We consider ourselves a fairly intelligent bunch here at Citylife; I mean, we write things that people read and all. To be fair, I don’t know many people who wouldn’t describe themselves as intelligent, so I suppose our opinions of our own gray matter are neither here nor there. But when we heard about the soon to be opened Escape Hunt, we reckoned we would get a team together and go along to show off our smarts and come back feeling smug in our intellect.
Escape Hunts are the global leader in the fast-growing indoor entertainment industry, didn’t cha know, opening a new branch about every week somewhere in the world since it first opened in Bangkok in 2013. Chiang Mai’s first Escape Hunt opened in late November and Citylife was invited for a preview, arriving as the staff were rushing around putting the finishing touches on the first room.
Basically teams of 2-10 (I think four or five would be an optimum number, two may be two brains too few while ten is a tad crowded) arrive at Escape Hunt’s HQ for a briefing from their friendly and professional staff, who speak excellent English by the way. We had a team of three, and on arrival, were told that we would be locked in a room for 60 minutes and the only way to escape was to solve the puzzles.
How hard can it be? We smugly asked ourselves, as we walked down the corridor where computer monitors showed live footage from the rooms. Excitedly we entered a room with all sorts of intriguing bits of furniture, decorative items and odds and ends (no spoilers here!) and were told that we could call for help from one of the staff at any time, though we’d incur a one minute penalty each time. Scoffing at the idea of needing help, the minute the door closed and the clock started its descent towards zero, we began to scurry around the room, madly dashing to inspect one item after another.
Fifteen minutes later, having moved and removed just about every piece of furnishing we could see, and shaken, rubbed, flicked and pushed anything that would move, we looked up in humiliation towards the camera and begged for a clue. A Sherlock-clad woman arrived with a smile and pointed out the bloody obvious, and soon we began to get the hang of things and sent one another in different directions to gather clues and solve puzzles.
Another ten minutes passed…and another sheepish look up at Big Sister. It turns out we had to ask for help so many times that by the end we had our very own Sherlock hostess holding our hands towards completion.
Not as smart as we thought we were, we nonetheless had a ball. The sixty seconds flew by in a flash; a good sign of good times. It is all about lateral thinking combined with sheer logic; curiosity with utter determination. A great one hour’s adventure, all in the confines of one of three specially designed rooms depending on which story you fancy, all unique to Chiang Mai.
While we were forced to realise that we were no Poirot, and our egos were so bruised we had to treat them to a few glasses of cold beers afterwards, we are determined to return to test our skills in the other two rooms available.
We can’t reveal too much, suffice to say families, friends and staff would all have a ball here. Check it out, and test your sleuthing abilities.
Open daily, 10am – 8.30pm
The Pavilion Building, 2nd Floor behind the Night Bazaar’s McDonalds.
Chiangmai.escapehunt.com
chiangmai@escapehunt.com
052 001 066