Temples, Elephants, and Tigers! Oh my!

After a day of travelling (or sitting around waiting to travel), I'd finally arrived in Chiang Mai. I took a shared taxi, which are seats in the back of a covered truck, and arrived at my hostel. I had booked only one night of AC but decided to stay for 3 as a bit of a splurge. The room was lovely and so clean....and the bathroom! It was definitely a no flip flop shower! I had dinner in the hostel and went to bed early, it had been a long few days and I was still feeling a bit sick, though much better. I went to the pharmacy and got some Amoxycillin to help kick the cold but I was already on the mend on my own.

The next morning I woke up and decided to walk around Chiang Mai city which is the old part of town surrounded by a moat and parts of an old city wall. I thought it would be a good way to see the area but I didn't realize it would take over 2 hours at almost 40 degree heat! I was melting. I sat in my room to cool down in the AC and then walked all the way back out for lunch. I enjoyed a nice cheeseburger with french fries! I needed a break from rice and noodles! I found out that day that there was a cool temple to see just outside of Chiang Rai, where I'd been waiting for 3 hours for a bus the day before! Bummer! I really wanted to see it so I booked a tour of Chiang Rai. The next morning I started my tour bright and early. Our first stop was a hot spring.....I thought it was an amusing tourist attraction as it was simply a hole with sulphur water and a pump blowing up an imaginary guyser. It wasn't even hot! Next we arrived at the white temple. On the way our tour guide tried to explain the temple and spoke of heaven and hell, which I didn't understand till I got there. It seems that the premise of the temple is to show how bad leads you to hell (including drinking whiskey and smoking cigarettes) and good gets you to heaven. It's clearly not a temple but an art piece. I'm pretty sure the Buddhists wouldn't hang heads from trees or show arms grasping from the bowels of earth. Not to mention the "security" guard who yelled into a microphone "move forward, don't stop, keep going"! Not exactly condusive to peaceful meditation! Haha! Our next stop was the Golden Triangle which used to be associated with the opium trade. On the top of a hill in Thailand we overlooked Burma on one side, Laos on another side, no man's land in front, and far off in the distance, China. One kg of Opium used to be traded for one kg of gold, hence the term golden triangle. At this point some of the folks had a boat ride to Laos. Since I had just arrived from there I had no desire to return and had an hour to browse around the small town. It took about 20 minutes and then I relaxed and read my book in the shade of a tree! Upon return of the boat cruise we had lunch. It was buffet style with many choices, and fruit for dessert! Yum....Now we drove off to see some hill tribe villages. We met some that originated in Burma and some from China, though they've been here for many generations. One woman had enlarged ear holes and black teeth. They chew tobacco to make their teeth black as they view it as a sign of beauty. We saw a typical village home; a hut with a small kitchen (no appliances except a hot plate) and 2 beds in the back with a small area in between for hanging clothes. Very simple. And to be honest, I've come to realize that the western world has a lot more stuff than we need! I've been living out of a backpack for over 7 months and I don't NEED anything else, though I may WANT it! :D. A long drive home awaited us and I stopped next door for dinner at a famous vegetarian restaurant called Brown Rice. My food was delicious! I was in bed after that to get a good night's sleep before meeting the elephants!

