Tuesday, Nov 18 ChiangMai 2014

Tuesday, November 18

Had breakfast downstairs before our ride arrived for our day of Elephant training.  Our ride is one of the pickup truck taxis!  We stop at two other hotels and pick up a couple from Barcelona and a couple with 2 year old daughter from Holland.  Our driver, Frame, speaks English well and our driver is a small but strong Thai Boxer.

We wind our way through ChiangMai and into the suburbs and finally the countryside.  Many rice fields, along with some corn, fruit trees and other vegetables.  The population quickly becomes rural and we see an oxcart and workers in the fields.  Fresh air! Lots of banana trees, mangos, papayas and guava.

First stop is PooPooPaper Park which turns out to be a nice operation with lovely grounds.  They use elephant dung to make colorful paper.  (Elephants eat quite a lot of fibrous plants!).

Another half hour and the roads are getting smaller and the villages fewer.  Soon we bounce along a dirt road and arrive at the elephant camp.  We have an engaging guide who talks to us about elephants, how to approach them, their care, safety, how to feed them, etc.  We all change into our "elephant wear" which is more like prison or POW wear! Then comes a mahout with a 12-yr old male elephant named Dodo.

We learn commands in hill tribe dialect to get the elephant to go, stop, lay down, raise its trunk, turn, etc.  about 10 commands.  Then we begin to practice.  First we feed Dodo bananas and touch him a bit.  Next we all get a bit of a massage and a big wet kiss!  Amazing how something so huge can be so gentle!  Then we learn how to mount him using his bent leg as a step! Yep, we are riding bareback! Some funny positions as we learn what to do,  and Greg and I require a bit of a boost but make it!  Once mounted, we get the elephant to turn and walk a short way, then come back and get down so that we can dismount.   Some practice mounting over the head, using the trunk as a step and clambering onto his back.

 

Our guide has the elephant lay down and we examine and feel his skin, his feet, his tail, etc.

We go and gather some banana trees and branches to feed the elephants, then break for our own lunch, which is typical Thai food with papaya. Then they bring in several more elephants and we discover that Dodo is small, except for a 2-year old baby that accompanies its Mom everywhere - what a cutie!

Greg and I get Dodo and we manage to get aboard!  We all head down the road, up a hill and around.  Everyone manages to stay seated though comfortable is not a word to describe how any of us feel!  We arrive at the river and dismount.

 The mahouts take the elephants down to the river while we clamber down an embankment and meet them.  The elephants pretty obviously enjoy the water and we all toss water on them and do a little scrubbing.  The baby seems especially happy to play.
They spout water periodically (and on command) so pictures are taken and everyone is pretty wet but having a ball.

The elephants head back with their mahouts and the people climb in the truck and head for an area with showers and toilets.  Then we board the truck for the long ride back to town.  At least the benches were a little padded!

We arrive around 5:00 and pick up our laundry which is beautifully laundered and folded.  We walk for a while and come across a small restaurant called We's, which turns out to be perhaps the best we've had yet!  Khao Soi, a famous northern Thai dish and other Thai dishes.  We will return to this spot!

Monday, November 17

Another good night's sleep!  We gathered our laundry together today and took to a lady here in the hotel who charges 40 baht for 1 kilo - 40 baht is about 1.25.

Met Cheron and Jim at the Baan Bakery for breakfast coffee and wonderful French pasteries

 They then showed us around the local market and a few nearby sights. This market is partially outside, partially inside and has all types of fresh veggies, fish, fruits, meats as well as prepared foods, flowers and more.  We bought some pineapple, bananas and papaya as well as some bottled water.  Everyone drinks bottled water here.

 Cheron showed us a lovely old garden with lots of terra cotta. There is a Terra Cotta business across the way and this garden contains their cast-offs. Very tranquil.

There are quite a few ex-pats living here and Jim and Cheron seem very active with this group.

When Jason arrived to make arrangements for an elephant trek tomorrow, he had two small sons with him, one of whom was wearing a Texas A&M t-shirt!! They had no idea what it stood for or meant but had picked it up at a local market!

We walked to a local electronics store to try to find a battery charger for Beth's camera battery - we "donated" the original one to the Mandawee Resort :(.  No luck here, but they pointed us to Pantip Plaza on Chang Klan Rd, so we waved down a red taxi (pickup with two benches in the back and a cover) that took us directly there.  Success!  Got  charger and then walked this area.  Many shops. This is where the nightly Night Bazaar takes place - another big market which we will probably do one night.  Found a hairdryer for about $4, and Sue found a beautiful scarf. Many tailors along nearby streets.

Walked along the Ping River for a bit, through more markets including the flower market.  Stopped at Wawee coffee shop for a cold drink, found a post office and Pung Tao Gong Ancestral Temple which was built in 1876.

We have noticed quite a bit of construction and were suprised to see many women workers. Some were carrying concrete from a truck to a building site by small buckets.  Thai's are very sensitive to skin color, with lighter being more desirable, so many workers wear hats with flaps that shield their ears and necks and some even wear hand protection to avoid getting darker.  As Mam says, they admire our skin tone while we try to tan to get more like theirs.  Some of the workers we saw in gardens and outdoors are quite dark.

Passed the Governor's Residence, lovely teak home, big gardens.

