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Published: February 22nd 2012
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We left Siem Reap and flew to Chiang Mai via Bangkok. We met our guide, Jeff, and we travel in a large bus with Nemo painted on the outside and white silk curtains on the inside! In Thailand they drive on the left side of the road. We checked into our hotel, the RatiLanna Spa Resort. It is owned by the family of Jim’s partner, Or, and they very generously upgraded us to a deluxe suite. Wow!! A large living room with gorgeous furniture and flatscreen tv, a dining room seating 4 with mini-bar, a huge bedroom with king sized canopy bed, a dressing room, and a huge bathroom with large jacuzzi tub, shower, flat screen tv above the tub, and a water fountain in an enclosure beside the tub. The balcony is huge, with a hanging settee at one end, a bed at the other and a table for 2 in the middle....all overlooking the pool and the Mae Ping river, which runs through the city. Chiang Mai is the 2
nd largest city in Thailand. Chiang means walled city, and Mai means new. We drove downtown and got into the trishaw...which are bicycles pulling a cart with one person. Similar
to a rickshaw, but the driver is in the front not the back. We walked through the flower market and shopped at the Sunday market. Lots of great bargains and things to see. At 6 p.m the National Anthem was played over a loudspeaker, and everyone stood at attention. They do this everyday at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. We went to the Old Cultural Centre for dinner, and enjoyed a show of traditional Thai dances and music.
On Monday we travelled to the Maetaman Valley, and saw the housing development along the way called Richy Rich Land, which has brand new modern houses selling for $150,000. We arrived at E.L.E, which is the Elephant Life Experience, the only private elephant camp in Thailand. We spent the day there with 8 elephants, their staff, and our group of 14. It was an incredible experience! We were greeted by the elephants, and had a chance to feed them sugar cane and get up close and personal. Then we had tea at their welcoming centre, which was open air with a thatched roof. We all changed into the same clothing worn by the staff - complete with hats! We had a
chance to help give the elephants a bath in the river, and to ride them bareback...... something I never thought I would do in this lifetime! Then each couple worked with an elephant and their trainer, the mahout, to create a painting, which we can keep. Absolutely amazing to watch these large creatures do something so delicate. The elephants are trained to paint in steps, with sugar cane rewards, and they only advance as far as they want, so some can only paint dots, while others can paint flowers or trees. Then each couple sat on a platform on the elephants back, with the trainer riding up front behind his ears, and we rode them across the river and through some hills. A bit scary to be on such a large powerful animal, but an absolutely incredible experience in such a gorgeous setting. We had a delicious lunch while sitting in an open air dining area along the riverbank, and then changed back into our own clothes and got on bamboo rafts for a relaxing ride down the river. Throughout the day their staff kept giving us rolled up cold washclothes, and beverages, and provided us with parasols for the
elephant ride and the raft. The weather was perfect, and so was the day....another once in a lifetime experience!
We enjoyed the rest of the evening at the hotel, and in the morning, we got up very early to go and offer alms and be blessed by the monks. It was surreal to see them all in their bright orange robes, each carrying their alms bowl. Jeff did a great job explaining the Buddhist beliefs and giving us insight into life in Thailand.
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