Water For Elephants

December 19, 2016

The phone rang very early this morning - our driver and his wife had just driven up to meet us in Chiang Mai.  They had never been before, and were going to spend a couple of days before driving us back to Pattaya.  Glad to know they arrived safely - we would meet up later.

We planned to visit the Elephant Nature Park today, and were picked up from our hotel around 8:30 a.m.  Our guide for the day, Koon Katiya, led us to a van where two young people were already on board.  We stopped once more to pick up a family of five, then watched a video about the center as we drove through the beautiful hills of Chiang Mai.

scenes at a rest stop en route 

 


The Elephant Nature Park is an elephant rescue and rehabilitation center founded in 1996 by Lek Chailert.  She buys elephants out of bad situations, like logging, elephant trekking, street begging and elephant shows.  They have all been abused or injured in some way.  Some received injuries by stepping on land mines in Burma, on the Thai border.  Some have torn or missing ears from handlers, or mahouts, who put their hooks through their ears to control them; others are blind from abusive mahouts as well.  You will never want to ride on an elephant's back once you learn what they must endure, although I'd like to believe some mahouts are kind and caring with their animals.

The place runs quite efficiently - long tables are set up for each small group that arrives, up to around 250 people a day.  In addition to the one-day visitors, they seem to have a consistent army of volunteers who come to help for a couple of weeks at a time.  Feeding all those people, plus the seventy-plus pachyderms means no shortage of work.  In addition to the elephants, they also care for a couple hundred dogs, cats and some buffalo that were relinquished by farmers who no longer needed them for working the fields.

our table

We gathered at our assigned table and the safety rules were explained: always stand where the elephant can see you, don't touch their ears, only touch the ones they say you can touch, and stay behind the red line on the platform.  The family of five had a little trouble with these easy guidelines, and guess what?  They were from America - sigh.  We enjoyed the other two people in our group - a young man from Denmark and a young woman from the Netherlands.

A laundry basket of small, halved watermelons was brought out and we took turns feeding the elephants that came up to the platform.  Some took way more turns than others...guess who.  It was cool to see the animals devour a half watermelon like it was a piece of candy.  And they were quite polite about waiting for their food to be handed to them.

Our guide then took us out for a walk of the grounds, meeting several small "families" of elephants.  Most of the animals arrive individually at the park, but soon develope new bonds with other residents.  One blind elephant was inseparable from another that seemed to be her guide.  Nearly all the elephants in the main area are female, with a few young males in the mix.  Once the males reach maturity, they have to be placed in a separate area because they become aggressive.  Pregnancies are avoided, as they don't need more mouths to feed.

the trees all have protective walls around them -
otherwise the elephants destroy them!

posters show elephants before and after they
received care at the center

This one has a broken foot

This is "Sexy Lady" - she wears a flower in
the hole in her ear.  The hole was made by her
former mahout's hook

They didn't realize an elephant they rescued was already pregnant

Walking back toward the platform, we passed several buffalo casually grazing in a field, unfazed by the presence of humans.  We could even pet a couple of them, and got quite close, as you can see.

no zoom lens used!

Back at the platform, we enjoyed a very tasty vegetarian buffet lunch - lots of veggies, rice and fruits.  The flies enjoyed it, too!  During our break, some visited the little gift shop, and others stopped into Cat Heaven, a structure that houses more than one hundred rescued cats.  Pass.

colorful group of students on a field trip

one of many with torn ears from mahout's hook

Somebody took Tim's chair

Volunteers preparing "food balls" for the animals

In the afternoon, we took another walk around the property, and watched as a family happily frolicked in the water.  The elephants seem really happy and well cared for, despite their physical disabilities.

The blind one, on the left, with her constant companion

We trudged down to the river, quite low now that rainy season had passed.  The older elephants were a bit reluctant to get into the water, which for them was apparently bit chilly.  The old girl we came to bathe had to be coaxed in, finally backing in just to her ankles (do elephants have ankles?)  We threw little buckets of water over her, and soon discovered why everyone should stay on the same side of the elephant.  Unless you wanted to get wet.

with our guide and our Scandinavian friends

We washed up and piled back into the van for the long drive back to the city - a nice opportunity for a nap.  It was an educational and eye-opening day.