What can I say about my time with the elephants? It was unbelievable! These giant beautiful creatures have personalities, just like us. My favourite, a ten year old named Orlar, was naughty and always trying to get into things, including the other elephant's mouths. But, to be fair, her mahout, or trainer, was just as naughty, doing tricks and laying across her back. Meanwhile Orlar had stolen an elephant hook hangimg on a pole, I waited for what was to come but she eventually dropped it! They were a great pair! I loved being able to interact with the elephants but I didn't enjoy using their ears and belly fat to hoist myself up. They say elephants have a very high pain tolerance but that still must irritate them. Getting down off te elephants was a whole other story! They bent their head down and we slid off! Or fell off and was caught by a mahout in my case! After learning how to guide the elephant using commands and a light touch of the hook I was put on a bigger  32 year old elephant named Lam Yan. Riding a bigger elephant was so much more comfortable, and once out of the group she was also a bit naughty, stopping often for grass. Of course she also sprayed me with muddy water though that was after a command from her mahout. I was the only one who had booked half a day so even though I paid to share an elephant I got one all to myself. After Lam Yan and I walked around bare back for awhile we stopped in a stream (or mud/poo puddle) for a bath. I thought I was giving it but I also received one. The mahout and I used buckets to get Lam Yan wet. Then we used a wood that they mash up with a mallott to scrub her. It soaps up a bit, and they like to eat it too! After, the mahout used commands to get Lam Yan to spray herself, and big surprise, I happened to be standing right there! I was soaked already anyways because the mahout had doused me with a bucket. They had me get on her back and she sprayed me some more, and I didn't even see it coming! We had a short walk back and then I said goodbye. I ate some lunch and watched the video of my training and bath, which was also for purchase. I had some great pictures though so that was enough! I drove back in the front seat of a van (my first time riding shotgun in awhile). I had a few hours at the Guesthouse before I was leaving for Pai, more to come on that later!

After my few days in lovely Pai I returned to Chiang Mai. I was excited to explore the Sunday night market and I still wanted to see the tigers.  I had a fan dorm room this time which was nice because it was full of people. I heard some girls talking about going to the market so I invited them to come with me. One girl did, she was on a short holiday from Germany. We wandered around the market browsing at items and fighting the crowds for over 3 hours! It was huge. At the beginning, soon after we arrived, they played the national anthem. The whole place stood still and it was silent. It was like an eerie horror film! I had heard they are very patriotic and get very upset if you don't stop and listen to the anthem but seeing it first hand was something else. You can also be fined or arrested for saying bad things about the king.....in case you were ever in Thailand and wanted to bad mouth him! We almost got rained on as well but thankfully it just sputtered out after only a moment. I bought a few gifts and ate some street food and then we walked back! I was ready for bed before 11 and didn't sleep too badly considering the temperature of the room!

Next day: TIGERS! My sister loves tigers and she really wanted me to see them on my elephant safari in India (my Christmas present from her). Because I didn't, I really wanted to see the tigers in Chiang Mai. They also have them in Bangkok but I'd heard they were obviously drugged and just slept the whole time. This one I was going to was different. They claim no drugs, just well fed tigers. I was so scared, and even more worried the tigers would smell my fear and play with me, as in a cat toy! Once I arrived I had to choose which size tigers to see. I figured I might as well go big or go home! Not to mention they were cheaper than the small ones. I went in with a group of 4 others who I'd shared a taxi with. We nervously walked in the cage and huddled together. It wasn't long before we got more comfortable. The tigers would lift an eyelid to peer at us and then go back to sleep. I was a bit scared when the trainer started poking one to wake it up for better pictures. And at one point a photographer came up behind me and lightly pinched my calf, I just about peed myself and screamed! He thought it was hilarious! My heart stopped! As I was petting one of the tigers it moved, nearly causing more heart failure. By the end it seemed normal that there was a tiger 6 feet away playing in a fountain. Had it looked at me though, I would have freaked! I pet 4 tigers and saw 6 in the cage with me! It was incredible but I really wished Amber could have been there with me. I know she would have just loved it, and it made me miss her! We wandered around and saw the other tigers; medium, small, baby, newborn. Even a lion slept on a table by his lonesome! There were tigers everywhere! This is definitely a trip amber has to come to do and I'd be more than happy to return with her! :-)

After the tigers I had a nice lunch in a saloon (yep, complete with Canadian hockey grafitti)! The ladies who run the guesthouse were so funny. They truly cared about their guests and it was very homey to be there. They even ran after our taxi to say goodbye when we left! My bus to Bangkok left after dinner and goodbyes. An uneventful overnight ride later and I'm back in the capital of Thailand awaiting my bus to Koh Tao!