The Story of the Parents and the Chiang Mai Waterfall | Bangkok Mothers & Babies International

June 07, 2019

Victoria shares her story about her delightful visit to the limestone waterfalls called “Sticky Waterfalls” in a national park near Chiang Mai. By Victoria Davis

The parents realized they hadn’t had any together time for some time, so they left the children promptly at 8am and did not look back. The parents went to a beautiful fairyland, a jungle waterfall. They frolicked and kissed and played in the gorgeous waterfall. And messaged their eldest kid to tell them that they were never coming home. And then the parents laughed and laughed. The end.

My husband Mark and I recently went to Chiang Mai for Songkran. We took Mark’s grown up sons, Ben and Jeremy and our 2-and-a half-year-old daughter Odessa. We decided to try some new experiences while we were there, and discovered that the Airbnb platform offers personalized tours or experiences, with local guides.As Ben and Jeremy were available to look after Odessa for the day, we decided to take up the “Sticky Waterfall” experience and it was fantastic!Located about 50 minutes from Chiang Mai, the aptly nicknamed “Sticky Waterfalls” are three levels of limestone waterfalls located in a national park. Their traditional name is Bua Thong and there is some wonderful Thai folklore that comes with the waterfall tour, which our delightful guide Annie, told us about as we went along.The tour started at 8am with a pick up at our hotel. Along with three other couples, we drove into the mountains after stopping at a local cave, with a beautifully decorated giant staircase which led up to more caves, which houses a very large golden Buddha. It is a sacred site and worth the quick detour.Once back in the van, we were transported for another 15 minutes to the waterfalls. Alighting at the clean and well laid out national park area, we headed first to a ritualistic cleansing area, which is a crystal clear pool of water. We dipped buckets into the water and washed our hands and face and thanked the spirits for allowing us into their realm.And now it was time for the waterfalls! The first level was quite easy. Our guide was an expert rock climber and was hands on to show us the best way to navigate down. At this point, we now understood the ‘sticky’ part! The limestone makes for perfect barefoot climbing as it was comfortably coarse enough to grip with both hands and feet. The second level required some ropes and very easy navigation, but it was worth it. This level was the most spectacular part of the waterfall, where you could really see the shapes and texture of the limestones and bathe in the fresh, cool water.

And finally the third level, which was my personal favorite. In my opinion, it was the best because of the cascading water, gorgeous rock pools, and private ledges. It was deep down in the coolest part of the jungle and was just magical. We spent most of our time in this area because it was so special. Once finished, we climbed our way back down, the same way as we had gone up, so we got to relive the beauty all the way to the end of the tour.It was not strenuous at all. You don’t have to have a high fitness level to climb up or down the waterfalls. The only challenge was that some patches were sometimes slippery but we were expertly guided and navigated around these by our host Annie. The whole tour was from 8am-2pm, including pick up and drop-off at our hotel. The actual waterfall experience was for about one and a half hours, which allowed ample time at each level. A local Thai lunch is included in the price and that was only a short trip from the national park. The national park has well-maintained facilities like toilets, showers, lockers, and a small shop. I highly recommend this tour for parents who want to enjoy each other’s company and get back to nature. However, it is also a good adventure for kids aged seven years and above.

About the Author

Victoria is a professional astrologer, who moved from Australia with her husband Mark and 2yo daughter, Odessa (Frankie). Victoria enjoys yoga, meditation, Thai massage and spending time with friends and family. She runs a “Community Travel and Living” group on Facebook and her astrology work can be found at “Who Am I Astrology” on Facebook, Instagram and www.whoamiastrology.com.

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