Miller round the world Day 16

---

Up at 7. A beautiful day, very warm but not too humid and a brilliant blue sky. Breakfast and on the bus to visit the Maesa Elephant Camp, about a 45-minute drive. The first part of the drive is through rice paddies and plantations, including such fruit as dragon fruit trees. The last 15 minutes consist of a steep climb up a mountain.

We arrive at the camp, disembark and enter the compound. It is a pleasant environment, with many trees and a rushing stream. We stop on a bridge over the stream and wait for the elephants to arrive for their morning wash. They come down from the jungle one by one with their mahouts (trainers) riding just behind their heads. Lumbering into the water, the elephants clearly enjoy the running water and the brushing by their mahouts.
We move on to the show ground, an arena of hard packed soil surrounded by covered bleachers. The elephants file in as a single file and perform a series of stunts, including basketball, soccer, log hauling and piling, and dancing. Finally they paint pictures right in front of us of landscapes, flowers, trees and abstracts with truly amazing dexterity. The elephants then advance towards the audience and accept bananas and sugar cane from the adoring crowd and pose for pictures. Violet gets a big trunk hug.  What a show!

But the best is yet to come. We mount a platform and clamber by couples into a gondola securely strapped to an elephant with the mahout sitting in front. We have a half hour ride through the jungle up and down hills and dales. Our elephant, named Noi, is one of the larger males and is very sure-footed. At one point, our mahout descends from the elephant and takes pictures of us. Near the end of the trek, Noi is treated to bananas and sugar cane and gets a drink from the river. An unforgettable experience. On the way out, we visit the shops and buy a few items, including a couple of elephant-painted pictures.

Back on the bus and on to the next stop, an orchid farm. Orchids are planted either in trees or in little hanging boxes. Fantastic orchids in an amazing variety of colours abound in the many greenhouses on the farm. The scent is intoxicating. There are also some interesting butterflies and insects, turtles, lizards, and cats.
We return to the hotel about 2 pm. The rest of the afternoon is free and some ambitious people head off on their own, but we decide to repack. First, though, I walk down to a Burger King on the same street as the hotel and bring back Whopper combos. I have to admit the burgers, fries and cokes tasted great.
 
While Violet repacks, I am invited to accompany Robert to a computer and electronics shopping centre about a 15 minute walk away. We enjoy the exercise and the opportunity to window-shop through probably 40 different stores offering every kind of electronic device imaginable, both brand name and not really brand name.

For supper, we are bused to a Thai restaurant about 15 minutes away. We are treated to an excellent Thai dinner held al fresco on a lawn with tables arranged around a central stage. It is a beautiful night, although it sprinkles for a few minutes at one point. As the dishes are served, we are treated to a series of traditional (and in one case a little more modern) Thai dancing by four gorgeous girls in beautiful costumes. At the end, we are all invited to join in the dance, and a few, including myself, do.
 
Back at the hotel, we do a little more shopping at the night market, then head for our room and do the final packing for tomorrow. This has been an extremely memorable day.

---