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Published: February 16th 2007
Yummy!
Trying the local delicasies!Well we've made it to Chiang Mai! We've had an excellent couple of days though. We spent a night in Lampang, the hometown of our guide. Pretty low key really. We spent some time looking at another wat, as well as riding in a horse drawn carriage around town. The cart ride wasn't exactly picturesque. We were taken through town and then dropped off nearby a market. Spent another hour wandering around the market, then headed back to the guesthouse for dinner. Actually, there wasn't much eating done by us. I think the heat was a factor, because neither of us were feeling very hungry. We just hung out w the group until bed. We've spent quite a bit of time wandering around streets of Thailand, and at no time have we felt threatened or in any danger. Almost every person we've come across has been very friendly.
The next day we headed off to the Elephant Conservation Center. Jenn has decided she wants one for home now. The Thai Army/Navy trainees were there at the same time. There must have been close to a thousand of them. All dressed in full uniform, and only a few were even close to
Yummy!
Trying the local delicasies! 6 feet tall. I was sweating buckets, and they didn't even bat an eye. Afterwards, the elephants and there trainers (mahouts), put on a demonstration and show for us. Showing us how they used the elephants for the logging industry, which is illegal since 1989 in Thailand. The show ended off w 2 elephants painting pictures. At first, it seemed as though the picture was going to be quite abstract. Then slowly, the first elephant did a potrait of an elephant, complete w mahout and grass. More detail than you would think. The second did a nice picture of flowers. Of course, we had to get one. There was a shop full of them.
Afterwards, we attended the world's first Elephant Hospital. Very, very sad. There were 2 elephants, one fully grown, and the other just a baby, who had stepped on landmines near the Thai/Burmeses border. They told us they would be fitting them w fake boots. Others suffered from a range of ailments. We made our donations, and had a wonderful lunch there.
At our next guesthouse, I got a chance to play soccer w the local children in their school's pitch. A lot of fun, and they
Making Friends
These little girls came over during a dinner. Jenn seems to attract them all the time. were only 7 yrs old, but they could play. Afterwards, some of the children came to our guesthouse to put on a show of local music, led by their music teacher. The kids seemed bored out of their minds, but it was interesting.
That was followed by a dance show and a partial Thai massage while watching. This is the life I tell ya.
I spent the night playing Jenga and learning matchstick tricks from the two sons of our host at the guesthouse. There was a group of us, having a blast. This trip has been great, but I haven't had one good sleep here. From funeral music, to roosters crowing at all hours, I'm feeling pretty beat. That's not complaining, just an observation.
Well that's good for now. We're in Chiang Mai, and have a full day ahead of us.
One more thing, we tried some local delicasies. Namely bugs. We tried crickets, grasshoppers, waterbugs and mealworms. They weren't that bad, I ate half a bag. Jenn doesn't agree on that though, and had one grasshopper.
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Christy
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Sounds like the trip of a lifetime...
Hi guys! Thanks for sending the link...sounds like you two are having an amazing time. What a trip! Take care, talk soon. Love, Christy and Mark