Seems only a couple days have passed since arriving in the north, but here it came, moving day again. As I told you in an earlier post, we had decided not to book the entire time at one hotel. We wanted to leave the second half open…in case. I must tell you we are both glad we waited. Not because of location but hotel quality. Certainly it could have been worse but it just was not comfortable. No second key was the start of our discord. It’s been a long time since we’ve stayed anywhere that had not advanced to electronic key cards but neither of us could ever recall being presented with only one key upon our check in anywhere. This equated to being latched to one another or being locked out upon return. Both occurred. Certainly not the end of the world but strike one. Next was the lack of care in a shower whose tile grout had certainly seen better days along with its slow running drain and tepid, at best, water temperature. Another negative, not the end of the world, but, we prefer carpeted floors in our living space, this was aged, low quality faux wood. Then we come to the bed. Low caliber linens and the mattress might as well have been cement, I guess I needed a definitive reason for massage and that bed created it for me. The real strike out was the thin walls. Cardboard thin to be precise. The result was late night reprimand for us from security. We were in normal conversation with friends we met from England, Texas and Brazil who came back to join us for beers after the bars closed. We still had great fun with these compadres by sneaking out to the pool area to carry on. On the flip side, 6am chattering in Indian dialect from the neighbors that roused us way before our preferred rising time was irritating. We however did not complain as we knew we could hear all voices in normal level from both sides at varying times of day. Thin walls were the icing on the cake that urged us to move on.
Moving however, did not mean a great distance. We love Chiang Mai and although we entertained a jaunt away to take in the entirety of the Mae Hong Son Loop, we decided against it. This neighborhood is walking distance to the Old City, close to the Ping River, the night market, Chinatown, great restaurants at unbelievable price points, easy transportation access, beautiful temples, massage and salon services.The entire city and the attractions nearby are completely accessible. A little slice of heaven which we intend to continue to take in for eight more nights, residing at the Dusit D2 Hotel, we just checked in, but already we are satisfied by the move. It is amazing how important it is to read people’s comments not simply take the rating number at face value, regardless of what booking site you prefer. Here, we have found that luxurious feeling again. Our welcome on check in was iced lemongrass juice. Royal treatment and first rate accommodation and excellent service standards with warm and friendly staff is our first impression here.
Everytime I turn around, my wonderful companion says, “You hungry yet?” I told myself before leaving home I was not going to fall prey to his temptations. Also, that I cannot consume the same as a man weighing in well above my preferred body weight. I succumbed to his query nearly every meal thus far, sad face! (There is a bathroom scales in this room… tomorrow will be weigh in day.) On the bright side I have diligently exercised everyday and walked 3-5 miles at a minimum in addition. Eating and exercise could be the theme for this blog, seriously. Chiang Mai is totally walkable and between the site seeing, the people watching, the street vendors and the hole in the wall bars and eateries I would be happy doing nothing else…But then you might get bored!
In these days we have tried traditional Thai massage (150 baht), oil massage (200 baht), leg, back and neck massage (250 baht) and the highlight was a combo foot and fish massage (159 baht). All were an hour long and delightful, although at these price points of $4.28 to $7.14 American you won’t find us complaining and there’s no need to. The Thai feel strongly about the value of massage. The Fish Doctor was a first for us. Wow! This sensation is so ticklish that upon trying to settle into his seat my hubby jumped, pulling his legs out of the water and throwing two fish to the sidewalk. Talk about belly laughs! Alas, the owners saved the flopping, gasping little critters, scooping them up and tossing them back in the tank and we got ourselves settled in. By the end of our time we both were actually wishing for more. I am posting a picture here. Take the time to read the theory, makes sense to me and leaves your feet feeling supremely lacking in dead, dry skin and it doesn’t hurt like those skin shavers used in pedicures. This is a must try when in Thailand or anywhere else you spot it. I would not have thought I would be recommending it as I was grossed out by it honestly and was just doing it to humor my man, he was right again, awesome.
We have experienced Thai boxing twice. Once at the ring in the Old City where we met a couple of our friends mentioned earlier as well as a newlywed couple from Colorado. The six of us shared ringside seats and placed friendly wagers amongst ourselves during bouts that evening. My guy also wagered with an elderly local, certainly adding to the fun. The best feature of this location is the live music that accompanies the fight. This music accompaniment ritual and the one practiced entering the ring known as the Wai Kru truly demonstrate the heritage art of this sporting event. The first time we went, we attended the event at the Kawila Boxing Stadium. We saw several knock outs on that evening and I must say the ladies bout was intense. These events start with the crowd rising for the Thai national anthem (as it kicked off the movie we attended in Pattaya as well). There is much history, ritualism and pride demonstrated at every turn in Thailand and boxing is no exception. Experience it for yourself if you make the journey. We enjoy sporting events of all kinds and Muay Thai is no exception. I am hoping we will get to go again before our stay in this land is done.
