Treehouse Stay in Chiang Mai (November 20, 2025)
Before Elena and Violet head home, I’m really glad we had a chance to zipline together in Thailand. We did this on our way up to our treehouse stay which I’ll share more about in just a minute.
Integrated high ropes course and zipline adventure in Thailand
When we came to Chiang Mai, it was primarily to have the full top of the mountain treehouse experience which we will have later this evening. But before we arrive at our new hotel, we took a detour to Phoenix Adventure, the self-proclaimed “Land of Happiness.”
We had a ball on the ziplines and hired the photographer to come along and document our journey together. Why not? Violet got tired of smiling for the camera during the zips, but we got enough shots to share the gist of the adventure.
Then we took the “train” to the farming area. My best friend James Graeber would have loved this part. His parents and their friends collected this mini-trains when we were both growing up and I’d never seen them used in a commercial way … until now. Included in our zipline adventure pack was a round trip train ticket and it was more fun than I had anticipated. Sun umbrellas were provided and there were all sorts of tunnels – both the plant kind and cement kind – as well as twists and turns to give you a good feel for the entire park.
Once on the other side, Violet fed the sheep. What’s crazy is that one immediately noticed we purchased the special grass and blurted out to all the others that another tourist was coming to feed the herd. Why? If that one had kept quiet, it could have had a few nibbles before all the others noticed. Then again, I guess sheep are not the smartest of the animals. They are cute, though. And a number of the lambs realized they could just pop through the fence and so that did and even jumped up on Violet to make sure she paid attention (and tribute) to them.
After feeding the sheep, we swung on the swings and climbed the nearby treehouse and then made our way back to the train “station” for our return trip. We met our driver and made our way to the coveted Tree House where we’ll stay the next two evenings. When we arrived it was better than we had imagined. The location is near the top of one of the larger mountains in Chiang Mai, so the views are spectacular:
IMAX for Thailand’s rainforest and mountains combined
What’s more, the room is open air and looks like you are, in fact, staying in a modern looking tree house. It would be like a few kids who loved building treehouses as kids grew up and became professional architects and never lost their love for building treehouses. Yes, just like that.
We got settled in, and then Violet and I went out for an epic hike in the Thailand rainforest. Our driver went with us and played the role of translator for the local guide who spoke no English. The local guide lived here all his life and was equally interested in teaching us about the fruits, vegetables and wildlife along the way. Some of the foods the locals eat are only available here and are said to have incredible healing properties – from lowering high blood pressure to helping to fight off early-stage Cancer. Regardless of what’s researched and proven, I’m confident the strong belief and placebo effect is enough to manifest the reality thereby perpetuating the belief and local lore. He even showed us a 100 year old tree that the honey bees love and the locals carefully cultivate in a symbiotic relationship.
Now this hike was a 3 hour ordeal which is why Elena dropped. First, because she doesn’t love hikes. Second because there a number of sketchy climbing bits that would not be great for her knees and third, we will be crossing a fast-moving river … seven times … up to our hips. Oh, and the bridges we do get to cross were build decades ago often using bamboo and you can feel every step you take on them. Fun times!
My next stop is to Vietnam where I’ll be entering the largest cave in the world, so I have proper water shoes, but Violet does not, so we grabbed my flip flops. That worked for the first river crossing, but the second crossing one flip flopped right off and we had to have an impromptu rescue mission … for the second shoe. We got it back down river, but our driver decided he’d swap out his shoes for Violet so that she could continue on and he’d head back. Most of the translation part was done anyway. Good guy. His nickname is Thor, which is what he prefers to be called. We thanked Thor and continued our journey.
And then a really funning thing happened. Two stray dogs decided to join us. Our guide was showing Violet and I how to whistle using grass and that whistle attracted two cool as hell dogs who joined our pack for the rest of our trip – including crossing the river each time. Sometimes where we crossed, and other times they found a better place to cross for them. All the way until we reached the waterfall. Then one of them ran back home and the other stayed with us all the way back to our treehouse. I told Elena she’s going to LOVE having a dog in Port Washington ;-)
Finally, we ended the evening with massages and stargazing. That is, until we realized the ONLY flaw in being up in the mountains of Chiang Mai in late November. It’s COLD! And these treehouse units are not set up with heaters. Oh no. Violet, Elena and I put on ALL of our warm clothes (three layers each) with two blankets each and huddled together to stay warm. During the day, the cool breeze feels wonderful. At night, after the sun drops, it gets cold fast and stays cold until we see the sun again the in morning. Note to self. When we return, consider warmer time of year. Otherwise, this is a really unique part of our stay here in Thailand.
As the sun goes down, you can just see the outline of the rainforrest
Thor! Taking a selfie with us as we enjoy our northern Thai feast.
