Care for Dogs Foundation Chiangmai

"Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer..." 

In Chiang Mai, there are lots of dogs on the street.  They're pretty even-tempered and good-natured. Maybe it comes from having many vegetarian restaurants around, or maybe it's the proximity of so many Buddhist temples. 

Either way, while there are lots of dogs around the city, there's no need to be alarmed - they are pretty friendly (and unlike the hawkers at the night market, they are not trying to sell you stuff!)

During our time in Chiang Mai, we met three kinds of dog.  The first kind was the well-cared for family pet.  We met a few of these from the street - like those that lived opposite Lamphu House - but we also met a fair few on the street.

Many of the temples have adopted dogs too.  Temple dogs are soi or street dogs that have ended up being looked after by the monks. You can find them around many of the temples, where they are given food, water and shelter - and a zen-like attitude to life.

And then, there are the soi dogs themselves: stray dogs wandering the alleys and streets of the city.  Homeless and unloved, these dogs risk their lives on a daily basis:  Chiang Mai traffic can be pretty dangerous for pedestrians to navigate - so it can end up being lethal for dogs that don't stop, look and listen.

Mrs Herbivore knew about the Care for Dogs shelter, and had determined that we would visit it during our trip.  The shelter itself is located about 9 miles (15 kilometres) from the centre of town - so it's a bit of a hike, and you need a driver to get there.

The Shelter is located at 12 Moo 11, Wiang Dong, Nam Prae, Hang Dong, Chiang Mai - but before you trek out there, it's good to know that you need to make an appointment by email - and that it's not open on Sundays. 

The people at the shelter were happy to have us visit, and really helpful - recommending some drivers to us who are regular visitors and know the way.  It cost us THB 250 each way, and our driver, Mr Neng accommodated our wish to go to a pet shop en route to stock up on a donation of food for the canines.  

We stopped off at a pet supplies store and bought a couple of large bags of dried food. We bought local brands which cost about THB 180 each - but there were more expensive foreign brands available.

When we got to the shelter, we were welcomed with open arms by the friendly volunteers who were helping out.  They showed us around, and introduced us to the dogs. 

Many of the dogs we met had been destined for the Vietnamese dog meat trade (imagine eating these cuties!) or had been rescued from the accidents in and around Chiang Mai (why, we wondered, don't people keep their dogs behind fences?).

The shelter actively rehomes its animals.  We were surprised to learn that some of its dogs are, in fact, exported abroad, and we met a couple of lucky dogs destined for families in the US.  We hope they have travelled well and are happy with their new families.

There were some really lovely dogs at the shelter and we really wished we could have taken a couple home with us.

Care for Dogs does great work - but does rely on donations to keep operating.  Why not buy a t-shirt or make a donation?  We bought t-shirts during our visit, but you can do either at the website www.carefordogs.org.

We left with a happy feeling having met such lovely dogs and we hope that many people choose to adopt from the shelter.  The dogs there were beautiful and friendly, and they deserve happy homes.

We give Care for Dogs Foundation 10/10 score.  We think it is a must-visit when you are travelling around Chiang Mai.

Thapae Boutique House

During our stay, we moved hotels, just to try something new, and found ourselves at the Thapae Boutique House.  

This is an older establishment, with a fantastically friendly staff, three extremely cute and friendly cats, and a pleasant semi-outdoor dining area.   

Breakfast was part of the deal here, comprising toast, eggs, fruit, coffee and juice.  We enjoyed our breakfasts  here.

However, we were on the ground floor of the building, the first floor of which appeared to be inhabited by a herd of elephants.  We didn't actually see the herd in question, but the frequent stomping overhead (and especially when people walked up the stairs) pointed either to the herd of elephants, or to extremely poor sound-proofing, or both. 

The bed in our room was very large - perhaps a super-king size bed and looked inviting - but it was actually as hard as granite (perhaps the elephants had been stomping on it?).

To be fair, we did try to arrange another room, and the staff were apologetic and tried to be helpful.  However. the hotel was fully booked and no other rooms were available.  Overall, we gave Thapae Boutique House a score of 5/10.

At the time of our visit in February 2015, there was also a building site next door, and a lot of noise from associated construction.

Mrs Herbivore personally choose this hotel because she read some review on tripadvisor that talk about the cat here. 

She was curious about the cats' story, and the lady that worked in reception told her that the hotel management adopted the cats when they were kittens.  They were sick and had been dumped at the elephant shelter.

Now the three "mouseketeers" look happy and healthy with a lot of love and attention around, especially from Mrs Herbivore.

So, the verdict: did we prefer a comfortable bed and stringent rules of Lamphu House or the friendly staff and the cats of Thapae?  They were different experiences - but broadly in the same price range.  On balance, Mr Herbivore would go for Lamphu House and the swimming pool, while Mrs Herbivore would go for Thapae Boutique House, if they changed the hard bed :)

Lamphu House Chiang Mai Review

During our visit to Chiang Mai, we stayed at the Lamphu House, near to the Wat Chedi Luang, the Sunday Street Market, and the Thais That Bind restaurant. We chose to stay here because Mrs Herbivore had stayed at the Lamphu House in Bangkok on another trip. 

