We made it! Good thing we decided to skip Jaipur due to the 108 temp missing the bombings AND we missed the cyclone that hit next door in Burma. Thank you God.
We finally got to Thailand after an all nighter flight delay and landed ourselves on the infamous Khosan Rd. A very hip place with lots of guest houses and shopping. Unfortunately, Celeste got sick and was in bed for two days. (Good thing this traveling bugs never hit us at the same time.) Anyways, we hung out there for a couple of days getting messages and mani/pedis for 5 bucks and I got to see my dear friend Ross who has moved here to marry his Thai Sweetheart. We then headed north for Chaing Mai. It's about an hours plane ride north into the mountains of Thailand and much cooler that Bangkok as far as the weather goes. Very cool shopping at the night market that starts at 6pm and goes til about midnight. I bought a pair of silk wrap around pants for 8 dollars US that were going for 149 US in Hawaii...I got two ;O.
But by far, the coolest thing we have done to date it to go hang out with the elephants for the day. Not only did we get to ride them bareback for several hours, we got to bathe them and swim with them as well. We left at 7am and returned around 5pm less about a one hour drive each way. We started with learning the daily medical inspection that included checking their sleep marks to make sure they laid down to sleep at night and then we got to check the dung for moisture and consistency...nice. We then learned the three ways to mount and elephant and all I can say is that it is NOTHING like riding a horse! We rode about and hour+ out to the waterfall where we got to swim with them and can I say...this was the most amazing thing. They completely submerged themselves on their sides in the water and of course could stay under forever because they could breathe through their trunks. They stretched and played and rolled from one side to the other as we all tried to stay on. We then gave them a break for lunch and we served a traditional Thai lunch of various rices, banana crisps, eggs and sweets. Meanwhile, the elis played freely in the water until we fed them the rest of our uneaten lunch. We then mounted and proceeded to the nearest road for the ride back. Can you imagine....driving down the road and seeing 4 elephants walking single file? It was all pretty incredible. I'm really still in awe over the whole experience.
Oh ya, and my Eli's name was Boon Puk. Oh, and there was Pai Mai, a 5 week old baby who thought it was super funny to head but me while I was feeding his Mommy bananas. And one more thing...there is not much you can do when your three ton elephant wants to stop to eat...every two minutes! There are no rains and no saddle and not even a God given mane to hold on to. So, you walk 5-6 strides and they eat, then you walk 5-6 strides and they eat, and so on and so on and so on.
The scenery was quite amazing. At one point we were walking our elephants through the and it dawned on me...I am in Thailand, riding an elephant, in the river and it's poring down rain. This is the best thing ever!
I have soooo much more to tell, but it time for my 10 dollar, two hour message so it will have to wait. Until next time.
Khap Khan Kaaaa, P
PS We got to give them baths too...pictures to follow upon our return :)
PSS Tep was Boon Pucks trainer and everytime BP went for food on his own, I would call out to Tep to come get his elephant.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment