Vegan in Chiang Mai - Part Two

As I said in my last post Chiang Mai is hard to leave but leave I did because Laos is right across the boarder and I just needed to keep on adventuring. I know that I'll be back sooner rather than later though so I'm not feeling too sad. One place that kept me sticking around for so long was Blue Diamond Breakfast Club. For an omni spot their vegan options are plentiful and more varied than I've seen in some vegan establishments. The pancakes are the real draw and after a bit of a wobble with a gluten free apple pancake that was a little on the gummy side I hit the jackpot with the chocolate pancake.

Breakfast items really are Blue Diamond's strong point, hence the name, and this couldn't be more obvious than right here with their vegan croissant choices. Choices people! You can go for the full on white flour, high fat croissant or dial it back with a wholewheat version. You know me, I'm not one for dialling it back, and I ate the proper version almost daily.

Muffins and other sweet treats were my main reason for visiting this relaxed spot over and over and I found myself using this self serve area on so many occasions that myself, the plastic bags and the tape dispenser are practically bff's. The choc chip and blueberry muffins are my strongest recommendations whilst Nick prefers the cinnamon rolls.

We hit this place up for dinner on a couple of occasions and both the Avocado Tempeh Salad and the Pad See Ew (what did I tell you last time!) are great choices although my tempeh was a little bitter on one occasion. The fresh juices are another of the club's specialities and the orange is a boring sounding but delicious choice.

Blue Diamond is also pretty close to the Women's Massage Centre where you can get a traditional Thai or foot massage by ex-prisoners from the women's prison. 

I personally do not love a massage; okay, truth time, I hate them. Do not try to convince me otherwise, I've tried enough of them to know. Despite my issues with massages I went ahead and tried again because I do seriously love the concept of this place and I wanted to support it. I would also like to be one of those normal people who finds massages relaxing but nope! I would encourage anyone to visit this place. If you must incarcerate people it is so necessary to teach them new skills and to help them to find jobs at the end. 

Ice Love You was somewhere that I was so goddamned excited about. Vegan ice cream right here in Thailand? Yes please. We took a highly amusing (sometimes you just have to find situations funny to deal with them y'know) songthaew journey beyond the old city walls and out towards the sprawling university campus and were excited to spot this adorable place on a side street off of Suthep Road.

We'd read that all of the ice creams but one were vegan but to double check that the cookies were a-ok so we asked questions and were happy with our order of three scoops and a roti with two scoops. Who goes to an vegan ice cream spot for the first time in months and only dips in a toe? Not me!

I won't be showing you a picture of our bloody delicious trio of scoops in adorable bunny shaped bowls though because I think that this place has a long way to go when it comes to understanding what veganism is. As soon as we'd finished eating an Aussie vegan came in with some friends and asked the exact same questions as we did but her vegan alarm was set of when she was told that all but one of the ice creams (the cheese one) were vegan because she'd heard of something called Milo, one of the flavours available, and pointed out that Milo contains milk and asked further questions. "Does it have real Milo in it?", the answer? "Yes, Milo". The convo continued and she didn't order that flavour but we'd already eaten it which I was beginning to get super irritated about. Back in the UK when I got told by a local ice cream spot that the Guinness sorbet was vegan I know that it wasn't and was able to point it out to the owners but here, with an ingredient I've never heard of, it's more difficult to be so on-top of things. There are definite language barriers involved in travelling but on top of those there are cultural barriers too. Here, for example, I work pretty hard to avoid causing anyone to loose face, smiling when you know someones trying to give you a terrible deal for example, so I left without saying anything. But I felt super mad. Ugh. I can't say for sure whether that ice cream had actual Milo in it because the words yes and vegan were repeated over and over confusing the Aussie vegan just as much as it was confusing me but I do now know that Milo is a malted drink that contains milk products so I'll let you make up your own minds. I am satisfied that the other two scoops we ordered and that the Roti with Matcha and Mango Sticky Rice ice creams were vegan so I intend to look on the bright side and remember that this was freaking delicious.

I specified vegan all the way through the ordering process (as did the Aussie!) and this definitely can be made 100% milk free. The mango sticky rice ice cream was a real joy and I adored the puffy roti. The whole thing was excellent and one of the most ridiculous things I've had the pleasure of eating since Veganerie. 

After this roller coaster of an afternoon I wanted to hide somewhere air conditioned so we took a short and thankfully uneventful songthaew ride to local mall Central Airport Plaza to see if the food court held any hidden gems that we could add to Happy Cow. The mall's Food Pavillion is on the top floor and there was a nameless but all vegan Jay food stall right there waiting for us to sample their cheap eats. You'll be able to spot it because it's covered in yellow and red Jay flags! We ordered the Pad See Ew because we always order the Pad See Ew and it was one of the best we've had. Mock meat, tofu, plenty of veggies, delicious.

