First goal today was to contact Tessanne at Safe Haven to find out if she wanted a piano keyboard. Her voice said it all! She was so excited to hear from me and would love anything we brought. We are continuously amazed at the connections we have been able to make.
At 8 p.m. sharp, our tour van with a guide full of jokes was there to pick us up and we were off to the Maetaman Elephant camp. An hour later, we were watching elephants taking their bath in a river. They laid down on their sides and then sprayed us as they stood up. Then we climbed onto our seat on top and the mahout rode on the elephant's head. Walking right down the river and then into the tropical forest. Sometimes the mahout jumped off and walked behind us teasing us that he was quitting. We swayed side to side lumbering by bamboo, banana and palm trees. An ox cart was waiting for us as soon as we dismounted and took us back to the camp. There we were given time to shop for souvenirs one of which was painting supposedly done by elephants. Right! Well, seeing is believing cause a few minutes later, we saw we our very own eyes, the elephants painting those same pictures. Honestly!!! One elephant could also throw a soccer ball with his trunk and then kick it with his hind foot.
Next we carefully stepped onto a bamboo raft and leisurely floated down the river.
Another huge spread of Thai food filled us up before we took off to a Karen long neck village--or should I say tourist trap. There were about 20 stands--each selling the same items--where a woman or child wearing the traditional gold coils around their necks & knees sat weaving. I peaked behind the stands and could see their bamboo huts where plastic containers sat on the porches and western clothing hung on the bamboo clothes lines drying. How sad to see these indigenous people exploited. What will become of them? Are there more in the thick forest somewhere? I hope so.
Beauty did abound at the Butterfly and Orchid farm we stopped at later--a multitude of gorgeous multi-colored orchid & a variety of butterflies. On our drive back to Chiang Mai, we told our driver we were looking for a piano keyboard. He drove us right to the door of a huge modern mall and less than an hour later, we walked out with just what we were looking for. Bob & Elsi went off looking for a stand and we crawled into the back of a red truck taxi keyboard in tow. A bit later, Ursula and her boyfriend, Aajon met us for pizza and ice cream. Bob's habit is contagious. Ursula & Aajon gave us lots of insight on the Thai and Burma culture and issues. She said Myanmar was the name given to them by the military regime so the Burmese prefer the name Burma. Thai actually like having the Burmese as they have many jobs that need workers. The refugee camps are mostly funded by international groups which again help Thailand. It was a very informative night. Don't think we could have crammed one more thing into this day!!
This morning I tore open my hotel shutters (really) and noticed a school close by so after a quick breakfast, we split to check it out. The students were having a great time playing in the large center area all dressed in vibrant colored uniforms that looked like nylon jogging suits. An English teacher welcomed us and took up to her classroom which was very much like ours in some ways--books, bulletin boards, whiteboard, desk with wooden chairs and tile floor. She said she had 47 students most of whom ate school lunch for $40 per semester--same as we had just paid for one night at the hotel. When we went back down, the students had formed very straight lines and sang (probably the National Anthem) with a small band accompanying them. We were told that since tomorrow was the National Festival of Children, they would be having a special program. I could have stayed all day but we had a bus to catch to Mae Saraing taking us 4 hours deeper into the most remote part of Thailand. But even here we found diet coke, steak & ice cream. We keep piggging out and saying, "This may be our last good meal so we better eat well!"
Since taking pictures as we swayed up & down the winding road was impossible, I jotted down views I wanted to store.
