Author's note: These entries are post-dated, as we did not have internet access for most of the time we were traveling.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Chiang Mai reminds me very much of Iquitos in Peru, perhaps a bit more developed. It's a place people come, not necessarily for the city itself, but for everything around it. A frontier town, of sorts. After the Elephant Park for a week, it was still a little jarring to be back in a moving city. It's amazing how quickly I can adjust to non-urban life, even after living in New York for fifteen years.
We did hang out with the other volunteers that stuck about Chiang Mai on Sunday evening. We had dinner at Taste of Heaven - the park's sister restaurant. Very nice vegetarian food (and I'm not one to usually say that about vegetarian cuisine), and then beer at the local Reggae Bar. The blaring music and party atmosphere was a little odd after our week, especially as Kristin, John (one of the other American volunteers along with his lovely wife, Gemma) and myself were more interested in discussing ways to help the park. We ended up heading back to our hotel fairly early - exhausted from the week - but it was nice to get to say farewell to all we had spent time with.
Our first complete day back in civilization we really just decompressed. We did laundry, much needed, and met with Jeff at the Park office to discuss materials and ways to help. I felt it was a good meeting - without the cultural and language barrier, it was easier to discuss things like 501c3s, proposals, other foundations that have supported them, etc. I'm hoping Jeff can continue to be out point person, even as he gets more involved with the sister elephant park in Surin.
After our meeting, we felt it was time to move, as Chiang Mai wasn't really speaking to us. So we set about making our plan for Laos. As is turned out, the Park office is also a travel agency, so we were able to book a direct mini-bus to the border cross-over town, Chiang Khong, with little fuss.
The skies started to darken, but we were famished. We went for supper at the cafe Naga, one of the many Thai/Western hybrids in Chiang Mai. Kristin had a strawberry smoothie, and I had some chicken fired noodle curry that came to haunt me a few hours later. It was delicious nonetheless, and worth the future discomfort. Just in time for the skies to open, we hoofed it back to the hotel in the warm rain to pack.
I recommend the Na Inn in Chiang Mai, especially if you've been roughing it for a while. Huge, western style rooms, real working A/C, and from the top floor there is a killer view of the mountain and several wats. It's modern, clean, and relaxing, and had little hassle at all for 600 baht a night.
We rested a little, then got cleaned up and decided we had to go see the famous Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. We did find a few gifts and nice clothing items, but honestly, as we had done the Sunday Market the week before on our arrival, and as we have Chinatown in NYC, I was not that impressed. The Sunday market prices were much cheaper, and there were less touts and hawkers in your face every ten seconds. I don't know why they think that works as a sales tactic with westerners - it completely turns me off. In fact, the one booth that we did actually buy something from was run by a little, older Thai lady who spoke fabulous broken English, and who was very polite and calm. She asked where we were from, and then she said she was from the north. She then said she was cold (it was a little breezy, having rained, but still warm by my standards), and then she asked how cold it got in New York. When I said zero degrees (Celsius), her eyes almost popped out. I couldn't tell if she thought I was lying - but it's not Thai custom to say that sort of thing out loud.
We then headed back to out hotel, full of anticipation for our crossing the Mekong into the heart of northern Laos. We started our walk through old Chiang Mai, but got turned around. It's easy to do that in Chiang Mai. Fair enough - a three dollar tuk-tuk ride home didn't seem that exorbitant. Onward, traveler.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Elephant Park - Last Day
May 16, 2009
Our night up at the Haven was nice - a fitting end to this amazing week. Pom cooked dinner for us, a spicy chicken curry alongside pumpkin, and wok fried chicken legs to die for. One of our British friends - Sue - a wonderful woman with a great sense of humor - brought a bottle of rum to share, so that was doled out as we sat by candlelight, asking Pom questions about her, Lek and the park's history.
We also discussed ways to possibly help the park, including finding channels for much needed fund raising. Pom seemed pleased and eager to consider this - an interesting shift from her sometimes stoic and grounded demeanor. She then told us a story about how elephants were created, a legend about their trunk and original human nature. It was a lovely finish to the night, and we tucked under our mosquito nets, not even needing to dream about free elephants as there were four happily wandering about somewhere not far from us in the jungle.
Morning would mean breaking camp, and going out to find the elephants. Yes. Find the 'phants. They can roam as much as 3-5 miles in one night - but usually stay closer to the camp as the grazing is quite good. We have awesome footage of coming upon them - they appear like stone boulders or some ancient civilization's monoliths at first - rising out of the jungle. Of course, Rock and Roll Mahout and the others had found them earlier, we were merely led to where they had congregated. Even still, after seeing how well they blend into the jungle, I would not want to trust my meager tracking skills over three miles to find an elephant.
We rounded up the group, human and pachyderm, and headed back down. It was a little muddy, and there was a moment where Kristin and I almost were made the human filling of an elephant sandwich: Jungle Boy was leading, or more like sliding down a muddy embankment - very deftly, I might add, for a thousand pound elephant, but rather slowly. We were behind him, and Sri Nguen, the grand lady, was behind us. Well, J.B. hesitated at one moment, so we slowed behind him, right as Sri Nguen hit the muddy patch. We escaped by quickly shuttling to the side, but only just. I caught the second half of the episode on video. Watching it now is really quite funny - both of us are out of breath. J.B. and Sri Nguen didn't seem phased at all.