We also gave these super fresh summer rolls a whirl and we enjoyed them almost as much.

I wouldn't made the trip out there just to eat here or anything but it's a great option if you're in or near the mall already.

Freebird Cafe is somewhere I ended up visiting for the first time quite late on in my stay in Chiang Mai, not for lack of trying I just kept on forgetting that they shut at 5 and thinking that I'd have dinner there. Doh! The all veggie Freebird Cafe is just one part of Thai Freedom House, a not-for-profit language and arts community centre dedicated to helping refugees from Burma and members of other Thai minority groups. Inside the cafe there's a charity shop where they sell, among other things, donated clothes that are too big or too revealing for the refugees for whom they were intended. Jackpot! I scored this bright, bold flowery tee which is so light that I hardly feel like I'm wearing anything, and a gorgeous acid green dress that's cut too low to wear anywhere but at the beach here but that will be totally appropriate in the US of A or Europe.

Determined not to miss out again I dragged Nick there for opening time on this occasion which meant one thing, pancakes, and boy were we glad we finally made it. 

The pancakes, served with golden syrup and fresh fruit, were gorgeous, light and super puffy. They kept me full for ages. I also tried one of their smoothies which had apple, lime and mint and reminded me of a non-alcoholic Mojito. So refreshing, just as the menu said it would be. I didn't try Nick's pineapple, apple, banana and ginger smoothie because uncooked pineapple makes my mouth itch but he assured me it was delicious and that he'd order it again.

On our second visit I had the Green Tea Leaf Salad in mind because everyone had told me that I just had to try it. I'm not really one to order a salad so when I spotted that there was a new Green Tea Leaf Fried Rice dish on the menu I opted for that instead. Nick went with Pad Thai and we got some Musroom and Vegetable Spring Rolls to share.

The Pad Thai was a little unusual as there was no chilli or sugar in sight but the garlic soy sauce and the lime that accompanied it made a tasty dish nonetheless. My fried rice dish was full of bold flavours and fun textures from the pickled tea leaves themselves to the crunch of the fried soy beans and onward to the generous helping of black pepper. This was hot, hot, hot and I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

I totally couldn't resist dessert when I saw that there was a Raw Key Lime Pie on the menu and I loved that it was served super cold so that it was like a creamy ice cream to begin with and then, as it thawed, it softened into a delightful avocado lime pie with an almost mousse like texture.

Raw desserts can be super hit or miss for me but this one was totally spot on and might just pip the matcha brownie from Amrita Garden to the post for the title of best dessert in Chiang Mai. Definitely a winner. Freebird is a total must-visit if you're in the city but do go when you have time to spare as the service is super relaxed. If you'd like to help Freebird by doing more than just eating and shopping you can take donations of gently used clothes there or volunteer to be an English teacher in their learning centre, more info here. Oh and if you didn't already read part one of my Chiang Mai series here it is.

Vegan in Chiang Mai - Part One

Oh hello! I'm in Chiang Mai right now and despite the temperature gauge hitting 43˚C yesterday I am loving it here.

Some cities have a pull about them that just keep me wanting more, NYC, Portland, Tokyo to name a few, and now I can add Chiang Mai to the ever-growing list. Nick and I were here for one night before our amazing week at Elephant Nature Park and then for four nights afterwards. That should've been it if we had stuck to our super-vague plan but after leaving to check out Pai (more about that adventure soon) we then came right back here again for what we'd initially decided would be just a couple more nights and has swiftly turned into a week. This is without a doubt the best thing about long term travel, if I don't want to leave somewhere I don't have to. Within reason of course, other cities and countries are calling my name and my visa totally expires soon so I know that moving on has to happen eventually.

How walkable Chiang Mai is is definitely a big draw, despite the heat city explorations on foot have been a breeze (Oh, if only there were a real breeze!) and I love (LOVE!) seeing Wats popping up from behind brick walls as I aimlessly wander the city streets.

Stumbling upon somewhere fun and unexpected whilst walking without a destination in mind is one of my favourite travel activities and Ung Polaroid, Handmade Shop and Gallery was one of these finds. 

Ung is located at one end of Khang Ruan Jum Road and is the home to photography exhibits, a store with some great polaroid postcards, and much more. There was even a cat to play with.

Food wise the city has been treating us right and I am over the moon with the range of options available. Taste From Heaven was our first stop as it was located near the first place we stayed and right next to this book store which we were more than happy to browse in. 

