Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand

Easter break in Asia. Our friend, Jen, invited us to stay with her in Bangkok. Jen worked with us in Hong Kong last year and is now teaching in Thailand. The school she is working at now is about 30 minutes outside the city of Bangkok. Suzanne and I arrived in Bangkok late, about 11:30 pm and Jen met us at the airport. She said her address outside of the city was a bit tricky to explain to a taxi driver so we were glad to have her escort us back to her apartment. Sunday the 5th was a full day of shopping at the weekend Chatuchak market. It is huge! We only managed to see a small section of it and we were there shopping all day! I was on the look out for a wooden carved Buddha wall-hanging and found exactly what I was looking for. I also bought a beautiful set of stainless steel tableware with a spiral design, I just love it- so cheap! I will have this set for the rest of my life! Now the question, how will I get this heavy set of forks, knives and spoons home cheaply?! Small concern, I'll figure it out. I couldn't be happier with the endless Thai food options everywhere I go. For just a couple of dollars, you can get a filling plate of really yummy Thai food: papaya salad, fresh spring rolls, pineapple rice, chilli crab, pad thai, mango with sticky rice, etc.

Monday, April 6, was a day on my own. Suzanne had a doctor's appointment and Jen had to teach. I had to walk out to the school housing gate and wave to the motorbike driver using the "steering wheel" signal down the street. The motorbike driver then drove off to get a taxi to come down the road. I paid the motorbike driver 20 Thai Baht for the service and the taxi drive downtown was about 30-40 minutes. I stopped for a coffee at the Navy's Wife's Cafe' and then headed over to Wat Pho (wat means temple) to see the world's largest reclining Buddha. (Those of you that having been taking notes and paying attention, the world's largest outdoor seated Buddha is in Hong Kong). The reclining Buddha is amazing. I took a million pictures. It started to rain while I was there, all the more reason to linger and take more pictures. Then I wandered to the back of the temple grounds to the massage center school. I waited about 15 minutes to get a one hour massage from a student. It cost 360 THB (about 10 or 12 US $), There were thunderstorms in full swing while getting the massage- surreal.  Left there very relaxed and went to lunch- phad thai and coconut milk/chicken soup- yum! Walked up the street to the Grand Palace. They were getting ready for some sort of event at the palace. The Emerald Buddha exhibit was closed, disappointing. After exploring the Grand Palace grounds, I took a taxi back to Jen's. The three of us then decided to go back downtown to check out the night market. Asia is all about the "markets". We ate at the food court there, again really cheap. I ordered a dish and when it was handed to me, the sauce proceded to burn my pinky finger. I asked the woman at the counter for some ice. She disappeared in the back, then arrived at my table with a bowl of raw egg that she then rubbed all over my pinky finger. She said it would be better in a few minutes. Raw egg? I was so surprised, I didn't even question the woman while she rubbed raw egg on my hand. Just to be safe, Suzanne managed to find me some ice and I put my egg covered hand on ice while we ate. Never a dull moment! Suzanne decided it was time to try the ever-popular Asian fruit, durian. It is a large fruit, about the size of a round watermelon, with a spiky skin. The yellowish inside is what you eat and it has a soft texture. It is so stinky, many places do not allow you to carry it inside. Many Asians love durian. We all took a small bite...yuck! It tastes so horrible, like it must have gone bad! Then the disgusting flavor lingered in our mouths all night. Now I have tried durian, never again.The night market was much smaller than the Chatuchak market, but I still managed to buy a couple of things.

I thought I was going to end up on the news with the headline "freak elephant accident"

On the 7th (the day Maya and Adam's baby boy was born!), I took a day of leisure. I had a lazy morning, made appointments for a pedicure, manicure and a 2 hour hot stone massage. I recommend the stone massage, such a treat! It cost 1200 Thai Baht (about $36US for a two hour massage)! When is Thailand, you must have massages!

