Four Seasons Chiang Mai, Thailand

Today I am super excited to finally share my diary of one of my favorite places in Thailand: Chiang Mai.

This destination undoubtedly became for me one of my favorites places of Thailand because I felt I could educate myself a little more about Thai culture and connect with it. Although I visited Bangkok and Phuket too where I had an incredible and special time I felt that Chiang Mai was a very total different trip… full of peace, relaxation where I could connect with myself and nature.

Even though I only went for a few days I had an incredible time with my family from Four Seasons. As you know I am a big fan of the Four Seasons Hotels chain not only for its great attention and service but also because every property I visit steals my heart. I swear that Four Seasons takes the prize for choosing the best locations in their properties as they are incredibly photogenic.

I had the opportunity to visit Four Seasons Chiang Mai with one of my best friends from Panama, Pilar Sinclair who joined me throughout my trip to Thailand. We took a plane from Bangkok to Chiang Mai where we were picked up at the airport by their friendly staff in a car with wifi (woho !!).

To be honest, Pilar and I were quite out hangover lol because we had taken our task of enjoying the nightlife of Bangkok very seriously. So we were both looking for a very peaceful and recharging time during our visit to Chiang Mai.

From the moment we entered the land of a million rice fields, we were both fascinated by the great scenery that greeted us. Somehow the resort reminded me a lot of my country Costa Rica because of the green backdrop surrounding the property. But even so I could not believe that the vibrant colors that my naked eye was seeing was real! From the bright blue infinity pool, wooded yoga barn, orange and yellow flowers, and shades of luscious green that surround the Resort were truly taken out like from a magical fairy tale book.

Our room was a upper garden pavilion very big with a tub overlooking the incredible nature. One of my favorite parts was the view from the window and from the balcony that overlooked the gardens and a part to the rice fields overlooking the lake.

We arrived on a Sunday morning so we started our day at the property with an exquisite brunch of Thai food which was just what we needed after parting very hard a few nights before. Pilar and I are fans of Thai food and believe me, we gave ourselves the pleasure of tasting 100% authentic Thai food very seriously.

After the brunch we went to the pool to relax and enjoy our Sunday in this incredible paradise by tasting and drinking one of my favorite cocktails Chiang Mai Mule. Although I am not very fan of spicy this had the perfect amount of spicy to kicks off my afternoon. My mouth wails in thinking about it !!

Pilar and I stayed until the sunset where we lived the magic hour similar to a movie. The setting sun creates an orange glow that is reflected on the lake of the property. In fact every night, just as the sun goes down, the team of gardeners from Four Seasons Chiang Mai make a parade around the rice fields which makes its way between the lighting lamps of the complex. The transition from day to night here is really fascinating to watch.

There are a couple of activities that I liked most during my stay at Four Seaosns Chiang Mai and that I really recommend doing if you ever visit this resort:

Rice plantation: for those who do not know I am incredibly rice fan (that’s why I have a hard time doing some diet), but I think everyone with Asian blood can relate, right? The truth is that it is a such a nice and unique experience where you will have the opportunity to learn about the process that entails being able to eat this delicious Asian rice we all love. The fun part is that you plant your own buds and learn about the harvest process, using methods passed down through generations using a traditional Thai look.
Talk with the monks: I felt like in an episode of the movie Eat, Pray and Love lol but it is not every day that you can talk and connect with a Thai monk to help you connect with your inner voice. Undoubtedly something that I really liked to do was chat and open up about my personal life with a monk who helped me to look for more spirituality and find a way to make my life more meaningful.
Know the buffalo: although I had already seen wild buffalo in Africa, I could never really be close to one. I had the opportunity to bond with this amazing animal and help them with their favorite time of the day: the bath at his barn.
Know the Asian giant: definitely one of the things that I was looking forward to do the most in my visit to Chiang Mai was to finally know the Asian elephant. As many of you know spend a year in Africa and I had the opportunity to meet the African elephant and even touch it in person face to face. So I really wanted to meet the Asian one and see their differences. The Four Seasons Chiang Mai concierge team really helped me give me many options and recommendations since you may know Chiang Mai has many elephant “sanctuaries”. But I really wanted to look for one that was healthy and not commercial ones where they ride them.. So finally with the help of the hotel I decided on Elephant Jungle Sanctuary where I had the opportunity to feed them, bathe them and play with them. This definitely made my experience in Chiang Mai much more memorable.

I hope you enjoyed my stay in the incredible paradise of Four Seasons Chiang Mai where I really had the opportunity to connect with myself and with nature. I want to give special thanks to Karuna and Pitchanan for their incredible hospitality and making my first visit to Chiang Mai memorable. I hope it is not the first or the last time visiting this beautiful part of Thailand.