Adventure led us to be waiting on the doorstep of our hotel this past Monday at 1pm for our ride to the Patara Elephant Farm. The excitement was electric. We have looked forward to the gift of this second opportunity to interact with these beautiful beasts since we left them. Last year we stayed at Chai Lai Orchid, an experience I highly recommend but totally different than this one I’m going to describe. The ride by van led us south and west of town up a winding mountain two lane paved road. The scenery quickly changed from cityscape to jungle in winter. The forest floor was covered with fallen leaves of the deciduous trees. The fields were green with crops and the palms were heavy with coconuts. It took me some time after our arrival to manage this thought of a country in its “winter” at 90+ degrees. I actually wondered out load if the country was in drought. No, its winter. Last year we were here in October, just at the end of the rainy season. No wonder it looks so dry right now. There are fewer blooming flowers and less running water in the rivers, streams and waterfalls but beauty abounds as I am in awe of nature in this land. This is driven home even further later as my elephant lumbers along and the landscape is clearer then behind the van windows as we arrive at the farm. We are greeted by one of the mahouts and given a brief overview of our afternoon of elephant day care. My eyes kept darting to take in the 4 creatures behind him while I tried to pay attention to his broken English. We began the first part of daycare with an introduction to the four wanderers in the background and opportunity to interact and gain some comfort. This beginning was simply incredible. There is something auspicious about these creatures. So incredibly large, exuding love and devotion. There was a mother and her baby of 6 months, a boy of 5 years and a female in her 22nd month of gestation. One of the mahouts explained her extra girth to me and placed my hands on the lump to one side of her belly and encouraged me to squeeze and sure enough that baby responded to my touch. Yes, the miracle of life and this little bundle of joy ready to pop out at anytime and estimated to weigh in around 200 pounds, gave this day special meaning. Trust me, that “kick” back was not weak. Incredibly special. We took pictures and then gathered for our instructors sharing of knowledge. Many of these inhabitants of the farm have been rescued from slavery to the circus or abusive hard labor. The goal of the farm and many sanctuaries in Thailand is to mend the broken bond between elephant and man as well as to increase the numbers of the herds to increase overall population numbers to insure this revered animal never reaches extinction. They may never reach the level of freedom once common to them but there are programs being developed to release them back in to National Park lands and reserves. This farm works closely with the Chiang Mai University on health, wellness and birthing. We also received the overview of the testing the mahouts run through daily to insure the health of these mammals. We loaded back in to our passenger van and were hauled off to a jungle area. There, was phase 2. Intro to our elephant companion, feeding and learning commands. We were advised phase 3 would be scrubbing down our elephant which helps in overall health to insure no parasites attach themselves in their wire brush style coat of hair. Phase 4 would be riding on head to the night grazing area. Watong was mine to care for and be with for the rest of the day. She was pregnant as well, not as far along as the first we met but with child and my ease in binding with the first mama is what led the Mahouts to hook me up with Watong. We were taught words such as moy, meaning go, toy, to back-up, notlong which is to lay down, DeeDee standing for good girl/boy/elephant, and how, to stop. Watong and I were the first to test the instructions. She ate a basket of sugar cane and bananas I fed her by hand from a basket. “Deedee Watong”. “Notlong Watong”, said several times and soon my 2500 pound friend was laying beside me. I was instructed to brush her clean of dust and leaves with a palm fronds broom. “Moy Watong”, time to take a walk together as we made our way to the waterfall pond to have the bathing session. The lying, rising and walking of this great beast were impressive to say the least. She was anxious for the cool of the water and laid down without need for instruction. I was given a brush and a bucket and instructed to clean my friend, first one side, then the other, sitting on her neck backwards and scrubbing along her backbone. Sliding off, she stood up, turned around and nudged me with her trunk, lifting her head slightly. I began brushing her neck and legs, her eyes fluttered as your dogs would at the scratching of their belly. I was in awe of this beautiful new friend. The mahouts lined our group up at the front of the pond, waterfall behind us for a picture…to our great surprise they spoke a command we had not been trained on and all at once these beasts sprayed us with water from their trunks. Much laughter followed. We were offered snacks ourselves and drinks and a chance to put on the dry Thai style pants and shirts provided for us to protect our skin when riding. Watong waited patiently, milling around nearby. It was time for the ride to pasture. We were shown three options for getting on. One by climbing on the bent knee and swinging up (the preferred way for Watong which I actually managed with a comfortable amount of ease), standing on trunk and boarding backwards and then turning around (my honey boarded his mate this way) and the last by instructing the elephant to lie down on belly and climbing aboard. “Moy Watong”, I had settled in by moving up the neck and pulling my knees up behind my girls ears, she flapped them over me and I felt security. Off we went, lumbering through the forest and up the road past verdant farmland. Workers in the fields wore long sleeved shirts, long pants and wide brimmed hats. The scent of the flowering bushes was heady as we rode along. Horned steers grazed in the pastures and laid in the ponds, cooling themselves from the afternoon blistering sun. Tropical plants and grasses flourished all along this trail. Between the new bond with my friend Watong and my beautiful surroundings I found my mind wondering at this enjoyment of life. I dismounted at the end of the ride and as I stood before my friend she bowed her head and moved towards mine and bumped my forehead. I embraced her from the front “DeeDee Watong”, each time I said it as I hugged her I felt my companion of this day nudge me, forehead to forehead. She took my breath away. I wished her well in carrying this child inside her to term and again said “deedee Watong, I know you will be a wonderful mother, deedee Watong” What a remarkable day!
On a side note, I want you all to know I am somewhat in a quandary over the elephant farms and sanctuaries and the programs they sell all of us. I saw absolutely no sign of mistreatment you will read many places practice in order to control these wondrous beasts. But they are still not truly free. I understand that true freedom is not a reality for them in this day and age but I’m not certain this selling of time with them is okay. Then again, how in the world could these locations afford to insure these lovely creatures get enough to eat if they didn’t sell these visits to us? Quandary…
Recently, I saw a wall hanging that said it perfectly, so let’s work together friends on remembering the wise thought that is now my Facebook cover photo: “Nature doesn’t hurry and yet everything is accomplished.”
I already have more to share with you but my living of life has been infringing on my writing time! I’ll work on it and catch you up some more soon. #travelwithme