Wed. the 8th,  was the day I was leaving for my own adventure in Chiang Mai. I got up to say goodbye to Jen before she left for school. Suzanne and I had part of the day to see more sights before I flew out at 5:00 pm. We decided to take the express boat down the river to Bangkok for only 18 THB, this was definitely a commuter boat, not a tourist boat. (The Steamship Authority could learn a thing or two from this ferry company!). We appeared to be the only westerners on the boat. It was a great experience seeing life along the river. It took about 50 minutes with about 10 quick pier stops, dropping off and picking up passengers. We got off at Central pier at Sathorn and walked up to the Sky Train, very efficient and clean public transport. For 40 THB we crossed the city to the "On Nut" stop, took a short taxi ride (3 min) and went to the Jim Thompson Silk Factory Outlet. Jim Thompson was an American who lived in Thailand for 22 years. I had never heard of him until I came to Thailand. As stated on the Jim Thompson web site: "With his natural flair for design and color, and driven by his single-minded dedication to reviving the craft, Thompson gained worldwide recognition for his success in rebuilding the industry, for generating international demand for Thai silk and for contributing to the growth of the silk industry. During the Easter weekend in 1967, Thompson disappeared while on holiday with friends in Cameron Highlands, a northern Malaysian resort. An extensive and extended search failed to reveal any clues about his disappearance." Jim Thompson is a big business name now in Thailand. This factory outlet we went to had 5 floors of fabrics. I bought a couple of pieces, one piece to make bed pillows and one piece to cover my dining room chair cushions. There were so many beautiful colors and styles! I left Suzanne to do more shopping while I headed back to get my luggage and fly to Chiang Mai.

After the one hour flight, I arrived in Chiang Mai and took a short taxi ride to check in at the Green Tulip Guesthouse. Nothing fancy, but clean rooms, hot showers, breakfast included, free wifi and a friendly staff. (About $24US a night). It was also in a good location for walking around town. The night I arrived, I walked into town and went to the Night Bazaar (okay, I think I am now over the whole Asian market experience). Had fresh spring rolls at the food court and had a tuk tuk drive me back to the guesthouse.

Thursday was a big day of Thai food appreciation! I had booked myself for a full day cooking course at the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School. It was so much fun! There were three different teachers throughout the day, including Sompon the owner. We made six dishes, stopping to sample each when they were done (no need for dinner that night). We were so full by the end of the day! We made Tom Yam Goong (Thai hot and sour prawn soup), Thai style fish cakes, Laap Gai (minced chicken salad), Phad Thai (fried rice noodles), Green curry with chicken, and Tab tim grob (water chestnuts with sugar syrup and coconut milk). We had instructions in the small cooking classroom, then we would go out to our own individual cooking stations to try the recipes ourselves. We learned how Thai people use lemon grass, fish sauce, coconut milk and rice noodles. I also learned about the "pea" eggplant and the "apple" eggplant that we put in the curry dish. Can I buy these small eggplants in the US? There were about 20 people in the class, an interesting mix: an Australian couple traveling the world for 9 weeks, young Asian American woman from N. Carolina living and working in Singapore, Canadian couple who left Canada, sold their business, their home and their cars during the economic crisis and will travel for a year or 2, and a guy from London who left England to travel in Thailand 9 months ago and never went back to his real estate job back home. We all left the course with a copy of the recipe book from the school.

That night I was up for walking around after all that cooking and eating! I walked around some of the local wats (they are everywhere in Thailand!). I walked over to Nimmanhaenin Road to poke around some interesting (and quite expensive) shops, then it was time for a facial treatment at the Artist Spa. (about $15 US for a one hour treatment). My face felt so clean! Then I took a tuk tuk back to the inn.