We then made it back to the park, and it was time to say our farewells. We opted for the later bus back to Chiang Mai, which gave us time to see the birthday boy Tong Tae again, and others. A special treat was getting back in time to see Fae Mai, her mother, and auntie Sri Nguen, get to play in the field and mud for the first time. Mom had been getting restless (you try spending a month in the same enclosure as a 250 lbs. newborn), and she had actually tried making a break for it in the morning by dismantling part of the pen walls. So Lek decided she needed to listen and give mama what she wanted: some wander time.
This is the genius behind Lek's program - by listening to the elephants, and paying attention to what they need, and by only using positive reinforcement, she doesn't have to keep them chained or penned all the time. Her eventual goal is to have enough land that each family group gets their own area, without the need for constant rotation during bath time, feeding time, etc.
At any rate, it was a big, scary world at first for Fae Mai, who spent most of her time protected between Mom and Auntie, or under Mom as she walked. It was a beautiful sight, and having just seen four elephants walking free in the jungle, this added bonus melted even my usual cynical side. This place and the work being done here is not just life changing in the moment. It continues to affect you over time.
That would be a phenomenal ending to any story, but as I didn't write this one, I'm only commenting and observing - there is a postscript. We had packed up and were merely waiting for the van to leave, when we walked over to where Sri Nguen usually camps, under the elevated walkway. Aside from Mom and Fae Mai, Sri Nguen usually keeps to herself. As I mentioned, she is the oldest, and she has seen so much abuse in her 76 years of life. Luckily, she has had the last five years at the park, and she definitely knows her situation has changed for the better.
There was no one about except her mahout and us. It takes a special kind of person to mahout a solitary elephant - and he seemed both at peace and very lovingly attentive to Sri Nguen. Kristin had developed a particular connection with Sri Nguen over the last few days. We came closer, and she ever so slightly stepped towards us. We were able to say farewell - eye to eye - and it seemed she knew we were reluctant but had to go. Then she stepped forward again, and tilted her head slightly lower, placing her forehead against mine. If it wasn't a blessing of some sort, then I don't know what else it could have been. She then repeated the gesture, slightly longer this time with Kristin.
I get sad and a little choked up thinking about it, and about how this magnificent creature, so mistreated for most of her life, could be so beneficent and trusting of humans now. She knows - and has forgiven - and was perhaps thanking us for coming and caring, if even for just a little while.
That is the magic of this place - the magic I tried to write about earlier. I know that Kristin and I will help in any way we can so that hopefully more elephants can be spared cruelty and abuse - and so that they can find peace. So that more can be born if not free, then at least into a life where they will be cared for, loved, and respected. So that they as a species can survive our insatiable greed and its subsequent destruction of their habitat.
Our night up at the Haven was nice - a fitting end to this amazing week. Pom cooked dinner for us, a spicy chicken curry alongside pumpkin, and wok fried chicken legs to die for. One of our British friends - Sue - a wonderful woman with a great sense of humor - brought a bottle of rum to share, so that was doled out as we sat by candlelight, asking Pom questions about her, Lek and the park's history.
We also discussed ways to possibly help the park, including finding channels for much needed fund raising. Pom seemed pleased and eager to consider this - an interesting shift from her sometimes stoic and grounded demeanor. She then told us a story about how elephants were created, a legend about their trunk and original human nature. It was a lovely finish to the night, and we tucked under our mosquito nets, not even needing to dream about free elephants as there were four happily wandering about somewhere not far from us in the jungle.
Morning would mean breaking camp, and going out to find the elephants. Yes. Find the 'phants. They can roam as much as 3-5 miles in one night - but usually stay closer to the camp as the grazing is quite good. We have awesome footage of coming upon them - they appear like stone boulders or some ancient civilization's monoliths at first - rising out of the jungle. Of course, Rock and Roll Mahout and the others had found them earlier, we were merely led to where they had congregated. Even still, after seeing how well they blend into the jungle, I would not want to trust my meager tracking skills over three miles to find an elephant.
We rounded up the group, human and pachyderm, and headed back down. It was a little muddy, and there was a moment where Kristin and I almost were made the human filling of an elephant sandwich: Jungle Boy was leading, or more like sliding down a muddy embankment - very deftly, I might add, for a thousand pound elephant, but rather slowly. We were behind him, and Sri Nguen, the grand lady, was behind us. Well, J.B. hesitated at one moment, so we slowed behind him, right as Sri Nguen hit the muddy patch. We escaped by quickly shuttling to the side, but only just. I caught the second half of the episode on video. Watching it now is really quite funny - both of us are out of breath. J.B. and Sri Nguen didn't seem phased at all.
We then made it back to the park, and it was time to say our farewells. We opted for the later bus back to Chiang Mai, which gave us time to see the birthday boy Tong Tae again, and others. A special treat was getting back in time to see Fae Mai, her mother, and auntie Sri Nguen, get to play in the field and mud for the first time. Mom had been getting restless (you try spending a month in the same enclosure as a 250 lbs. newborn), and she had actually tried making a break for it in the morning by dismantling part of the pen walls. So Lek decided she needed to listen and give mama what she wanted: some wander time.
This is the genius behind Lek's program - by listening to the elephants, and paying attention to what they need, and by only using positive reinforcement, she doesn't have to keep them chained or penned all the time. Her eventual goal is to have enough land that each family group gets their own area, without the need for constant rotation during bath time, feeding time, etc.