The symbol above the dome light is made
by monks who are often brought in to
bless new vehicles.  Almost all cars also
have the Buddhist floral arrangements hung on their
rear view mirrors to protect them

We met up with Mick and his wife for dinner - a place that seemed a good bet because of the crowds, but turned out to be not so great.  Slow service, forgotten orders, and a little kid at the next table vomited right there in the middle of everything.

We wandered through the Night Bazaar together, where Tim and I happily discovered a cribbage board for sale, something not easy to find in these parts.  (Cribbage is our latest obsession.)  We enjoyed the live music coming from the Hard Rock Cafe as we passed, and the chanting of monks drifting out from the nearby temple.

Travel Team Too

December 17 - 18, 2016

The men arrived early Saturday morning after sharing a flight from Utapao airport just southeast of Pattaya.  We asked the hotel staff about paying for them to have breakfast with us, and were told that our room included four free breakfasts per day already - a pleasant surprise.

the entertainer

 After we ate, Mika's family headed to their new hotel.  We lingered for a bit, then asked to have a taxi to take us to our new digs at the Dusit D2.  They asked if a tuk-tuk would be okay, and I said "yes" without even thinking about our luggage.  When the tuk-tuk arrived, we had to cram ourselves and all our luggage into the tiny vehicle - it felt a bit like this:

There was some confusion about our reservation when we arrived, but we were able to relax in the Club Lounge while we waited for our room to be prepared.  The Club Lounge turned out to be a nice perk for the length of our stay - free all day refreshments and drinks and snacks at happy hour each evening.  This was especially nice as our room was on the same floor, and we could grab bottled water before heading out for the day.

                                                                 just steps from the hotel...

We went out exploring, and discovered that we were quite near the market we'd visited the day before.  I bought some more fabric, and we discovered a little Mexican restaurant, Ole Gourmet Mexican, where we snacked on nachos and enjoyed some margaritas deliciosos.  Chiang Mai has a surprising number of Mexican restaurants, unlike Pattaya.

                                                            one small part of the huge market

the two fabrics I found - both less than $2 per sq. m.

We made lots of twists and turns at the market, so when we left to meet Mika and fam for dinner, we turned the wrong way.  The city center has a moat that surrounds it, and when we crossed over some water, I was sure we were heading in the right direction.  But that water turned out to be the Ping River!  We walked quite a long way before realizing our error, and finally just flagged down a song thaew to bring us back into the city center.

crossing the river, not the moat

This is the moat, with a remnant of the original wall

so pretty!

We returned to the Ginger & Kafe for dinner, but they were booked.  Luckily, they had additional seating in the building across the parking lot in "The House," an eatery/kitchen shop.  Same menu, and we basically had the place to ourselves.  I was feeling adventurous, and ordered the nasi goreng, an Indonesian fried rice with prawns, served with an egg on top and the ubiquitous fried shrimp crackers.  Mika got a drink called "Wow! Crazy!," that was layered with beautiful colors.  The guys both tried the Ranchero Burrito, not really enough food to satisfy a man-sized appetite.  My favorite thing about our dinner together was Mak's amazement as his four-year-old easily carried on a conversation with us in English.  Of course, she only speaks Japanese with him at home, and he hadn't realized how advanced she had become.

We said our good-byes, agreeing to meet at the finish line of the marathon that Mak was running the next morning.  We passed through the Tha Phae gate on the eastern end of the city, where we saw more painted elephants and some pre-race events going on.  We walked along the perimeter road, past the memorably-named Loco Elvis, and back to our hotel.

for Tiffany and Sarah

We had an early breakfast the next morning so we could watch our friend cross the finish line of the Chiang Mai Marathon.  While we were eating, Mika texted us saying he wanted us there at 9 a.m.  We were surprised to learn that he texts her while he is running!  We started out walking, but ultimately grabbed a song thaew to get there more quickly.  We just walked up when we saw Mika pointing, and we caught a glimpse of Mak from behind, carrying his daughter across the finish line.  I certainly wouldn't even be able to carry myself at that point, let alone picking up some extra weight - so impressed.  We congratulated him on his accomplishment, then let them head back to their hotel, agreeing to meet for a celebratory beer at lunchtime.

