Places for energetic kids in Chiang Mai
Q : I will be take my kids on holiday next year and am looking at visiting Chiang Mai. Would it be better to travel in April or October? What activities are available for energetic boys aged 12 and seven in and around the town?
A: Chiang Mai is a fantastic place for a family holiday as there are plenty of things to see and do. The most popular hangout with kids these days is the zoo, home to the panda family from China. Cub Lin Ping is most famous animal in Thailand with her own live broadcast on Thai cable television. The zoo is also home to more than 6,000 animals. Admission for foreigners is Bt100 with an additional Bt100 for the panda enclosure. Children less than 135 cm in height pay Bt50. The zoo is big but getting around is easy thanks to the monorail and bus services.
Your kids might also enjoy time at an elephant camp. There are several just outside Chiang Mai but the best known is the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang about 30 minutes away by car. Anyone can join their Mahout programme and spend the whole day with an elephant. Activities include riding an elephant, taking her for a bath, and feeding the baby elephants in the nursery.
Another worthwhile visit is the Monkey School in Mae Rim area, where you can watch gibbons being trained to pick coconuts. For more of an adrenaline rush, check out the Flight of the Gibbon in Chiang Mai, a zipline adventure tour in the jungle. It can be done in one day or multiday tour with an overnight stay in a Thai village. There is no minimum age but there is a minimum height requirement of one metre (or 3 feet 3 inches). Young children are often taken in tandem with a guide.
Chiang Mai offers plenty of cultural activities including painting on handmade pulp paper at an umbrella factory in Bo Saeng and making saa paper and parasols, painting ceramics and batik printing at the Mae Sa Valley Craft Centre. These courses are a great way to occupy your kids, and if you don't have the inclination to join them, you can take advantage of the herbal steam room, Thai massages and Thai cooking lessons also on offer here.
As to best time to come, both April and October have pros and cons. April is the hottest month of the year and the time when Thailand celebrates Songkran, the water festival marking the New Year. It's a lot of fun but accommodation will be harder to find and the city will be crowded. Air pollution can also be bad as farmers are burning the fields in preparation for planting.
October is the end of the rainy season so room rates are cheaper, but you can expect downpours and slightly cooler if muggy weather.
Enjoy your trip!
Q : Hello Vipasai! Could you please find out for me whereabout in Thailand I can go zorbing. Thank you, Jatu
A : For those who are new to this recreation, a zorb is a gigantic inflatable ball about 15ft in diameter. Zorbing is an official term created by two Kiwis, Andrew Akers and Dwane van der Sluis, who invented the zorb ball in 1995.
Inside it is another smaller ball, suspended into position by more than 1,000 nylon strands. Zorbing involves you being securely attached in the centre and rolling downhill. You need a gentle slope that allows you to control the ride.
The world's record for the longest zorbball rolling is 570 metres, but in Thailand slopes are generally around 200 metres.
This game offers loads of laughs. You just climb inside the hollow centre, fasten yourself securely into a harness, then just roll.
At the moment, Thongsomboon Club in Pak Chong district, Nakhon Ratchasima, has one zorb rolling down a gentle slope at Bt150 per a roll. (www.Thongsomboon-club.com).
Greenery Resort in Khao Yai used to have one but it's currently damaged. A new one is on order and should arrive soon. (www.GreeneryResort.com).
Fountain Tree Resort in Khao Yai has a water zorb ball in which you can roll in the water pool. However, the resort is also preparing to set up for zorbing on the land too. Hopefully it will be open soon (www.FountainTreeResort.com).
Chiang Mai X-centre on Mae Rim-Sameong Road has a huge orb ball of 3.3 metres in diameter that allows up to two people inside. (www.Chiangmai-Xcentre.com)
Hope this helps.