At any rate, it was a big, scary world at first for Fae Mai, who spent most of her time protected between Mom and Auntie, or under Mom as she walked. It was a beautiful sight, and having just seen four elephants walking free in the jungle, this added bonus melted even my usual cynical side. This place and the work being done here is not just life changing in the moment. It continues to affect you over time.
That would be a phenomenal ending to any story, but as I didn't write this one, I'm only commenting and observing - there is a postscript. We had packed up and were merely waiting for the van to leave, when we walked over to where Sri Nguen usually camps, under the elevated walkway. Aside from Mom and Fae Mai, Sri Nguen usually keeps to herself. As I mentioned, she is the oldest, and she has seen so much abuse in her 76 years of life. Luckily, she has had the last five years at the park, and she definitely knows her situation has changed for the better.
There was no one about except her mahout and us. It takes a special kind of person to mahout a solitary elephant - and he seemed both at peace and very lovingly attentive to Sri Nguen. Kristin had developed a particular connection with Sri Nguen over the last few days. We came closer, and she ever so slightly stepped towards us. We were able to say farewell - eye to eye - and it seemed she knew we were reluctant but had to go. Then she stepped forward again, and tilted her head slightly lower, placing her forehead against mine. If it wasn't a blessing of some sort, then I don't know what else it could have been. She then repeated the gesture, slightly longer this time with Kristin.
I get sad and a little choked up thinking about it, and about how this magnificent creature, so mistreated for most of her life, could be so beneficent and trusting of humans now. She knows - and has forgiven - and was perhaps thanking us for coming and caring, if even for just a little while.
That is the magic of this place - the magic I tried to write about earlier. I know that Kristin and I will help in any way we can so that hopefully more elephants can be spared cruelty and abuse - and so that they can find peace. So that more can be born if not free, then at least into a life where they will be cared for, loved, and respected. So that they as a species can survive our insatiable greed and its subsequent destruction of their habitat.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Elephant Park day 5
May 15, 2009
With all the rain, the river rose so much overnight that we were told we may not get to go to Elephant Haven. Pom needed to check to make sure the bridge was intact - we would hopefully know by lunch.
So the day began like most others: breakfast, elephant shovel duty and feeding. Today, we assisted with elephant food prep. I knew visually just much food it took to feed 32 elephants, but not viscerally - as I hadn't been there for the complete food prep process as of yet. I was given machete duty - to chop huge, hard pumpkins into easier to manage pieces for our friends. My arm was well sore by the end, and my left hand covered in a fine, sticky orange mush from the pumpkin innards. But it was rewarding - seeing all the buckets full for feeding time. Most of the work for the volunteers here is like that - with the right attitude very rewarding. It is menial, but without the volunteers, the park would have to hire other people to do it, and that would take money and resources away from the other much needed projects, including maintenance.
We got to feed our friends shortly after, and specifically got to feed our gentle favorite giant friend -Sri Nguan - one of the elephants the Dutch woman name Antoinette helped to save. She is surrogate matriarch to Mae Perm and blind Jokia. Sri Nguan is massive - and the oldest gal at the park at a ripe old 76.
Word finally came that we were to head to the Haven - after we had watched a DVD of footage of our volunteer week at the park, shot by their photographer, Mai. They did a great job catching all of us at awkward work moments, and at lovely candid ones with the elephants. It'll be another great way to remember the park, and our week there.
So we shouldered our day packs and raced out the front gate to make the hike with the elephants. We saw them just over the first hill, and double timed it to catch up with them. Luckily, an elephant's pace is easy to match, especially on the Haven hike as they stop to graze every fifty meters or so. Young bamboo and banana leaves seem to be their favorite grab snacks within reach on the side of the road.
We were accompanied by four elephants up the mountain: Mae Sri Nguan, Mae Boon Ma, Mae Kaew, and the ever gregarious tusker, Jungle Boy, and of course his Rock and Roll Mahout. I started calling his mahout this as he always seemed to be singing, and his mane of hair with his straw cowboy hat was worthy of 80s rock stardom in and of itself. Normally his repertoire was Thai pop songs, but today on the hike he made reference to "West Side Story" with "Something's coming, something good!" as one of the elephants came up behind him on the road. Ah, the power of satellite T.V.
Jungle Boy has a bit of a reputation at the Park for being a troublemaker, a six year with glorious tusks and a penchant for mischief. He is obviously proud of his tusks, but despite his rep, he was golden on our hike. We did have to bribe him to get the last 500m up the mountain - luckily Kristin had some dried apples - which I'm guessing J.B. had never tasted before judging by his expression when we fed him one. We coaxed him up the rest of the way, just as you would leash train a puppy, his trunk and mouth searching for the next little sweet tidbit. When we stopped, he was still so invested in the next treat, he opened his mouth over Kristin - who fit neatly between his two tusks. Rock and Roll Mahout then set him loose, and he and the other three were on the own recognizances for the rest of the night.
The Haven is beautiful - on a piece of government land that Lek leases. Once you are actually up on the mountain itself, you can't really see human development. It is rough and fairly raw, but like Thailand in general it is caught between itself and the "new" way of life here. In order to reach the Haven these days you have to walk through a new resort under construction - complete with sprinklers and manicured lawns (in Southeast Asia?! What are they thinking?) - a totally idiosyncratic presence here in rural northern Thailand. And a little disgusting, in my opinion. All the workers had formed a "temporary" shantytown across the river from the resort - another idiosyncrasy. Their tin roof shacks all had satellite dishes, but the conditions looked deplorable. I've only seen worse in rural Peru.
