Blogs from Lampang, North-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 3

The elephant is the national symbol of Thailand. It's image is printed on bags of concrete, various food products, and bottles of beer. In the old kingdom of Siam, they led troops on the battlefields instead of horses. When an off-color, or "white" elephant is born, it is considered very auspicious and an honor to donate it to the King's private stables. Even the country of Thailand is shaped like the head of an elephant. Thailand had so many elephants at one time that they were used for logging and farming duties. But with their numbers now plummeting with the encroachment of man, and logging now illegal, elephants are now used for one purpose only: tourism. There are a number of elephant camps around the mountains of Northern Thailand that are a major draw to the ... read more

My placement in the hospital portion of the Thai Elephant Conservation Center (TECC) was possibly the portion of my trip that I was most looking forward to from the start. Without a doubt, it did not disappoint and I feel very lucky to have been able to work so closely with animals that are so impressive in both the magnitude of their physical size and their intelligence. Asian Elephants (being a distinct species from the African Elephant) are highly revered in Thai culture, and are inextricably intertwined with the history of the country. They are listed as an endangered species (African Elephants are not) and their numbers in Thailand have plummeted over the last 50-100 years. Wild populations are a fraction of what they once were due to habitat fragmentation, poaching and other ills brought ... read more

probably the hottest so far. argh. the train was late getting in to lampang, so all my worry over missing the stop was unfounded. had a really shitty sleep though, having nightmares that i would sleep through our stop! everyone else on the train (we were on a sleeper train) was getting off at chiang mai, and lampang is just before that). they don't really tell you when you get to your stop, and if you're not paying attention (or asleep, like i would be at 6 am when we were supposed to get in), you would miss it. kim on the other hand, had a fabulous sleep because it was my job to wake her up. sometimes i wish i wasn't the one who brought the alarm clock. arrived at riverside guesthouse, soooo cute! it's ... read more

about an hour from Chiang Mai we visited this really old temple we saw several interesting things along the way. It was very hot, above 90 degrees. We stopped at a local market where there were all sorts of weird things to eat but we did not partake in the feast of fried bamboo worms, grasshoppers and an assortment of other bugs. Linda said her favorite is the bamboo worm but you cant eat more than 3 or else you get dizzy( from the insecticide they spray the fields with). There was also lots of raw meat including a flayed pig with the hair still on its back.... we really wonder. We also stopped at this interesting place about half way there, lets just call it spirit house pass, everyone who drives by honks(for good luck) ... read more

Hi everybody, Well after 4 days staying with Paolo, we are now in Lampang. The last night in Sukhothai we went to a little night market, and bought our food there. Fresh pineapple, mango, spicy chicken9wowo that Singha beer tasted good after a bite) and desserts that look to pretty to eat, don't want to know how much sugar is in those ones. And then the next stand we had the bugs, fried crunchy bugs and the worms, which according to Meindert were really good, he didn't want to eat one though !!!!! We are staying in a neat Guesthouse, called the Riverside guesthouse, owned by Lorenza. She is an Italian and a friend of Paolo. We took the bus from Sukhothai to Lampang, about 3 hrs. On the way here you see where and how ... read more