, it offers an opportunity to experience a culture that largely serves as a mirror for one’s inner-self – if we take the time to at least temporarily overlook the social habits of Western culture. Go ahead. Try to be outwardly frustrated here. See how far it gets ya. Sabay (relax). Jai yen (cool/calm heart). You will open-up space for experiencing much more.

Geez. We’re in an area of the world where squeaky ice cream carts being pushed down fruit and vegetable market-lined streets still exist. Who knows how much longer the foundations of this paradise will remain intact though, due to the culture-wrecking onslaught of construction and capitalist economic expansion taking over this part of the world.

Regardless, I’ve been gifted with the opportunity to experience breath-taking natural phenomena, dabble with a second language, exchange with amazing people from both Thailand and afar, witness extreme poverty (and wealth), along with observing and experiencing profound acts of kindness and generosity. I love it here.

Recently, I was finding myself getting a bit restless, however. Bored. Perhaps I’d become unconsciously addicted to the emotional highs resulting from a near endless stream of new experiences at my fingertips.

I’m not (directly) trying to be a marketing agent; rather, just share my experiences. And an adventure last month really opened my eyes again. It began after motorcycling out of Chiang Mai – southward on the Irrigation Canal Road – for about 15 minutes, where I invested a day and night at the Chiang Mai Night Safari.

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The Night Safari is both a day and night-time zoo comprising about 1,600 animals from 130 different species. It includes, among many natural theme park adventures:

Trolley-bus rides during which you can experience a drive-by viewing of both Savanna grazers and African predatory animals.

A 1.2 kilometer-long walking trek where you can get fairly up-close with animals living amidst a natural, jungle environment is also available. My experiences during this hour-long adventure walk were nothing shy of hilarious and heart-warming because I had the time to interact with some of these rare and exotic animals.

A primary component of my mission while at the Night Safari was, with my special lady, experiencing an all-encompassing mountain setting, backlit by a sunset (which most people miss out on because they arrive after dark for the night trolley) while partaking in a buffet-style meal served during a cabaret-style dancing show.

During this cultural performance, I’m fairly certain that the somewhat startling blast of heat created from the flaming, kerosene-soaked sticks being twirled a few meters away helped me move beyond any disappointment related to cloudy skies.

Later came the music- guided, laser-lit fountain waters being elaborately showered over the majestic Swan Lake. Then it was onward to the night-time trolley-bus ride.

This wheeled adventure was fundamentally different than the walking zone because I was merely rolling by the animals. However, it was still very enlightening observing a rhino couple stare at us with mild amusement as the spotlight lit up their nesting grounds; lions and tigers stretching out like they own the place (which they sort of do); crocs, open-mouthed hippos and sleeping vultures, all in the vicinity of the baby giraffes and zebras that would likely be their food source in the wild.

While the day and night-time trolley-bus adventures provide for different experiences, I discovered that feeding the zebras, pigs and horned critters which were non-shyly encircling the trolley-bus was the most profound aspect of this wheeled trek.

What brought this overall experience home for me is when a full-grown giraffe looming overhead – as though I was part of some fairytale, Jurassic Park adventure – rendered me stunned, after it confidently dipped its head into the trolley-bus, stared me in the eyes and then used its sticky, purple, alien-like tongue to lap-up the carrot from my hand. I pondered if getting any closer to a safari (outside of Thailand) was even possible.

Then came the bottle-feeding of a three month-old white tiger, which darted across its cage area, skidded onto my lap and somewhat frantically sucked the milky substance from the bottle within my hand. This was another new experience for me, which I will never forget.

After a long day – as though having our own territory in the jungle – my lady and I drifted off to our safari-themed accommodation. The charming, Safari Doi (meaning, ‘safari mountain’) provided an idyllic getaway including a large, cushy bed and plenty of living space.

The next day brought with it the realization that this is exactly what I needed for waking up to once again realizing just how special the Night Safari and the Chiang Mai area are.

There are always more adventures at our doorstep. We just have to open the door and say hello...

The Night Safari is also offering the ‘Giraffe’ restaurant where - beyond enjoying your own meal - you can provide a snack for animals such as goats, sheep, deer, zebras and giraffes.

Additionally, there’s a children’s zone playground and a digital zoo, while other attractions include the Tiger Kingdom, paddle boat rides, a photo corner, souvenir shops, and jungle paintball.