Of course I ordered the Pad See Ew. I almost always order the Pad See Ew! It's been my favourite Thai dish since I first tasted it at Pukk in New York City and I've never regretted an order of the sweet noodles. Taste From Heaven's take includes TVP and whilst I would prefer tofu or perhaps mock duck it's still beyond decent. 

I have since tried other things including this plate of Rard-Na Noodles with veggies and textured soya protein in a soya bean sauce which was the perfect comfort foodie meal on a day where I woke up with an inexplicable craving for biscuits and gravy. I blame Instagram. 

The Fresh Spring Rolls are another of my go-to orders, I've ordered them literally every single time I've visited (Oh Parks and Rec I'm gonna miss you). Crisp lettuce and crunchy veggies paired with fresh flavourful herbs will always be a favourite of mine and I loooove that these come with a sweet tamarind sauce. Also, tofu. Love.

I'm always pleased when somewhere does a great job with a vegan dessert and oh boy does Taste From Heaven do it well. This is described on the menu as a brownie but it's really more like a superb slab of chocolate cake.

It's served hot so the chocolate chips are all melty and perfect, it's sharable but if you're hungry I'd strongly recommend keeping it to yourself. 

Amrita Garden is one of my very favourite place in Chiang Mai. I'm a huge Japanese food aficionado, my travels there last year just amplified the situation, and I love Amrita Garden's take on everything from the super traditional to the Japanese twists on Western classics. Their burger, for example, is made up of a delicately flavoured vegetable patty topped with homemade tofu mayo, ketchup and mustard.

I feel bad showing you this next (terrible) picture but the fried tempeh is just so outstanding that I had to share, it's lightly flavoured with a shio-kouji sauce, made from fermented rice and salt, that tastes a lot better than the sum of it's parts. The cucumber on the side actually compliments the dish rather than being a random garnish.

The cold soba broth is delicately flavoured with kombu, shiitake, soy sauce and sweet rice wine, it's absolute perfection in a bowl. I've never had quite such amazing noodles, they must be homemade.

Dessert wise they've got it going on and the green tea brownie is pretty much the best ever. Matcha and Almond are a dream team and I've been eating more of these than I could possibly count.

They also sell a Dark Cacao brownie topped with cashews which I don't love as much as the matcha brownie but Nick wanted me to let you know that it's his fave'. If cookies are more your scene Amrita Garden have you sorted on that front too with Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Pim or Bitter Chocolate Cookies from Healthy Sweets. 

These are both delicious and hit very different spots, the oatmeal raisin are your straight up classic cookie whilst the bitter chocolate biccies hover at the more sophisticated end of the spectrum. You need to watch out here because some of the goodies on sale at Amrita Garden have the vegan label but contain honey, just flip them over and read the ingredients before you buy. I wonder when everyone'll understand that if it came from an animal (including a bee!) that it just Is. Not. Vegan. Full stop. No further discussion.

One afternoon, fuelled up with plenty of energy from all of the delicious food, Nick and I made the trip out to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep which is 15km outside of the city with a couple of the new friends we made at Elephant Nature Park. It's truly stunning up there, especially on a clear day, and it's the perfect spot to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city below and to breathe some cleaner, fresher air. 

At the end of our adventures we were rewarded with this wonderful surprise as we were leaving, a tiny puppy chewing a tiny shoe. Good lard. It really was too much.

Until next time friends! I'll catch you for part two soon.

My Week as a Volunteer at Elephant Nature Park.

I was recently lucky enough to spend a week volunteering at Elephant Nature Park just north of Chiang Mai in Thailand and I can honestly say that it was one of the best weeks of my life. ENP is a sanctuary for elephants who have been abused, mistreated and oppressed at the hands of humans. I went into my week at the park knowing that I wholeheartedly disagreed with riding elephants, elephant painting, the circus, and using elephants for logging but I didn't comprehend the full extent of what these beautiful creatures go through to end up in these situations. The process of breaking an elephant, otherwise known as phajaan or crushing the elephant's spirit, is crueler than you could ever imagine and this is coming from someone who has watched many videos of how cows are treated in dairy farms and what happens to the baby chicks who are ground up whilst they're still alive just so that humans can consume eggs. Watching the videos, this one especially, was incredibly difficult and I have spent hours and hours trying to process my feelings of sadness. Rage came next and, in the long run, I hope to turn my feelings into productivity which I guess is what's happening right now! I am really glad that I was able to gain this insight into an area of animal rights that I wasn't previously well versed on and I hope to be a better ambassador for elephants from now on.

Days at ENP start at 7am with breakfast which means setting an alarm for 6:30 and there was no snoozing because the walls were so thin that I'd have felt like the rudest asshole alive if someone had been forced to listen to Radar more than once. I'd heard that breakfast was the most challenging meal for vegans at the sanctuary so I came well prepared with a stash of bars and crackers. The daily vegan fare at breakfast consisted of cornflakes (the bad D vit's haven't made it over here yet!), soya or rice milk, peanut butter and fruit. One day there were sausages too which I got pretty overexcited about.