These are the living dichotomies of Thailand. Million dollar resorts next to bottom rung poverty. A culture that reveres elephants, but also tortures and exploits them. It's not a black-white world, and none of these things are easily explained or solvable. One can only do what Lek does, and try to solve things one issue at a time. And then hopefully over time those individual things become a multitude, and real change has occurred.
Elephant Park - day four
Thursday - May 14, 2009
It's amazing how quickly you just get used to seeing elephants. You forget how huge and majestic they are when you see them everywhere, day after day, until you have a moment like the one I just had. One of the four year olds just turned and looked at me, her bright eyes taking us in where we sat. Mist and clouds covered the mountains, and there is a trumpet in the distance, and an earth rumbling roar. They speak the same language as the clouds and thunder, the ancient tongue of the mountains, one we will never know, are too young to fully understand. All that prior thought goes away, that taking for granted of elephants and their presence, and left in its place is the shimmer of the magic I spoke of before.
We have fallen into the routine here, but in a good way. Work, then break, then time with the elephants, then rest. And everywhere, elephants. The morning's task was to clean the buffalo pen. By far, the muckiest, smelliest of any job here. I will take elephant pen duty over buffalo on any given day. And I will also spare you the details, but suffice it to say it is far messier than all the other jobs combined.
A front moved in, and a gentle rain has started, punctuated here and there with tropical downpours and then spells of clear. Not the monsoon yet, but she is on the way. Half of our group heads to Elephant haven today, a nearby property Lek leases from the government, where the elephants can roam freely. We will get to spend Saturday there ourselves. But for today, due to the wet sky stuff, our job is to peel the remaining bark off the railings of the new addition prior to varnishing. The new addition is an open patio-lanai like structure, about a hundred feet by twenty five feet. Remind me in the future that if I ever build one for myself, to strip the damn railings of their bark before I put it together. We sort of joked with some of the other volunteers that maybe this was "busy work", the type created to keep us occupied on a rainy day. Considering there are a thousand railings, it's truly idle hands and all, all in good spirits.
Finally, in the afternoon, the rain let up. Mind you, we certainly weren't searching for work: there was still the unloading of the days rations, then processing that and loading the food baskets, feed the elephants and bathe them (easy today with the rain), and take plenty of pictures and laugh at the 'phants as they play in the mud.
We did however, get to take a small excursion. One the the British gals in our group had a reaction to some bug bites (There are lots of bugs here. It is the jungle.), so we got to head to the local village to get some creme from the clinic. The town has electricity, a few shops, a lovely wat that has a splendid view of the valley and park, and even a hand of Buddha imprint in stone.
Relics of that nature dot the countryside here - evidence of Buddha's trip through this area (although historically speaking, he never made it this far east, and the prints are usually giant sized. Perhaps they are more symbolic - evidence more of the spread of Buddhism than the Buddha's actual physical presence. I won't argue it.) There is also a relic of the Buddha in the golden spire atop the hill, at the top of 108 stairs - a bone brought to the temple after his cremation. Again, I'm not a doubter, but likewise if you piled all the wood of the cross together with all the Buddha relics, you'd have a hell of a tag sale at the ready. I wonder how many there are of each in the world.
It was great to have "Brad" aka Mammoth there, as he had been a monk until his teens - so he was able to explain all of the symbolism. He also let us get in - there was a question as to whether we could or not as some of the ladies were in tank tops. The dome pinnacle was stunning, and of course aligned to the cardinal directions.
The village of Mae Taeng was a little resistant to have the Park near it at first. Lek approached them, explaining her mission and the goals of the Park, and assuring them of their safety with so many elephants so close. The tide really turned when she hired the ladies to do the massage (at about 120 baht, or 4 USD each). The tallies added up quickly, sentiment changed when the steady flow of cash into their economy remained steady. Like I explained before, it's a mutually beneficial relationship.
Thai massage is done with the clothes on, and incorporates pressure points and stretching. While you probably can't get one for $4 in the States, I highly recommend them. I had never had one before coming here, and they are very effective. The fact that these ladies sometimes bring home $25-30 a night in this rural economy is a big deal. Add to it that the Park is now the biggest employer in the valley, with the maintenance and construction jobs as well. They employ over 70 people, including mahouts, at various times throughout the year. And as "Brad" explained on our walk, the fact that village has gone from lukewarm to happy to have Lek and the Park is exactly the kind of community support the Park needs. Lek has managed to build a strong community support base here, and an international one through the volunteers as well.
It was a lovely hike back through the valley, around the hill the village was on. My feet were aching by now, having been on them non-stop for almost four days. To make it all the more interesting, the break in the rain caused the emergence of millions of may-fly like creatures to take wing - like may-flies, but much, much bigger than their American cousins. You would look up at the sky and just see black winged things everywhere.
We showered, then dodged the plague to get to dinner. Luckily, it rained again, ending the insect free-for-all as quickly as it had come - so we were able to get our evening massage in peace. A much needed foot one this time, in relative peace before heading to bed.
It's amazing how quickly you just get used to seeing elephants. You forget how huge and majestic they are when you see them everywhere, day after day, until you have a moment like the one I just had. One of the four year olds just turned and looked at me, her bright eyes taking us in where we sat. Mist and clouds covered the mountains, and there is a trumpet in the distance, and an earth rumbling roar. They speak the same language as the clouds and thunder, the ancient tongue of the mountains, one we will never know, are too young to fully understand. All that prior thought goes away, that taking for granted of elephants and their presence, and left in its place is the shimmer of the magic I spoke of before.