Views from the window driving from Chiang Mai to Mae Saraing:
teak trees being made into lumber
rice paddies
brahma cattle
temples --so many--3 within about a mile
mom holding baby steering motorbike with one hand
large ornate portraits of the king
hillside with 5 temples and lying Buddha
several schools with large blow up slides celebrating Festival of Children
bamboo clothes lines
modern gas station with small bamboo/thatched roof stands on both sides
roadside litter
spotless warehouses
stores with good lined up to the edge of the road
twenty men with pick hoes digging ditch
Coca Cola signs
Michelin man
terrace farming
Bob ID'd a few Fords but mostly Toyota
huge wild poinsettias
dense vegetation
banana grove
outdoor restaurants (one we stopped at charged 2 bahts (7cents) to use the squat style toilet. You get what you pay for. Ugh)
old wrinkly man with winter beanie hat (in about 80 degree weather)
check point with guard
and more richly adorned temples
At 8 p.m. sharp, our tour van with a guide full of jokes was there to pick us up and we were off to the Maetaman Elephant camp. An hour later, we were watching elephants taking their bath in a river. They laid down on their sides and then sprayed us as they stood up. Then we climbed onto our seat on top and the mahout rode on the elephant's head. Walking right down the river and then into the tropical forest. Sometimes the mahout jumped off and walked behind us teasing us that he was quitting. We swayed side to side lumbering by bamboo, banana and palm trees. An ox cart was waiting for us as soon as we dismounted and took us back to the camp. There we were given time to shop for souvenirs one of which was painting supposedly done by elephants. Right! Well, seeing is believing cause a few minutes later, we saw we our very own eyes, the elephants painting those same pictures. Honestly!!! One elephant could also throw a soccer ball with his trunk and then kick it with his hind foot.
Next we carefully stepped onto a bamboo raft and leisurely floated down the river.
Another huge spread of Thai food filled us up before we took off to a Karen long neck village--or should I say tourist trap. There were about 20 stands--each selling the same items--where a woman or child wearing the traditional gold coils around their necks & knees sat weaving. I peaked behind the stands and could see their bamboo huts where plastic containers sat on the porches and western clothing hung on the bamboo clothes lines drying. How sad to see these indigenous people exploited. What will become of them? Are there more in the thick forest somewhere? I hope so.
Beauty did abound at the Butterfly and Orchid farm we stopped at later--a multitude of gorgeous multi-colored orchid & a variety of butterflies. On our drive back to Chiang Mai, we told our driver we were looking for a piano keyboard. He drove us right to the door of a huge modern mall and less than an hour later, we walked out with just what we were looking for. Bob & Elsi went off looking for a stand and we crawled into the back of a red truck taxi keyboard in tow. A bit later, Ursula and her boyfriend, Aajon met us for pizza and ice cream. Bob's habit is contagious. Ursula & Aajon gave us lots of insight on the Thai and Burma culture and issues. She said Myanmar was the name given to them by the military regime so the Burmese prefer the name Burma. Thai actually like having the Burmese as they have many jobs that need workers. The refugee camps are mostly funded by international groups which again help Thailand. It was a very informative night. Don't think we could have crammed one more thing into this day!!
This morning I tore open my hotel shutters (really) and noticed a school close by so after a quick breakfast, we split to check it out. The students were having a great time playing in the large center area all dressed in vibrant colored uniforms that looked like nylon jogging suits. An English teacher welcomed us and took up to her classroom which was very much like ours in some ways--books, bulletin boards, whiteboard, desk with wooden chairs and tile floor. She said she had 47 students most of whom ate school lunch for $40 per semester--same as we had just paid for one night at the hotel. When we went back down, the students had formed very straight lines and sang (probably the National Anthem) with a small band accompanying them. We were told that since tomorrow was the National Festival of Children, they would be having a special program. I could have stayed all day but we had a bus to catch to Mae Saraing taking us 4 hours deeper into the most remote part of Thailand. But even here we found diet coke, steak & ice cream. We keep piggging out and saying, "This may be our last good meal so we better eat well!"
Since taking pictures as we swayed up & down the winding road was impossible, I jotted down views I wanted to store.
Views from the window driving from Chiang Mai to Mae Saraing:
teak trees being made into lumber
rice paddies
brahma cattle
temples --so many--3 within about a mile
mom holding baby steering motorbike with one hand
large ornate portraits of the king
hillside with 5 temples and lying Buddha
several schools with large blow up slides celebrating Festival of Children
bamboo clothes lines
modern gas station with small bamboo/thatched roof stands on both sides
roadside litter
spotless warehouses
stores with good lined up to the edge of the road
twenty men with pick hoes digging ditch
Coca Cola signs
Michelin man
terrace farming
Bob ID'd a few Fords but mostly Toyota
huge wild poinsettias
dense vegetation
banana grove
outdoor restaurants (one we stopped at charged 2 bahts (7cents) to use the squat style toilet. You get what you pay for. Ugh)
old wrinkly man with winter beanie hat (in about 80 degree weather)
check point with guard
and more richly adorned temples