The week's large group of volunteers were split into four teams and daily tasks included scooping poop, quite a big task when an elephant's involved; elephant food which meant unloading and washing truck after truck of watermelons, pumpkins and bananas; cutting grass and banana trees down at the roadside; helping to create a fire break and cleaning up the park. Fire break was by far the hardest task as it meant clearing a huge swathe of forest in the heat of the day with various tools, I think hoeing or raking were my favourite tasks but hacking down bushes with a machete was also kinda fun. Overall working in the ele' kitchen was my absolute favourite task, passing the fruit and veg down the line from the truck is the kind of repetitive task I can totally get down with and I liked that you got a real idea of just how much food it takes to feed an elephant. 

Human food wise everything at the park is vegetarian and if you can find a volunteer co-ordinator who gets your veganism they'll be able to tell you which things on the buffet to avoid. Pro-tips: the bread at ENP contains egg and dairy and you'll need to be on the look out for sneaky egg in both the pad thai and pad see ew, there are also some obvious yellow noodles that contain egg. Here are a few examples of the meals I ate from the amazing lunch buffet. The food would have definitely been more varied if I wasn't contending with a chilli allergy but the fact that even I could eat this well says a lot.

Once our work for the day was done we were lucky enough to be able to take part in fun activities like washing the elephants. We learnt a lot about how to go about this before we were let loose with buckets of water. Pouring water down the elephants' face is a huge no-no as is getting water into the ears... this makes so much sense. I certainly wouldn't enjoy someone throwing water at my face!

One afternoon after our chores were done a small group of volunteers were lucky enough to sit with ENP founder Lek and hear her speak about not only the process of breaking an elephant but also the hideousness of forced breeding programs. It didn't surprise me to hear that Lek is vegan herself as this process is not dissimilar to the the one dairy cows are forced to go through when their calves are ripped away from them and shoved into veal crates. Elephants and cows, just like humans, mourn the loss of their babies and it makes me so angry that humans are willing to put animals through this stuff for their own gratification. 

Hearing the elephant's stories was a definite highlight of my time there despite how harrowing the majority of them are, remember that almost every elephant here has been through the breaking process and much more in their pre-ENP lives. Jokia's story was one that hit me the hardest. Rescued from a heartbreaking and tortuous existence at an illegal logging operation in 1999 she came to ENP after being deliberately blinded in both eyes by her mahout for refusing to work after miscarrying whilst dragging a log uphill. On arrival at the park Mae Perm, the first elephant ever rescued by Lek, took her under her wing and became her best friend. They go everywhere together and Mae Perm acts as Jokia's eyes leading her to play and towards food.

We were also able to spend time sitting beneath an elephant to feed her which, Lek explained, she encouraged us to do to help to show people that elephants are gentle creatures who, when they aren't being abused and when they are in the sanctuary environment, see humans as friends - especially when we're accompanied by a bag of tamarind. Getting to sit underneath this beautiful lady was one of the most amazing moments of the week and, believe me, there were many!

One evening Lek spoke with us about her life and her journey to build ENP up to what it is today and wow, I have been around many inspiring feminists in my time but Lek kinda blew my mind. As well as selflessly working to make life better for all elephants with her brand of positive, patient and passionate activism she has also made a world of difference to the lives of women from local hill tribe villages by employing them in her kitchen, as massage therapists for the guests of ENP and much more. The amount of positive change one woman has created is truly inspiring. 

I loved being surrounded by all of the animals that call ENP their home. There are cats and dogs everywhere as well as elephants, water buffalo and cows. Cat Kingdom was a great place to chill and there was one kitty who came to our room to hang out (and to try to climb our mosquito net) daily. What a beauty.

One day when we were taking a fire break break a dog came to hang with us, (s)he seemed super thirsty so I offered up some water in the cap of my bottle and they lapped it up. I think I shared it 50/50 in the end and was rewarded with a lot of face licks from my new pup friend.

As well as loving being surrounded by animals and having a chance to connect with and understand elephants to a greater extent I also enjoyed the peace and beauty of the surrounding countryside and getting to meet wonderful like minded people. I even managed to tune out the people moaning about the lack of meat without shouting "it's for a week, shut up and deal with it" at them which I thought was rather restrained!

Elephants are a much loved part of Thai culture and Elephant Nature Park is the perfect place to connect with them without causing them any harm so whether you're vegan, vegetarian, or neither (yet!) I'd say volunteering here is a must during your time in Thailand.