Hurray!

pigeon lady near the gate

The night before, I discovered that the fabric I bought was AWOL, and realized I must have left it on the seat at the restaurant where we had dinner.  Soooo, again we walked the stretch back along the perimeter road, and I proudly used my limited Thai to retrieve my package.  From there, we walked into the city, passing temple after temple, turned up Rachadamnoen Rd., the main road through the center of the old city, and finally stopped at Akha Ama Coffee on another recommendation.  The coffee is grown locally by the Akha people in the mountains of northern Thailand. Tim said the coffee was satisfying enough, and I enjoyed a chai latte.  This trendy little cafe was busy, and we were lucky to find a little spot next to an open window.  The place seemed to be a student hangout in this university town.

park inside the old city

Our friends arrived at the chosen lunch restaurant before us, and called to tell us it looked "a bit dodgy." So we ultimately met at Rock Me Burger down the street, which had pretty good food, but the service was a bit spotty.  We all raised a glass to Mak, and after lunch, we said our goodbyes.  They were heading back to Pattaya, while we would extend our trip for a couple more days.  Thanks for the memories, friends!

Rachadamnoen Rd. has a huge Sunday night market, so I left Tim at the hotel and joined the crowds heading into the old city.  After waiting several minutes for a policeman to allow the throngs to cross the street, I soon found myself surrounded by wall-to-wall people.  It was "slow goings," for sure!  Musicians took up little squares of space in the middle of the crowds, and the crowds flowed around them like stones in a river.  One group of four blind musicians sat in a line and played, undaunted by the people closing in around them.

This market was more a Thai crafts market, less the cheap knock-off stuff found in the Pattaya night markets.  I  found a Thai "number nine" pin I'd been looking for (in honor of Rama IX) - one without all the rhinestones like I'd seen everywhere.  I picked up some greeting cards made from handmade Sa paper ("sa" is the Lao name for the mulberry tree,) and found a beautiful tablecloth of hill tribe indigo batik - I guess I've got enough tablecloths now.  Tim decided to come meet me, so I positioned myself next to a woman with a big bunch of balloons, and we found each other after a bit.

a three-story Starbucks on the main drag in Chiang Mai

Heading back in the opposite direction, we finally exited the market and pointed our feet toward the hotel. Our feet had taken a beating with so much walking, so we spoiled ourselves with foot massages at one of the many shops along the road - thirty minutes for 150 THB, which is less than $5.  Well worth it.

Travel Team

December 15 - 16, 2016

For months, I have been looking forward to a trip to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand with my wonderful friend, Mika, and her little one.  We would have two days together before our husbands joined us that Saturday.  Mika's husband was running in the Chiang Mai marathon Sunday morning.

We rode together to the airport in Bangkok Thursday morning.  It was my first time flying domestic in Thailand, and it was so quick and easy not having to go through immigration.  That was a good thing, because we walked all the way to the end of our concourse, only to discover our gate was back where we started, but down the stairs.  Luckily an empty trolley sat nearby, so we could give Momo a ride.  We rode a shuttle bus past numerous small, prop planes before reaching our colorful Bangkok Air jet.  I was surprised when we received a full meal on our quick little flight.  We collected our bags and taxi driver Bobo drove us to our hotel, the Grand Napat, in the northeast corner of the city.

The taxis, tuk-tuks, and little red baht buses that look like mini firetrucks are inexpensive and plentiful here, so we had no trouble getting a ride to lunch.   Ginger & Kafe is an eclectic yet elegant restaurant Mika heard about, and we were anxious to sample their Khao Soi, an egg and chicken noodle curry with coconut milk that is a Chiang Mai specialty.  It was excellent, and my fresh ginger soda was so refreshing and delicious!

Tuk-tuks here are roomier than the ones in Bangkok

little red baht bus (song thaew)

Tasty Khao Soi

 Ginger & Kafe was one of many locations displaying painted elephants as part of the "Elephant Parade, the world's largest elephant art exhibition."  We were lucky to be in town for the one-month event, and enjoyed the variety and creativity.  We even caught one artist at work.

