Thailand - Elephants, Tigers and Tourists, Oh My!

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Bangkok

We arrived in Bangkok at 1 AM, our taxi took us to Khao San Road, backpacker's haven, where the streets were still alive. The first Guesthouse we checked out had a half-naked Thai woman sitting in front of our room door, with a farang in the room next to us buttoning up his shirt. The place we ended up at was only slightly better, after we constructed a locking mechanism to prevent strangers from walking in through our window. After losing our luggage for the second time this trip, we had more of an excuse to do more fake brand name shopping. It was a great place to replace our faded, holey, well-used clothes with new ones (of lower quality that will need replacing sooner rather than later).

Northern Thailand

An 11 hour bus ride north of Bangkok is Chiang Mai, another backpacker's haven, with classes and activities to suit everyone. First we did a Thai cooking class. The chef took us to the market and explained the difference between Thai holy, sweet and lemon basil, introduced us to small eggplants, kaffir lime and galangal (a ginger cousin). At our own cooking stations, we prepared individual portions of curry, stir fry and noodle dishes. I discovered how easy it was to slice, dice and chop when you have a really good knife. Paolo discovered how to make the biggest flame possible without burning his eyebrows off!

Our next activity was the shooting range. I was given one of those petite guns that female action stars have attached to their garter belts, Paolo got a 0.45 caliber shotgun. On went our protective gear, up went the target men, and bang, bang we went. I think I did well, there was only one stray bullet that completely missed the target paper.

In Pai, we spent the afternoon with Thom's Elephant Camp. The bareback elephant ride was slow and the elephant hairs were like broom bristles poking at my thighs. Little kids were walking faster than us! Once we got to the water, it was play time and the elephants were taught to playfully throw us off their backs. This left us soaking in the murky water, with elephant dung slowly floating past us. Even after washing ourselves and clothes, the faint odour of elephant lingered on us.

We ended up sick in bed for 3 days in Lampang. We were the only guests in Tip Inn and the young hotel manager felt so sorry for us (that, or he was frightened at the raspy course sounds that were coming from my throat). He brought us cough drops, made pots of ginger tea, and even delivered dinner-in-bed! Thanks to him we recovered quickly and were able to leave and meet Lee in Ayuthaya!

Central Thailand

After 3 years, I got to meet my Australian roommate from Denmark in Thailand! The 3 of us rented bicycles and toured the endless ruins around the city. At the end of the day we were
wat-ed out, it was time to feast and enjoy dessert. We ordered deep fried pineapple and pancakes with vanilla ice cream. Somehow the simple pancake tasted like durian a fruit which would make most people gag.

In Kanchanaburi we visited the Bridge on the River Kwai where 140,000 Allied POWs and Asian labourers lost their lives. The bridge was built to send supplies to the Japanese front line troops in Burma. Then back on the motorbike to visit the Tiger Temple for some great photo opportunities. I'm not sure how safe it is to let tourists get so close to the sleeping tigers, but the mandatory hand-holding with a worker did provide a false sense of security. What would the worker do with my hand if a tiger woke up and decided to attack me?

Now it's time to venture off the tourist trail and head to North Eastern Thailand.

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