We have fallen into the routine here, but in a good way. Work, then break, then time with the elephants, then rest. And everywhere, elephants. The morning's task was to clean the buffalo pen. By far, the muckiest, smelliest of any job here. I will take elephant pen duty over buffalo on any given day. And I will also spare you the details, but suffice it to say it is far messier than all the other jobs combined.
A front moved in, and a gentle rain has started, punctuated here and there with tropical downpours and then spells of clear. Not the monsoon yet, but she is on the way. Half of our group heads to Elephant haven today, a nearby property Lek leases from the government, where the elephants can roam freely. We will get to spend Saturday there ourselves. But for today, due to the wet sky stuff, our job is to peel the remaining bark off the railings of the new addition prior to varnishing. The new addition is an open patio-lanai like structure, about a hundred feet by twenty five feet. Remind me in the future that if I ever build one for myself, to strip the damn railings of their bark before I put it together. We sort of joked with some of the other volunteers that maybe this was "busy work", the type created to keep us occupied on a rainy day. Considering there are a thousand railings, it's truly idle hands and all, all in good spirits.
Finally, in the afternoon, the rain let up. Mind you, we certainly weren't searching for work: there was still the unloading of the days rations, then processing that and loading the food baskets, feed the elephants and bathe them (easy today with the rain), and take plenty of pictures and laugh at the 'phants as they play in the mud.
We did however, get to take a small excursion. One the the British gals in our group had a reaction to some bug bites (There are lots of bugs here. It is the jungle.), so we got to head to the local village to get some creme from the clinic. The town has electricity, a few shops, a lovely wat that has a splendid view of the valley and park, and even a hand of Buddha imprint in stone.
Relics of that nature dot the countryside here - evidence of Buddha's trip through this area (although historically speaking, he never made it this far east, and the prints are usually giant sized. Perhaps they are more symbolic - evidence more of the spread of Buddhism than the Buddha's actual physical presence. I won't argue it.) There is also a relic of the Buddha in the golden spire atop the hill, at the top of 108 stairs - a bone brought to the temple after his cremation. Again, I'm not a doubter, but likewise if you piled all the wood of the cross together with all the Buddha relics, you'd have a hell of a tag sale at the ready. I wonder how many there are of each in the world.
It was great to have "Brad" aka Mammoth there, as he had been a monk until his teens - so he was able to explain all of the symbolism. He also let us get in - there was a question as to whether we could or not as some of the ladies were in tank tops. The dome pinnacle was stunning, and of course aligned to the cardinal directions.
The village of Mae Taeng was a little resistant to have the Park near it at first. Lek approached them, explaining her mission and the goals of the Park, and assuring them of their safety with so many elephants so close. The tide really turned when she hired the ladies to do the massage (at about 120 baht, or 4 USD each). The tallies added up quickly, sentiment changed when the steady flow of cash into their economy remained steady. Like I explained before, it's a mutually beneficial relationship.
Thai massage is done with the clothes on, and incorporates pressure points and stretching. While you probably can't get one for $4 in the States, I highly recommend them. I had never had one before coming here, and they are very effective. The fact that these ladies sometimes bring home $25-30 a night in this rural economy is a big deal. Add to it that the Park is now the biggest employer in the valley, with the maintenance and construction jobs as well. They employ over 70 people, including mahouts, at various times throughout the year. And as "Brad" explained on our walk, the fact that village has gone from lukewarm to happy to have Lek and the Park is exactly the kind of community support the Park needs. Lek has managed to build a strong community support base here, and an international one through the volunteers as well.
It was a lovely hike back through the valley, around the hill the village was on. My feet were aching by now, having been on them non-stop for almost four days. To make it all the more interesting, the break in the rain caused the emergence of millions of may-fly like creatures to take wing - like may-flies, but much, much bigger than their American cousins. You would look up at the sky and just see black winged things everywhere.
We showered, then dodged the plague to get to dinner. Luckily, it rained again, ending the insect free-for-all as quickly as it had come - so we were able to get our evening massage in peace. A much needed foot one this time, in relative peace before heading to bed.
Elephant Park - day three
Kristin's Birthday - May 13, 2009
Magic is hard work. There's this modern fairy tale version where the godmother or wizard just waves their wand and poof! Your wish is granted. But if you read a little, the old stories remember: those wish spells require hard work, years of preparation, sometimes even a sacrifice.
The Elephant Park is exactly that - a magical place that requires constant hard work - and the sacrifices made by Lek and others are astonishing to consider.
Today was an amazing day. Let me begin with that. It was also Kristin's birthday, so there was already a glimmer around it - but there is more. We woke up, had a shower and ran to breakfast - our exhaustion overwhelming our body clocks - we were now running on "Thai time". The duty for the day: shoveling elephant dung out of the nighttime enclosures. No one every thinks about that duty when they want to run away to the circus as a kid.
Luckily, despite the size and quantity, elephant poo is pretty easy to shovel. Their digestion is not that effective, so a good portion of the poo in question is undigested fiber, making it rather easy to shovel. i was also surprised that it didn't smell that much.
