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Published: December 15th 2008
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After Cambodia, we headed back to Bangkok for a day and a half, where everyone was celebrating the King's 81st birthday. There has been a lot of turmoil in Thai politics lately, but there is one thing everyone agrees on: The King is God (or close to it). The King of Thailand is the world's longest-serving head of state (62 years), as well as the longest-ruling monarch in the history of Thailand. His birthday was celebrated with a lot of fireworks and lighting of candles in public squares. We went to one of these squares, were given candles, and joined in the singing.
From Bangkok, we took an overnight train to the northern city of Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is more notable for what is around it (amazing nature, outdoor activities, hill tribes), than for the city itself. It was here that we visited an elephant center. We watched as the mahouts (elephant driver/trainer) washed the elephants in a lake and then they put on a great show, with the elephants doing tricks and painting (we even bought one of their paintings!), and we rode an elephant through the jungle. We enjoyed ourselves so much and were glad that we
were supporting a center that cared so well for the animals, as they even had an elephant hospital. The next day we went on an excursion that also included an elephant ride. Our mahout was yelling at the elephant, and hitting its head with a stick, kicking it, and laughing. The other elephants were cramped into a small area, chained to trees, and surrounded by dirt and barbed wire. The whole experience really upset us. The next day, we saw news programs about elephants in zoos dying at a much younger age than in the wild, and about elephant poaching in Africa. Elephants are majestic and beautiful animals, and we (humans) have been treating them despicably for many years. Killing them for their ivory, hunting them for sport, using them for hard labor. And now, we even unwittingly became part of the latest trend - using them for our entertainment; watching them paint, play soccer, give us rides, and so on. This hit us when we learned about the Elephant Nature Park (www.elephantnaturepark.org), a place where elephants only eat, sleep and play, they roam free in a natural environment. They don't give rides, don't put on shows, they just get
to be elephants. We regret that we discovered the Elephant Nature Park just as we were leaving Northern Thailand, but we hope to volunteer there someday.
Our day trip from Chiang Mai also included whitewater rafting. Neither of us had ever done that before, and I (Asaf) was especially nervous. Well, I had the time of my life. At times, there was a strong current, and our little raft would feel like it was about to turn over. We held on for dear life. Other times, the river was very peaceful, and we gently floated down. It was this mix of tranquility and excitement, in such a beautiful surrounding, that we found especially enjoyable. We both loved it, and want to do it again.
On the way back to Chiang Mai, we stopped at a long-neck Karen village. The Karen is a Burmese tribe, and their women wear the metal rings around their necks from the time they are 5 years old. If you don't have a long neck, you are considered ugly, and no man would want to marry you.
Our next destination was the town of Luang Prabang in Laos, which was designated by UNESCO to
be a World Heritage Site. Although it is only a few hundred miles from Chiang Mai, the journey to get there is very long; we took a two-day boat ride down the Mekong River. On day 1, we took a 7 hour minivan ride from Chiang Mai, and spent the night in the border town. The next morning, we crossed the river into Laos, went through immigration, and got on a two-day slow boat to Luang Prabang. The boat ride on the Mekong was very enjoyable; the river is calm and peaceful and the scenery is just beatufiul. There are amazing rock formations and the river is surrounded by lush green jungled mountains. But the ride on small wooden benches wasn't very comfortable, and we were quite happy to disembark. We spent that night in Pak Beng, a small Laotian village. We were told our guesthouse had a hot shower; to our surprise, that meant there were two thermoses filled with boiling water in the room. And the town's electricity went off at 10:30 PM.
As much as we liked the ride on the river, we were happy to arrive in Luang Prabang the next evening. This small town
did not disappoint. Filled with colonial French buildings, Thai-style wooden houses, dozens of temples, galleries, cafes, two rivers, and a bustling night market, it was everything we could have wished for. It actually reminded us of some of the charming towns in Northern California where we used to sometimes spend weekends; places like Mendocino and Carmel. We had a nice guesthouse (it feels like every nice building in Luang Prabang is a guesthouse), and we spent 4 relaxing days here. Which isn't to say we didn't do anything. We rode bikes and walked along the rivers; we got massages, and climbed up to the highest temple, with a view of the city. We woke up at 6 AM to see the monks receiving food from the devout (which they do at sunrise every morning), and went to their afternoon chanting. There are many monestaries in Luang Prabang, and most men become monks for a year at some point in their lives, so there were monks everywhere. It was fun to see them in their orange robes, in internet cafes, on tuk tuks, talking on cell phones and hanging out.
The boat trip to Luang Prabang was long and we
are glad we did it, but we didn't want to do it twice, so we flew back to Chiang Mai. It took us 3 days to get there, but only one hour to return. Now, we are getting ready to head south to the islands.
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