The hotel was clean, relatively new, and pretty basic, but we thought it was good value.  What we liked: the pool (although the water was a bit chilly after the sun had left the pool area), our sunny balcony, the comfortable bed and the great location - walking distance toWat Chedi Luang and an easy stroll to Thapae Gate.

We were also interested to meet the two extremely cute dogs who lived across the road and who greeted us with wagging tails every morning,

If you like the quiet part of Chiang Mai and walking distance around the temple, we recomend staying around the old city. 

What we didn't like: well, the staff didn't seem overly friendly, the hotel linen was on the well-used and threadbare side, and there was a long list of rules (mainly about how we couldn't leave marks on the sheets).  

We also thought it was a bit odd that we had to pay a cash deposit to get the key to our room - but the pros outweighed the cons, and we would absolutely stay here again.  

Room advice : Choose the room with pool view in the 2nd floor or 3rd floor. Our score: 8/10.

Chiang Mai, Thailand: A Veggie Paradise

Our adventures began in Chiang Mai, a small city in northern Thailand.  We met here on a surprisingly chilly February morning. The great thing about Chiang Mai is that, aside from its numerous cultural sites, it is a fantastic place for vegetarian travellers.  

We reckon there are more than 40 vegetarian or vegan restaurants around the city.  We know that Thai cuisine is diverse and delicious - but we had a specific mission: to find the best vege pad thai and tom yum dishes in all of Chiang Mai.  

Sadly, we didn't get to experience all 40+ vege restaurants.  Partly this was because we found fantastic food at some places and had to go back to them, and partly because we just ran out of time.

Taste from Heaven

We visited the Taste from Heaven Vegetarian Restaurant twice during our stay.  The food here is magnificent - and Mr Herbivore  especially recommends the Mushroom Satay (his culinary highlight of the trip!).  

We ate well here, with delicious pad thai, spring rolls, and Mrs Herbivore's obligatory tom yum as well as the legendary mushroom satay.  We weren't so thrilled with the deep fried mushrooms, which were a bit oily for our taste - but some may prefer that.  

The restaurant has wifi, it was clean and the service was friendly.  Mr Herbivore was very happy with the coffee here, although it was a bit strong for Mrs Herbivore's tastes. 

Overall though, we thoroughly recommend this restaurant, scoring it a 9/10.  One note of caution however is that many other people seem to like it too. 

In the evenings, it can be hard to get a table, so we advise you to go early!  You can find Taste from Heaven on Ratmakka Road, next to the Lost Book.

Bubbles Live

After we failed to get a table at Taste from Heaven for a romantic dinner on Valentine's Day, we stumbled upon the Bubbles Live restaurant one night.  This cafe, at 5 Ratchamanka, soi 2,  wasn't busy, but was brightly lit, colourful and had a healthy organic menu rather than traditional Thai food. 

On our visit here, we had an avocado, tofu and eggplant salad platter, that came with whole bread. The people were really friendly, and the food was tasty.  We scored it 8/10.

Aum Cafe

Aum Cafe, a vegan restaurant opposite the Thapae Gate beside Black Canyon Coffee, is a place not to be missed (although it can be difficult to find - look carefully for the small wooden building). We searched it out having read reviews from other vegetarian travellers and can confirm the recommendation.  

While the building looks old, and it's fairly dark inside, the food is fantastic.  Seated on the floor at a low traditional table, we feasted on a traditional Chiang Mai Khao Soi noodle soup, along with another pad thai. 

We really liked the coconut flavours of the Khao Soi, and the fresh veges.  We scored Aum Cafe 9/10.

Thais That Bind

Thais That Bind was a surprise find for us nearby our hotel and opposite Wat Chedi Luang.  While not actually a vegetarian-only restaurant, it was vege-friendly.  The service here was exceptional, the food was really yummy and well-priced.  

On our various trips to this restaurant, we ordered fried vege rice, sticky rice and of course our staple tom yum and pad thai. We rated this place a 9/10 also.

Phon Non Cafe

We visited the Phon-Non Cafe twice.  Easy to find near the Thapae gate, with the wonderful view of old architecture around. 

Our first trip was there for brunch.  We enjoyed a spicy Tom Yum soup and Pad Thai, watermelon juice, pineapple juice and coffee.  

On our first visit, the food was spectacular, fresh, delicious and warming on a not especially hot day.  To be honest, our second visit, later in the week for dinner, was not quite so good. 

The service seemed slow and less friendly, and the food seemed to lack the spiciness and fresh flavours of our first trip.  We think perhaps a different chef in the evenings might not be as liberal with the ingredients.  

Nonetheless, Phon-Non is well-priced, conveniently located, and has the advantage of good wifi services, so perfect for checking those emails.  On balance, we score the Phon-Non 7/10.

Pacamara Coffee House

We didn't actually eat at the Pacamara Coffee House, but we did drink coffee there. We were really happy with our caffe lattes, and scored it a 9/10.

Café de Siam Coffee House and Restaurant 

We breakfasted one morning here , with toast, croissants and coffee.  We sat outside watching the squirrels scampering in the trees across the road.  The toast and croissants were pretty average, but the coffee was okay.  We gave Café de Siam a score of 6/10.

We did eat in other places too, but these were the restaurants that stood out to us as being worthy of mention.  Next time we're there, we will revisit some of our old favourites (we can't wait to get back to the Taste from Heaven's satay mushrooms) as well as seek out new places.