Cambodia & Thailand Day 15
Cambodia & Thailand
DAY 15 - December 10, 2003 - Chiang Mai
We had an early morning to see the elephants just after day break. We slept well and comfortably on the 9th floor of this very good hotel. Lots of hot water and a shower that showers!
Breakfast was quite good with the usual watermelon and pineapple. No bananas at any of the places we have stopped. Anya has bought us the small sweet ones at the local markets but they do not serve them at the hotels.
I walked out toward the bus at 6:45 and there was a young man ready to video tape. I figured he was going to come with us to get us with the elephants and on the bamboo rafts.
We left Chiang Mai just as the city was beginning to stir and go to work. Lots of street markets were selling their fresh wares and at one light we saw a line of monks receiving their daily food supply from the a few of the donating population. They do live with a vow of poverty!
As we got on the road out of town, Anya told us a little of the history of the city and that it has a population of 1.7 million people. Many come here to vacation as it is much cooler than Bangkok.
As we went further north to the elephant camp, Anya told us the stories of the elephants, their preservation by the government (5000 in Thailand) and then attempted to teach us a school children song of this pachyderm. The gestation period is 22 months, they live to be 100 and can begin to work after they are 6.
The Asian is smarter and easier to train than the African elephant. There is a hospital in Bangkok just for these huge animals and they are prohibited from the big city. She also told us that in Thailand they are called “chang”.
We arrived at the Mae Ping Elephant Camp, where we were given a quick demonstration on the pacifity of these animals, saw their variety and sizes, could touch them, and take pictures sitting on their legs or trunks. We were the first to embark on a forest trek by elephant back!
We rode for about an hour and a half on the backs of these gentle giants, enjoying a grand view of the forest. My elephant driver (mahut) asked me if I wanted to drive our animal. Ready for a challenge, as he jumped off and I moved to his spot right on the head/shoulders.
Pictures were taken, I rode this way for about 45 minutes and when the handler was not watching and giving directions, the elephant turned to his left, grabbed my ankle with his trunk and tried to pull me off. WOW! I just caught myself in time. I do not know if I had my foot on a sensitive spot or what, but it did wake me up.
We went up steep inclines, crossed many small and large streams and enjoyed the ride. We had a chance to stop and I bought some bananas and sugar cane for our elephant for 50 cents. Gennie and I not only gave these treats to ours, but as we were riding, the elephant behind us smelled them and wanted a share. So we also gave him a few pieces.
What is so interesting it that they will eat the whole bunch of bananas in one gulp - so we had to break off each one. The ride was relatively comfortable but picture taking was difficult as the sun had not yet reached the top of the mountain and we were in heavy shadows. We made a big loop around the surrounding jungle and then returned to camp byway of a paved road. It was much more difficult to ride when it was flat terrain.
We watched them handle the show elephants and wash them in the stream. We went into an arena where the elephants did a performance of many unusual tricks such as kicking a soccer ball, play harmonicas, and painting pictures. Some of the older elephants had been trained in the logging industry and did a demonstration working with the heavy chains and stacking the huge teak logs.
The highlight was an elephant massage on a volunteer from the audience. I heard them ask and jumped over the fence and was treated to an elephant back rub with their enormous foot pads. Another came to me and used his trunk to work on my back. Both of these large animals then stepped over me and my time on the center stage was over.
As the show came to an end, all the elephants approached the grandstand and put their trunks to the people. Donation time!!! As people gave Bahts to these animals, they in turn gave the money to their trainers. What was specially interesting was that one of these large animals brought a rose and gave it to Gennie. A really special gift.
As we left the elephant compound, we walked down to the river and boarded small bamboo rafts and began to float downstream. The two natives put us through mild rapids and pointed out to us the different vegetation that was found on both river banks.
We saw the slopes that had been trampled by the elephants when they went to the river bed to get a drink or to swim and wash. We passed several small homes built on the river bed and as we ended the hour on the river, we had yet another mode of transportation in Thailand.
We got back on the bus and took a thirty minute drive to our lunch at the Baan Sai Ping Restaurant where we had another good family style Thai meal. The drive offered us an opportunity to watch part of the video the photographer had done. It was well done and we ordered one with the Shumakers.
After dinner we got back on the bus and went to a paper producing area that used the elephant dung to generate these fine paper products. The Thai people do not waste anything, but we did not see any paper plates!
After this brief tour, back on the bus to our hotel where we had the remainder of the afternoon on our own. Some chose to go to the silk factory and the lacquerware facility. We chose to stay at the hotel, process our pictures and write the log before dinner.
Dinner tonight was at the Ruen Soontaree, one of the city’s colorful riverside restaurants. Afterwards, we were taken for a walk around the well-known Night Bazaar, a cavalcade of sights, sounds, and smells.
Green porcelain with cracked glazed finishes, fine teak crafts, basketry, beautiful Thai silk of lush colors and pleasing textures, and fresh, peanuty pad thai—all things Thai converge in Chiang Mai’s bustling Night Bazaar.
Gennie and I asked Anya for some help finding a couple of CDs of music representative of Thailand. She took us to an open air CD/Tapes display and spoke to the vendor. She broke open the packages and played us the music until I had a good feeling for what I wanted.
I payed 400 Baht for the two - 10 dollars. We looked for an internet site and used it to get caught up on our correspondence. Gennie cleaned out her account and I did likewise. Eduardo told us he was leaving tomorrow (Friday) to fly to Minnesota for their ball game on Saturday.
We also found out that the game was going to be telecast and Eduardo would try to record it for us. BIG TIME? Eduardo also mentioned that the over 2 feet of snow they got was not melting well and the city was having trouble getting it all disposed.
As I had forgotten to take the disk with me when we went to dinner, Gennie and returned to our hotel at 9:30 with the group and then took a tok-tok (three wheel scooter) to the local internet close to the city center.
This was probably smart as it is much faster than the one in town. I was able to send the text and pictures in less than 5 minutes for a little under 25 cents. What a deal.
We walked back to the hotel, passing the night people, bars and restaurants and the untold sidewalk food stands that frequent every few meters.
I have never been in a city/country where there are so many of these little stands and everyone eats from them - even Anya. We always feel very safe on the streets even at night. There are very few visible policemen, but even in these big cities, we feel comfortable.
Accommodations: Park Hotel - Internet
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