May 5, 2016 Elephant Riding

Yesterday we did one of the most amazing family outings, we learned all about elephants and got to ride the elephants. We went to the Thailand Elephant Conservation Center where we did their 1 day Mahout training course. This camp is run by the Thailand government and houses rescued and retired working elephants. Elephants used to be employed in logging and construction work, and are still used in the tourism industry in shows and taking people for rides. This center rescues poorly treated elephants and elephants bred in captivity. They showed us the hospital and nursery, and seem to run a very good program.

Of course the most exciting part was riding the elephants, bathing the elephants and learning how to get on and off the elephants. Mounting the elephant proved significantly harder than the mahout's demonstration. Unfortunately Gary found out the hard way how high off the ground the elephant's head really is. As he was trying to mount the elephant from the front, over its trunk, his elephant lifted her head and launched him through the air. All I heard was the loud splat of Gary hitting the ground. Needless to say he is still hurting today.

We were super lucky to go on a quiet day, so we were each assigned our own elephant and mahout (trainer). They taught us some basic commands for controlling the elephant, but soon found out that the elephant only occasionally listened to us and almost always listened to the mahout.

We did a short ride into the field, then came back to learn more. Then we got a longer ride through the jungle to the nursery, which concluded with an unexpected walk through a small lake. My elephant loved to spray water out of her trunk and doused Gigi, Axel and I.

At the nursery we fed the mother and baby elephants. Toured the hospital and the dung paper factory. Enjoyed a fantastic lunch, watched their elephant demonstration, then got the ride back and the elephant bathing. I think the later is more tourist rinsing, but it was really fun. As we rode the elephants into the lake, the mahout gave a command and the elephant went completely underwater. Gary had Jan, the comedian mahout, so his elephant went really far underwater. As you can see from the photos, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the bathing.

Then another ride through the jungle and a sad farewell to our new friends, the elephants and the mahouts.

Cheers,

Julie

First we gave homage to the god Ganesh. 

Gigi demonstrating mounting the elephant over the head - step 1

Gigi demonstrating mounting the elephant over the head - step 2

Gigi demonstrating mounting the elephant over the head - step 3

Gigi demonstrating mounting the elephant over the head - step 4

Gigi demonstrating mounting the elephant from the side when it is lying down

Gary just after wipe out getting his elephant to pick something up

My elephant didn't really like taking commands from me. 

 

Behind Axel you can see Gary being completely submerged with his elephant.

May 04, 2016 Thailand - Phuket, Surin Islands and Chiang Mai

We landed in Phuket late at night and went straight to a fancy resort hotel at Kamala Beach. It was nice to spend 2 days here to adjust to the new time zone, the incredible heat, and unwind from the stress of packing up Nirvana. The kids loved the water slide.

Next we stayed at the oldest hotel in Phuket Town called the "On On." It had lots of character and was reasonably priced. 

We experienced the Sunday market, where you can buy knock-offs of anything, even an iPhone that runs on Android. The best part of the market was the food. There were vendors selling such an incredible array of food, and Gary attempted to try everything, he was in food heaven. It seems that every time we turn around in Thailand, Gary seems to be chewing on some different street food.

As we hiked up Khao Rang, we stopped at the first of many Buddhist temples we have visited in Thailand. At the summit we were greeted by monkeys and enjoyed the view over the city.

After only 2 days, we had enough of the city, so we rented a car and drove to Khuraburi, the town where we caught a ferry out to the Surin Islands. We spent 2 nights in the tents in the national park. The water is crystal clear and very warm, Axel approved, and the islands are surrounded by coral reefs. The reefs have experienced damage from over fishing and coral bleaching from rising sea temperatures, but are starting to regrow now that the islands are a national park. There was a great number and variety of fish, and many different corals. The land creatures were all new to us, monitor lizard, Hornbill and flying lemur. Gary left part of a watermelon outside and a monkey stole it.

We flew to Chiang Mai in the north of the country, and stayed in the old town which is surrounded by a moat and is 720 years old. The city is filled temples and has wonderful character. Here is Axel's description of the temples " The outsides of the temples are very fancy, with lots of gold, carvings and statues. On the inside there are lots of Buddhas and religious artifacts at the far end. Covering the walls are murals. All of the temples have many buildings, at least one stupa (burial shrine for an important monk or monarch), and many bells and gongs."

Visible air pollution over Chiang Mai

Gary even convinced me to rent scooters and tour around Chiang Mai. The kids agree that although Gary may drive faster, I am scarier to ride with, because I am not very comfortable riding a scooter.

We are enjoying travelling by land, but it is really different. We got very used to having all our possessions around us, being able to make food whenever you want, and having more time for school work and relaxation. I am finding it hard to go into a grocery store and buy just the food we need for the day, the kids keep reminding me I don't need to provision. I have to remind myself that if it doesn't fit in the backpack I can't buy it.

Bon Voyage,

Julie