The second job for the morning was cleaning the elephant mud pit. Sounds like a Sisyphean task, which it sort of was, but apparently the elephants don't like the way the water buffalo and cattle smell - or the offerings they leave in the mud. So we were charged with skimming the water and top inch or so of mud off the top along with any buffalo poo we found. Kristin opted out, it was her birthday after all, and instead helped seed pumpkins for the elephant lunch. I lasted about an hour, then cleaned off in the river and went to help in pumpkin land.
As you can tell, there is always something that needs doing here. We then unloaded the daily delivery of food - 15000 baht worth - or about $500 per elephant per day. I'm roughly guessing about three tons worth of food - all bananas and cucumbers. We sorted out the bananas that needed to ripen a little more, then filled the baskets for the 'phants. Feeding time followed, then shortly afterwards, our own lunch.
After lunch, we played a little game instigated by our coordinator, "Brad", to build a group dynamic. It consisted of having two lines facing one another, holding up a tent pole with only our index fingers. We then had to lower the pole to the ground as a group. You would think two days of corn cutting and shoveling would make this an easy task, but it's really more about communication than division of labor. Coming from a theatre background, Kristin and I are used to these kind of games, but it's always an interesting study of human interaction with what I tend to think of as "civilians". The usual characters and personalities emerge: the boss, the quiet laborer, the fusser, the smart-ass, the talker, the ADD child, etc. At any rate, it took us two attempts, and we had a laugh.
Then the time came to hold a lottery to get to spend time with the new baby, Fae Mai. At first, it didn't seem like we had the luck of the draw, but then, as it was Kristin's birthday, they chose her to get first round. I got to tagalong, being the partner. We were fortunate enough to get an entire two and a half hours with her and mom in their area. At first, Pom accompanied us with their mahout, but after half an hour or so, Lek came in with us.
Fae Mai is as rambunctious as a toddler can be. She runs and plays, and is already more of a handful than you can imagine - a two hundred kilo handful. That's more than I weigh. Much more. She is powerful, but testing her strength, and she is still learning to completely use her trunk. Yep. That's right. Elephants have to learn how to use their trunk to grip and pick things up. Lek said she is amazingly outgoing for a month old, and most babies are not as accepting of humans. But considering all the positive attention she gets, it's no wonder. What is amazing, is that Mom allows humans in with her and baby.
Fae Mai also apparently likes men because they are strong enough to support her weight. I found this out first hand, when she decided it was time for a nap. She rolled over on her side and put her massive head in my lap. If I hadn't had the luck of having a pole behind me, I would've been flattened. She napped for half and hour or so, then it was playtime with Kristin and I once more.
There is something beyond humbling sitting on the ground, a baby elephant in your lap, and her one ton, ten foot tall mother comes over check on baby - to look up and see this wall of grey hide, hair, feet wider than trees, her trunk gently snuffling her progeny. They are magnificent, intelligent, and caring creatures. The fact that Mom now trusts humans enough to allow this after so much abuse in her life is testament to Lek's ideas and program here.
Mom would also rumble every once in a while, Lek explaining that she was calling for an auntie to come spell her so she could get a rest. Yes. They do that for each other as well.
We had a wonderful talk with Lek, about elephants and their treatment, her ideas for the program, and the hardships she has faced. Unfortunately, there have been a number of people who said they were going to raise funds for her, and did - to the tune of thousands of dollars - who then used the money for other purposes. An organization recently contacted her to ask how she had used the $10,000 dollars they had donated to this other group in her name, and Lek had to tell them she hadn't seen a dime. She's since formally ended her relationship with that group, and is rightly wary about people claiming to want to do good using here name from far away. She is a totally self-sufficient woman, you can see that, and has had to overcome such hardship - not unlike her elephants. From beatings, to cultural prejudice, to death threats, all from humans threatened by what she is trying to do - so that kind of fraud is only doubly insulting. If it is possible for us to find ways to help her, I will be certain the money goes directly to her and the park, and not through a proxy.
How does one describe playing with a baby elephant? I'm running out of adjectives for this journal. Her favorite game for the afternoon, besides getting Kristin to scratch her all over, was climbing me. She's figured out how to step up on the bottom rung of the fence of her enclosure, which she then tried with me. I was just strong enough to support one of her legs with both hands, and then she would "climb" me, and put her mouth on my ear or head, or back of my neck. Extremely fun, and extremely, extremely tiring. She steamrolled me flat more than a couple of times.Lek had her camera going the whole time, and we got some wonderful photos of the experience.
We got cleaned up (sound familiar?) and had another documentary before dinner, this one about the Dutch woman who helped Lek rescue two elephants a few years back from Surin province. The area is famous for their elephant festival, but their numbers are dwindling, and many of the elephants are severely mistreated. It's hard not to be discouraged, but this doc showed what can be accomplished when you have a small goal (in this case $8000 USD to rescue an elephant) - and the massive amount of good that one small act can achieve.
Dinner was much appreciated, and a few cold Chang beers ("Chang" is Thai for Elephant) even more so. Shortly after dinner though - I could tell something was doing as "Brad" asked me where Kristin was sitting - they switched off the lights and surprise! They brought forth two lovely, frosted birthday cakes (one for Kristin, and one for another volunteer whose birthday had been a few days earlier). The detail on the cake was phenomenal - a picture of Fae Mai and the words "Happy Birthday Ms. Kristin McLaughlin!" All done here at the park's kitchen. It doesn't get much better a birthday than that. There was only one way to end the day: another beer, a massage (Sore shoulders and arms today. Hmmm. I wonder why?) and then bed.