Friday, the big highlight of the week, the day I spent with elephants! A van from Patara Elephant Farm picked me up at the inn at 7:30 am. We then stopped at another inn to pick up a woman and her 12 year old son, they live in Cancun, Mexico and were on vacation. When we arrived at the farm, we met a family that work for the Embassy in New Delhi. Another van unloaded, and who got out of the van but one of my HK students and her family! It is a small world! There were only 9 people visiting the farm that day and I knew half of them! Not what I had envisioned while I fantasized about my elephant bonding day 45 minutes outside of Chiang Mai, but it turned out just fine. The 2 kids (5 and 7 years old) were troopers, they rode the big elephants on their own all day, just like the adults. Each of us were assigned our own elephant and elephant farmer for the day. I was assigned the mother, Mae Boon Tang, and her one year old, Pee Mai. Pee Mai was like a puppy, very mischievious, only huge! He never stayed still, very busy. My elephant farmer was named Nat, he was very helpful, did his best to try and keep Mae Boon Tang on the trail. Pat, the owner of the elephant farm, is such a gentle soul. He is passionate about his mission. He says, in Thailand thirty years ago, there were more than 5,000 elephants. Now there are approximately 3,000 left. He founded this farm in 2000 in order to operate a breeding program and to create safe working conditions and a pleasant living environment for domestic elephants. His conservation philosophy is "extinction is forever but we are not going to let it happen." Pat guided us throughout our day. As elephant "owners" we had to greet the elephant and feed them a few bananas (to make sure they accept you as an owner for the day). Then it was time for the elephant "health check": 1. swinging tail/flapping ears- happy elephant  2. sweaty toes- good- getting enough water  3. evidence they slept on the ground (dirt markings on all sides of the body)- need proper sleep for good health  4. healthy dung (yes, elephant poo)- usually drop 6 balls at a time, moist, not very smelly, they are vegetarians, small fibers-not whole leaves- proof there are no teeth problems.  Then it was time for their breakfast. We fed them a whole basket of fruit, tamarind, bananas and seeds. Next, time to brush them down using a large leafy branch, remove as much dirt as you can, makes bathing easier. Done with the brushing, fed the the leafy branch "brush" to the elephant. After that, we had to lead the elephant down to the river by holding onto her ear. (I think she really was leading me!) Using a brush and bucket of water, we bathed the elephants while they stood, and also laid down, in the river. We were then given instructions on how to get on the elephant's back. There were 3 techniques modeled, but I only had 2 options with Mae Boon Tang because she does not allow people to climb up her legs. I chose to climb onto her trunk and let her lift me up, not very graceful getting into the sitting position on her bare back, but I made it. We then proceded to ride for about an hour through the forest and hills to the waterfall. These huge animals walk very delicately on these narrow trails and hills, never loosing their footing. The elephants love the fresh water at the waterfall! They walk right into the water to drink and cool off. We were then fed a picnic lunch by the waterfall. We fed all the left-over vegetarian options to the elephants. Back on the elephants for the hour ride back. This was a real inner thigh work out! My elephant had a mind of her own! She would often wonder off the trail to eat more bamboo. They are supposed to stay on the trail and we are given verbal commands to use to try to get them to follow directions. They wrote a cheat sheet on our arms so we could remember the Thai words.  All day I was shouting "Pai" (go) to try and get her to keep going on the trail and not stop to eat again! I also was heard saying "Yanna" (don't) quite often when she was grabbing onto big bamboo plants to tear down and munch! She is a pregnant nursing mother constantly on the lookout for food. It did not matter what I said, she was on a mission! She would often go often the trail. I must admit that there was one point when she was grabbing bamboo up a slight hill off the trail, I thought I was going to end up on the news with the headline "freak elephant accident". On the way back, we learned an advanced seating option which involved dangling your legs in front of the elephant's head while holding her ears. I did use this option for awhile, but then went back to the first method (legs behind the ears). My pant legs did not completely cover my legs and the prickly head hairs were really scratchy on my calves. We ended the day by feeding each elephant another basket of food, then said our goodbyes to the elephants, the farmers and Pat.

What an amazing day! I highly recommend a trip to this farm. You have no idea how incredible it is to spend a day with elephants! I was brought back to the inn, had a great meal at a local Thai restaurant down the street, Huen Phen (delicious Chiang Mai curry) and went to bed early. Back to Hong Kong in the morning!