Relaxed, showered and had dinner at Gai's again. Yummy fried rice with shrimp, curry, etc.  So far we have not run into VERY spicey food, but they do make allowances for us foreigners and often serve fish sauce with hot red and green peppers on the side.

Sunday, November 16

Ate breakfast downstairs at the hotel's small bistro - American breakfast with ham, eggs, toast, potatoes, tomatoes and juice.  Chap came and met us there and introduced us to Jim and Sharon who are from Seattle area but spend several months in ChiangMai each year, staying at our hotel. Super nice folks who have some great suggestions.  We will meet them tomorrow for breakfast and they will introduce us to their tour guide, Jason.

Chap drove us back to his shop and his cutting factory in Hang Dong, about 30 minutes.  He parked by the cutting shop and showed us around.  He has a husband/wife team who do much of the cutting Chap determines the best shape and design for a stone and does a rough cut, then passes it along to these cutters along with dimensions and type of cut and they finish it.  They were working on sunstone today.

Then we walked a few blocks to B. Tree Gems, their lovely shop with a large Bo Tree in front. Very nice and spacious and nicely arranged, and air conditioned!

 Met Mook, Mam's daughter who works full time in the shop doing sales, designing and book keeping.

They are in an area called Handicraft Village which has hundreds of shops, many of which sell wholesale and have goods that are manufactured here or close by.  We saw some amazing wood carvings, clothing, jewelry and many many products, though we saw only a small fraction.

Chap has many stones, fossils, carvings and a lot of jewelry that Mam and Mook design. Local business is a bit slow because of the Thai economy, but this is the beginning of "high" season, so hopefully will pick up and be as good as the US part of his business.

Had lunch across the street at Pankled Coffee, with Chap and Mam.  I had a fruit salad with a tamarind dressing, Greg had Pad Thai.  Lunch and drinks for 6 for about $30.00!

After lunch, Chap took us to see a huge wood carving shop called Tip Manee,

that employs 85 carvers. No photos allowed inside, but the work was beautiful & intricate.  Then we stopped at "Mikki's", a small cafe with WONDERFUL pastries which we had to sample.  Greg and I had the rainbow crepe cake - yum!

 Chap went back to meet someone while the rest of us wondered around, got lost, but eventually made it back to the shop.

Chap drove us back to the hotel and we met Cheron and her tour guide Jason in our room.  He explained many options and showed us photographs and answered many questions.  He left and Cheron explained a few more things about the hotel and Thailand in general, like how to hail a taxi (hand down, never fingers pointed up).

This evening is a special Sunday market, so we walked there. There are small daily markets all over town, but this is a very large one held once a week.  There is also a Saturday market on another street and the Night Bazaar, which is a daily night market!

This is a walking market, where they close off several blocks of one or more streets, mainly Ratchadamnoen Road and vendors come and set up stands and displays.  There were also some beggars and some people playing instruments.  Very interesting and it got busier as it got later.  Selling everything from fried bamboo worms to squid to pastries, plus clothing, purses, scarves, wallets, and hundreds of other items.

 Soon it

was a bit overwhelming with numbers of people, so we exited at Thapei Gate (There are four main gates around the 1 sq km old city.) and walked back along the Mae Ping River.  Had dinner at a random Thai Restaurant called Mamory Delicious Restaurant and Cafe.  Very good.  Back to hotel to relax a bit.

This is part of the old wall which used to surround the city.

Saturday, November 15

Breakfast at the resort this morning, then we check out and leave our bags at the front office while we head to town for the day.  Our flight to ChiangMai isn't till 8:00PM.

We begin with a nice walk on the beach and find some pretty shells, though most are very small.  We are approached by several people selling massages, food and some other goods, but they are polite and not too pushy.  We do some shopping, mostly just looking since Chap and Mam say that most everything will be less in ChiangMai.  Lots of clothing, purses and bags, toys, luggage, jewelry and souvenirs.

We stop at Rabieng Talay, a small restaurant overlooking the water, for some drinks and a snack.  They are still setting up but when I asked if we can get a coffee they enthusiastically are "open" for business. Toasted cashews are a great treat here.

Chap and Mam join us after going their own way for a while, and we all decide to have massages.  Tom ops for a complete one while the rest of us go for the foot/shoulder/neck ones.  The woman who had approached us on the beach earlier is ecstatic to get the business for her group in a thatched hut #11 - there are, we discover, over 20 different massage places on this stretch of beach.  Massages are 200 baht (about $6.75) for a full hour.

We wonder along the shops some more after this and stop for a late lunch at Jesero's Royal Thai Food/Seafood/Best Indian and Pizzeria.  Then we catch the shuttle (a covered pick-up with two benches in the back) back to the resort where we do a quick change and hop a van for the airport.

We fly Asia Air again and have no problems, arriving in ChiangMai in just under 2 hours.  A driver is waiting for us, actually 2 drivers since they have small vehicles, and we check into our new home-away-from-home, the Smith Residence about 10:30.  Great apartment on the 7th floor - 2 spacious bedrooms, a small living room and a kitchenette.  Chap and Mam make sure we are checked in and they continue on to Hang Dong, about another 30 minutes.

Bed feels great and I sleep like a rock for the first time since we've arrived.  Jet lag finally dissipated.