After lunch, we wandered over to the Warorot Market, an open market that spans several blocks just east of the old city center.  The market offers limitless browsing opportunities of fresh produce, fabrics, clothes and more.  I bought a piece of fabric to make a tablecloth, and we enjoyed some tasty ice cream from a street vendor, a welcome reprieve from the heat of the day.  (I was hoping for cooler temperatures in the north, but it was just as hot as Pattaya.)

We rode a tuk-tuk back to the hotel, and Momo rode on the little jump seat next to the driver.  She quickly grew sleepy, and we had to stop to bring her into the back seat with us, lest she topple off her perch!  After naps, Momo decided she needed to teach me some Japanese - she is a very good, strict teacher!

Japanese lessons with "Teacher Mary"

We had a relaxing evening, ordering in for dinner - I ordered a vegetable salad and got basically a bowl of lettuce, and there was pasta sauce that tasted like catsup, but we were too tired to care much.

The next morning, we had breakfast at the basic buffet in the hotel.  We decided to go to the zoo, even though it was a bit rainy.  We were optimistic that the rain wouldn't continue.  Unfortunately, it rained on and off for our entire visit, with an occasional heavy downpour.  We were undaunted, however, and carried on in the rain, riding the tram from stop to stop and darting under cover when we could.  Mika picked up an overpriced umbrella that broke halfway through the morning.  We found the children's play area, and Momo and I played in the drizzle.

The Chiang Mai Zoo offers lots of opportunity for up-close animal encounters.  We enjoyed the flamingos and the large enclosure with many types of deer and buffalo.  We watched the lions watching us, saw unusually active koalas, and were particularly entertained by a huge orangutan with a security blanket.  With one swift motion, he swept the blanket up around his shoulders like a shawl, He suddenly stood up to his full height on two legs, looking a bit intimidating and otherworldly, casually dangling a piece of grass from his mouth like a cigarette.

Jackfruit tree

first time to see koalas moving!

Chiang Mai Zoo has a pair of pandas on loan from China -
they had a cub!

Deer enjoying some long beans

Requisite potty shot - not sure what this is all about?

After the zoo, we took a song thaew (baht bus) to a lovely Celadon ceramics shop, Mengrai Kilns.  Celadon and other stoneware is a Chiang Mai specialty, having developed in China some two thousand years ago.  Many of the beautiful handmade pieces were art-gallery-worthy, and we enjoyed a lovely cup of tea and soothing music as we browsed the displays.  I could have spent a lot more time, and money, but ultimately purchased just a few small pieces.

As we waited for our purchases to be tenderly wrapped, the friendly staff told us about a little cafe down the road where we might have some lunch.  After a bit of a trek to the end of the road, we turned back, settling instead on a whimsical little cafe, Le Kaa.  It appeared fairly new, with stuffed animals lining the walls and bicycles hung from the ceiling.  Momo enjoyed playing with the toys in the back.  The food was pretty good, but the soundtrack was better.

After crossing the treacherously busy main road that surrounds the city, we finally found a song thaew to take us back to the hotel.  While my friends rested, I took a walk to explore the area.  A large bar had loud music blasting from a band that seemed to be rehearsing or doing a sound check for the night.  I browsed through a few little shops, making my way to the Tesco Lotus down the road.  I picked up some shiny elastic string so Momo could string her sparkly beads, her "treasure" she got from the market the day before.  My Japanese lessons continued upon my return - ask me how to count to 100!

I think we wore this little girl out

It was getting dark by the time I returned, and we looked for a place to go for dinner.  We found a place that didn't look too far from our hotel, but it took us nearly an hour to get there in the Friday night traffic.  Corner Bistro is a little American restaurant tucked away down a small soi, and boasting "the best french fries in the world."  We took a table on the tiny outside deck, staying comfortably dry when the rain started again.  The food was pretty good, and the fries were quite tasty, but again the soundtrack was better.

They seemed to be setting up a tiny corner for some sort of music later, but we were ready to head back before it started.  We asked the staff to help us call a taxi, and when a shiny, black SUV pulled up about twenty minutes later, she said that was our ride!  We were a bit worried it was some premium ride service, but it was quite reasonable.  I asked the driver if he had another job, and just drove as a second job, but he said driving was his only job.  We wondered how he could afford such a nice car while charging so little, but we didn't ask any more questions.

We could hear the loud music from the bars down the street as we tried to get some sleep.