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Published: January 19th 2006
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Photograph Titled: Stacey and Alexis' Feet on Elephant
This was one of the views we had on our elephant ride. As an interesting observation, I never knew how hairy elephants were! After returning from Siem Reap, Cambodia, Alexis and I stayed overnight in Bangkok (where the only thing we did was sleep as our return flight was an early evening flight) and order room service! This was the first time in my life I had ordered room service, and it was so much fun, and so cheap! If you're going to order room service, Thailand is the place to do it! We're talking cheeseburgers and fries, cokes, and a banana split (we shared...we didn't want to be too overindulgent!). Although it was not very Thai in nature, it was still "Thai" food right?! Overall, a great first experience with room service.
We flew to Chiang Mai the next morning, which is located in the north of Thailand (flight count: 5). If you're ever in Thailand, I highly recommend flying Bangkok Airways. They feed you on every flight, no matter what time it is, or the length of the flight!
Chiang Mai is a really great city, and had a refreshing change of pace and atmosphere compared to Bangkok. Here it felt like people could be trusted, as no one was bothering us about anything being closed, although we did have
Jungle of Chiang Mai
These were our surroundings during our day trek. This is also a view from our elephant! many drivers offering rides in their tuktuks (Tuktuk? Lady, tuktuk?) Although, a simple "no, thank you" and a smile was enough of a refusal.
We checked into the Thailand Guest House, which cost a whopping 200 baht a night (about 6 dollars, so 3 dollars each!) and although the accomodations weren't luxurious, they were well worth 6 dollars. The room consisted of 2 beds, a fan, and a bathroom. I was a bit concerned about not having air conditioning, but the temperature of Chiang Mai was actually just perfect, about 25 degrees Celsius. It was quite funny, as we travelled throughout other parts of Thailand, especially later in the south, some Thais asked, "oh you were in Chiang Mai? Was it cold?" I laughed and explained how it had been snowing in Japan when I left...
There are so many wonderful things you can do in Chiang Mai, and we ended up spending 5 days there. A couple of days we spent just walking around the city, getting excited over the large selection of English books that were available. Being in Japan, you never really get the chance to visit an entirely English book store. We ate some
On Our Elephant
Looking calm as we're elephant riding! Flat ground wasn't the problem...it was when things got a bit steep that it was scary. We were also amused when our elephant just started walking, without a "driver", as most people had a driver sitting on the head of their elephant. Our girl was a pro though...she knew where she was going! great, but spicy food...Warning: Tom Yum soup will set your mouth on fire! Definitely not for the faint of heart. Two spoonfuls, and I was done! I also kept up my daily regime of a pineapple shake (sometimes it changed to strawberry just to mix it up a bit!)
Chiang Mai also is famous for its Wats (temples), although we were pretty much "templed" out after visiting Cambodia. We did visit one wat however, that offered a "monk chat" program. It is a chance for foreigners to visit and speak with novice monks so they have a chance to practice their English. Alexis and I each got our "own" monk, and they were from Cambodia and Laos respectively. My monk had been studying since he was 12, and was in his first year of a four year university program. Being a monk is tough! Thai monks are not allowed to play any sports, and eat only 2 meals a day. They also must wake very early for prayer. It was interesting as both of our monks revealed that they didn't have plans to stay monks for long after their training was finished, as this was one of the only
Tribal Village
This was a village that we walked through during a short hike on the trek ways they could get a good education. It made me feel very, very lucky...
One day we took a batiking course. Chiang Mai is probably the best place to take a course in the country, and there are so many options: cooking, jewellry making...the list goes on and on. Batiking involves using a special tool to draw a picture onto cloth with wax. You then paint your picture using watercolours, and finally rinse the cloth in hot water, melting the wax. The result is a really interesting picture. It was a great day, in which there were only 4 people in our class (including me and Alexis), and it was taught by a Thai woman at her house. I ended up making a wall hanging and a pillow case which I am quite proud of!
Another day we went on a trek, which included elephant riding and bamboo rafting. The day had a bit of a weird vibe as it turned out the tour consisted of me and Alexis, along with 4 other couples, all Western men and Thai women...interesting indeed! Riding the elephants was great though, and at times a bit frightening, as the downhill inclines were
A Cute Puppy!
I met this cute little guy during our trek, and couldn't resist taking a few photos. One of the saddest things about travelling in Thailand and Cambodia was all of the stray dogs! There are so many. You can see many stray dogs at the temples, as the monks feed whichever ones come. I just wanted to feed and give a good ear scratch to them all! quite steep, and were cause for hanging on, with sometimes whitened knuckles. My favourite part of the day was feeding our elephant bananas after the trek. I have never been so close to an elephant's trunk and it was amazing! He was hungry, as he swallowed the bananas whole, peels and all.
On our final day in Chiang Mai we took a river cruise down the Mae Ping River, which runs through the city. We also stopped off at a Thai garden and were shown all of the different herbs and spices that are used for cooking. Thai food smells so good! Long live lime and lemongrass!
Every night we visited the night bazaar. At night, one long street is transformed, and many booths are set up, with vendors selling everything you can imagine: DVDs, clothing, wood carvings, shoes, etc, etc, etc! Part of the fun of shopping is bargaining. I bought a "real" pair of Birkenstock sandals for a whopping 300 baht (about 9 dollars!)
Chiang Mai: city of jungles, inexpensive accomodation, monk chats, courses galore, great shopping...the list goes on and on!
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