Magic is hard work. There's this modern fairy tale version where the godmother or wizard just waves their wand and poof! Your wish is granted. But if you read a little, the old stories remember: those wish spells require hard work, years of preparation, sometimes even a sacrifice.
The Elephant Park is exactly that - a magical place that requires constant hard work - and the sacrifices made by Lek and others are astonishing to consider.
Today was an amazing day. Let me begin with that. It was also Kristin's birthday, so there was already a glimmer around it - but there is more. We woke up, had a shower and ran to breakfast - our exhaustion overwhelming our body clocks - we were now running on "Thai time". The duty for the day: shoveling elephant dung out of the nighttime enclosures. No one every thinks about that duty when they want to run away to the circus as a kid.
Luckily, despite the size and quantity, elephant poo is pretty easy to shovel. Their digestion is not that effective, so a good portion of the poo in question is undigested fiber, making it rather easy to shovel. i was also surprised that it didn't smell that much.
The second job for the morning was cleaning the elephant mud pit. Sounds like a Sisyphean task, which it sort of was, but apparently the elephants don't like the way the water buffalo and cattle smell - or the offerings they leave in the mud. So we were charged with skimming the water and top inch or so of mud off the top along with any buffalo poo we found. Kristin opted out, it was her birthday after all, and instead helped seed pumpkins for the elephant lunch. I lasted about an hour, then cleaned off in the river and went to help in pumpkin land.
As you can tell, there is always something that needs doing here. We then unloaded the daily delivery of food - 15000 baht worth - or about $500 per elephant per day. I'm roughly guessing about three tons worth of food - all bananas and cucumbers. We sorted out the bananas that needed to ripen a little more, then filled the baskets for the 'phants. Feeding time followed, then shortly afterwards, our own lunch.
After lunch, we played a little game instigated by our coordinator, "Brad", to build a group dynamic. It consisted of having two lines facing one another, holding up a tent pole with only our index fingers. We then had to lower the pole to the ground as a group. You would think two days of corn cutting and shoveling would make this an easy task, but it's really more about communication than division of labor. Coming from a theatre background, Kristin and I are used to these kind of games, but it's always an interesting study of human interaction with what I tend to think of as "civilians". The usual characters and personalities emerge: the boss, the quiet laborer, the fusser, the smart-ass, the talker, the ADD child, etc. At any rate, it took us two attempts, and we had a laugh.
Then the time came to hold a lottery to get to spend time with the new baby, Fae Mai. At first, it didn't seem like we had the luck of the draw, but then, as it was Kristin's birthday, they chose her to get first round. I got to tagalong, being the partner. We were fortunate enough to get an entire two and a half hours with her and mom in their area. At first, Pom accompanied us with their mahout, but after half an hour or so, Lek came in with us.
Fae Mai is as rambunctious as a toddler can be. She runs and plays, and is already more of a handful than you can imagine - a two hundred kilo handful. That's more than I weigh. Much more. She is powerful, but testing her strength, and she is still learning to completely use her trunk. Yep. That's right. Elephants have to learn how to use their trunk to grip and pick things up. Lek said she is amazingly outgoing for a month old, and most babies are not as accepting of humans. But considering all the positive attention she gets, it's no wonder. What is amazing, is that Mom allows humans in with her and baby.
Fae Mai also apparently likes men because they are strong enough to support her weight. I found this out first hand, when she decided it was time for a nap. She rolled over on her side and put her massive head in my lap. If I hadn't had the luck of having a pole behind me, I would've been flattened. She napped for half and hour or so, then it was playtime with Kristin and I once more.
There is something beyond humbling sitting on the ground, a baby elephant in your lap, and her one ton, ten foot tall mother comes over check on baby - to look up and see this wall of grey hide, hair, feet wider than trees, her trunk gently snuffling her progeny. They are magnificent, intelligent, and caring creatures. The fact that Mom now trusts humans enough to allow this after so much abuse in her life is testament to Lek's ideas and program here.
Mom would also rumble every once in a while, Lek explaining that she was calling for an auntie to come spell her so she could get a rest. Yes. They do that for each other as well.
We had a wonderful talk with Lek, about elephants and their treatment, her ideas for the program, and the hardships she has faced. Unfortunately, there have been a number of people who said they were going to raise funds for her, and did - to the tune of thousands of dollars - who then used the money for other purposes. An organization recently contacted her to ask how she had used the $10,000 dollars they had donated to this other group in her name, and Lek had to tell them she hadn't seen a dime. She's since formally ended her relationship with that group, and is rightly wary about people claiming to want to do good using here name from far away. She is a totally self-sufficient woman, you can see that, and has had to overcome such hardship - not unlike her elephants. From beatings, to cultural prejudice, to death threats, all from humans threatened by what she is trying to do - so that kind of fraud is only doubly insulting. If it is possible for us to find ways to help her, I will be certain the money goes directly to her and the park, and not through a proxy.
How does one describe playing with a baby elephant? I'm running out of adjectives for this journal. Her favorite game for the afternoon, besides getting Kristin to scratch her all over, was climbing me. She's figured out how to step up on the bottom rung of the fence of her enclosure, which she then tried with me. I was just strong enough to support one of her legs with both hands, and then she would "climb" me, and put her mouth on my ear or head, or back of my neck. Extremely fun, and extremely, extremely tiring. She steamrolled me flat more than a couple of times.Lek had her camera going the whole time, and we got some wonderful photos of the experience.
