Travels 2005

After the second week with health issues, we decided to look into a health spa instead of traveling to Laos or Vietnam. We found Tao Garden Health Spa & Resort, a lush 80 acre holistic resort that is smoke, alcohol & drug free. No autos are allowed past a certain point so everyone either walks or rides bicycles. The resort is located about 30 minutes north of Chiang Mai in Doi Saket (a small mountain) It is run by an alternative medicine Master who also works with western & Chinese doctors, among other alternative health programs. The Master has written countless books on health and well-being, & appears to have quite a following here. He is also well known for Tai Chi.

The grounds have a number of streams running through and there are birds and butterflies everywhere. The food is mostly organic, grown on the premises, and all of the water is filtered though reverse osmosis. They serve a bountiful buffet for each meal that is some of the most delicious food we have ever eaten. It is mostly vegan, but with a fish dish at lunch & at dinner, occasional chicken, some eggs & no dairy. Fresh fruits, fresh fruit juices and herbal teas are everywhere (some are quite exotic, unusual and foul tasting but most are very good) and the people and treatments have been wonderful.

We stayed in a teak townhouse with a living room,/dining room/kitchen combo on the first floor and the bedroom and bath upstairs.

We had our bodies worked from top to bottom (head massages, foot massages, traditional Thai massages, oil massages--you name it, we got it) and we are feeling great. I feel maybe better than I have in many years, just after four days here!

Upon arrival, we had an initial consultation with Master Mantak Chia, the owner, and Dr. Danai (an orthopedic surgeon who has practiced for 16 years and looks very young; I thought maybe 25 but he is 38) and got great advice for better health. Dr. Danai says he decided to come work here so he could learn more about alternative medicine, as he does not believe western medicine has all the answers. He has seen so many successes here that he is now hooked.

The Master and Dr. Danai provided our initial consultations & blood analyses, & performed one of my treatments. We have been fortunate to see them daily, & we asked questions and got feedback and more advice.

Among the many treatments & programs they offer are traditional Chinese medicine, Thai massage, western doctor consultation, holistic medicine, yoga, Ayurvedic (traditional Indian) medicine, acupuncture, slimming massage, herbal sauna, chiropractors, etc. They also have a swimming pool, basketball court, tennis courts, walking trails, workout gym, tai chi sessions, etc. Neal got to play hoops & swim 1 hour.  We were busy with treatments & meals, & never took a single picture.

Following Tao Garden, we returned to the Porn Ping Hotel in Chiang Mai. By the way, Porn means blessed in Thai. We will return to Bangkok later this week and then return home on Saturday, January 29.

Below are some pictures I like. They were taken in (or near) Bangkok:

This is a picture I took at a wat in Ayutthaya near Bangkok. It is a stone Buddha "growing" in a tree. I've seen many pictures of it and was delighted I could photograph it too!

We are getting lots of excellent food in Chiang Mai. It is impossible to get a bad meal. During my stay at the Tao Garden Health Spa, they recommended I quit eating dairy, pork or beef, eating instead fruit, vegetables, grains, some fish and less chicken. I feel soooooooo much better. There is a lot of asparagus here and it is really good. There is the white variety and the green we know from California.

I especially like the thick rice noodles (like chow fun). The black mushrooms are excellent too! Yesterday at the elephant camp (see below), we had pad thai with fresh shrimp and thick rice noodles with tofu. Doesn't sound like much but it was a totally delicious meal. The tofu melted in my mouth like creamy chocolate. Our fruit juices at 55 baht cost more than our meals. We find this true a lot. Beer, sodas and fresh juices are usually more than our meals. When we go to a fancy place, it usually costs under $10 for the two of us and this includes 1 or 2 beers or juices, or 1 beer and 1 juice.

Neal orders a huge whole fish with chili/garlic/basil sauce for $2.50 in our hotel. It's so good that he eats the whole thing, over rice. When we come in they ask him if he wants the same thing. They know him already.

In every Thai hotel we have ever stayed in, a breakfast buffet is served, generally from 6-10 AM.  Each one varies, but they always have American, Chinese and Thai breakfast items and a multitude of other foods. There is so much food it is intoxicating. For example, there are 12-13 chafing dishes on a large central table here at the Porn Ping Tower. The dishes contain items such as fried rice, wide noodles with vegetables, stir-fried vegetables, french toast and pancakes, spaghetti or some other pasta dish, sliced chicken in a mushroom sauce, bacon, pork, chicken and beef sausages, ham, etc. Then there is a station with toast, croissants, dinner rolls and strawberry jam & orange marmalade. Next to it is a station where eggs are made to order: fried, poached or omelets. There is another station with various Chinese congees and soups, another with fresh orange and pineapple juice, tea and coffee, and still another with fresh fruit, breakfast cereals and a salad bar. One cannot starve here even if this is the only meal of the day.

About the ham: it is always Danish (the canned type), sliced paper-thin and sits in hot water in the chafing dish. It is lifeless and tasteless. The bacon is another story: it is sliced thick and tastes wonderful--or so it did before I stopped eating it.

Shopping is the big draw in Chiang Mai. There are stores, stalls, markets, etc. everywhere. They sell local items made by the hill tribes people, other Northern Thai crafts, and beautiful silk clothing and scarves. It is sometimes impossible to walk because the sidewalks (what is left of them with all the sidewalk stalls) are so crowded with people.

Yesterday, we had a driver take us out of town for several hours. First we went back to Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, the gorgeous temple complex on Doi (Mount) Suthep, overlooking Chiang Mai. (It was getting dark when we went a year ago.) Then we went to the Mae Sa Elephant Camp, had lunch & watched the show. Among other things, the elephants "played" soccer, painted (some of them paint flowering trees), & clowned & trumpeted humorously. Afterward, people gave them banana bunches & sugar cane, & paid to pose with them (the elephants take the bills--there's one that's worth 50 cents--& pass them to the staff guys). Then we went to a beautiful crafts store in Mae Rim.

Finally a note about the Muslims. Thailand is 95% Buddhist with about 3% Muslims and the last 2% all other religious groups. Although the Muslims are a slim majority, they make themselves heard.  All of their mosques are hard-wired with the loudest sound systems I have ever heard. You can heard the call to prayer all through the day in Chiang Mai and Bangkok.