After flagging down a tuk-tuk at the airport, we made our way to our charming hotel, Tanita House. Tanita is a family-owned hotel, made up of a few wooden cabins with plenty of greenery. There is also a great little cafe on the hotel grounds. The almond iced coffee did not disappoint.

Patty and I decided to take a thai cooking class on Sunday. Before being taken to Thai Cooking School’s organic farm for the class, we made a quick stop at a local market to learn about classic Thai ingredients.

The cooking class lasted for several hours, and I can confidently say that I ate more than any previous Thanksgiving dinner. It was cool to use ingredients straight from the farm (we handpicked them ourselves) and to see all of the ingredients come together to make delicious curry, stir fry, tom yum soup, pad thai, and mango sticky rice.

The next morning, Patty and I had a full day tour of CHiang Mai. Our guide for the day, Tong, picked us up at Tanita early so we could make morning alms as offerings to the monks . After morning offerings, Tong gave us a tour of Doi Suthep, the most famout temple in Chiang Mai. Today, Doi Suthep is a Buddhist Monastery.

After grabbing lunch at a local joint, Tong took us to visit the Karen Long Neck Hill Tribe. Here, we learned about the various traditions and culture of the tribe.

The last activity of the day was elephant riding at a local elephant conservatory. We took a bamboo raft to get there, passing many elephants on the way.