We got cleaned up (sound familiar?) and had another documentary before dinner, this one about the Dutch woman who helped Lek rescue two elephants a few years back from Surin province. The area is famous for their elephant festival, but their numbers are dwindling, and many of the elephants are severely mistreated. It's hard not to be discouraged, but this doc showed what can be accomplished when you have a small goal (in this case $8000 USD to rescue an elephant) - and the massive amount of good that one small act can achieve.
Dinner was much appreciated, and a few cold Chang beers ("Chang" is Thai for Elephant) even more so. Shortly after dinner though - I could tell something was doing as "Brad" asked me where Kristin was sitting - they switched off the lights and surprise! They brought forth two lovely, frosted birthday cakes (one for Kristin, and one for another volunteer whose birthday had been a few days earlier). The detail on the cake was phenomenal - a picture of Fae Mai and the words "Happy Birthday Ms. Kristin McLaughlin!" All done here at the park's kitchen. It doesn't get much better a birthday than that. There was only one way to end the day: another beer, a massage (Sore shoulders and arms today. Hmmm. I wonder why?) and then bed.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Elephant Park - day two
Tuesday May 12, 2009
Our first day was so packed, it's amazing to recall day two and realize we did even more. We awoke pre-dawn, as per our new body clock's insistence, and had a hearty breakfast, complete with banana frites and nescafe. There's something about nescafe - the freeze dried kind - that is a visceral childhood travel memory for me. For some reason here in the tropics, it just tastes great. I'm sure it's exactly the same at home, but setting makes everything better, right? Knowing there are elephants 30 feet away certainly adds something to it.
Our work detail for the first real day volunteering seemed like the hardest at first glance: harvesting corn stalks. We piled onto a truck, machete in hand, to head off 40 minutes to a nearby farm. They have a nice deal with some local farmers - we clear their field, and take the just harvested stalks for the elephant's nightly feed. We lucked out that it was a little overcast to start, otherwise it would have been especially brutal in the heat. We were joined by several of the mahouts (a mahout is an elephant trainer - more on them later), and several village folk. They laid charge to the field, and we managed to fill the truck in about an hour and a half, roped bundles piled high with maybe an acre's worth of stalks. It was the perfect amount of work - any less would've seemed light, any more might've become drudgery as the sun was getting full strength.
We then climbed on the pile, and rode home atop the bundles like conquering heroes into Rome. Okay, not quite. But there was a definite feeling of accomplishment. A small endorsement here: at Campmor we nabbed a small handheld fan that at first seemed like an impulse buy, but turned out to be a life saver. It had a little watergun spritzer, and the little fan cooled you down quite easily with a spritz. I donned a shirt on my head, sheik-style, to stay cool and keep the back of my neck from scorching in the near equatorial sun. On the way home we did stop to resupply the park with beer - Chang and Singha. Much appreciated later in the day.
Corn duty took us through to lunch. We got cleaned up (a constant theme here) had another wonderful lunch, and then got on to varnishing railings on the park's new building addition, made of tropical wood. Then it was bath time - first of the day for us with the elephants as we missed the morning session. The river was nice and refreshing, and the elephants actually finished bathing before any of the humans were ready to get out. We would've gladly scrubbed and bucket dowsed them more, but they were on the the dirt and mud portion of events.
We got cleaned up, again. Lek then showed us her documentary about the brutal methods used to break elephants - the same methods used to "train" them to do the circus and painting shows so prevalent in Thailand. I had no idea the extensiveness of it, or how ingrained it was in the society. Lek's stance against it caused her to be disowned by her own family - and since then she has led a crusade to raise awareness, and in general educate people about what is being done. It's not so much a lack of caring on the part of Thais and Westerners alike, it's a type of ignorance - in some cases willful. Most people don't even know about trekking until they see tourist literature about it - and they certainly don't know that an elephant shouldn't have more than 200 pounds on it's back, or it can cause spinal damage to the point it can't give birth. They also certainly don't know the methods used to get that elephant to "accept" riders on its back.
Dinner followed the documentary - conversation was fairly quiet - we were tired from the day, and sobered by the film. This was followed by a Thai lesson from Pom, the fiesty and spry park coordinator. I'm guessing she is hill-tribe, and her age of a certain number shall we say - but you would never know it. She also speaks superb English, and at least French, as she gave us a comparative grammar lesson, conjugating in French, English and Thai.
When the opportunity opened, we nabbed spots for Thai massage, offered by some of the local ladies. The lesson continued in the background, and I can now speak fluent Thai, but only when getting a Thai massage. The massage ladies are part of the partnership Lek has formed with the local village - providing a good bridge between the park and the community: income and jobs for the local people, and they in turn provide the kind of support the park needs, whether by massage, or in the numerous construction and maintenance projects around the park.
After that, we hit the sack. On the walk back to our room, we could hear singing in the dark. There is always one mahout singing Thai pops songs around the park. Imagine 80s power ballads, crooned in Thai. It's strangely funny and entertaining at the same time. Another magical day at the elephant park.
Our first day was so packed, it's amazing to recall day two and realize we did even more. We awoke pre-dawn, as per our new body clock's insistence, and had a hearty breakfast, complete with banana frites and nescafe. There's something about nescafe - the freeze dried kind - that is a visceral childhood travel memory for me. For some reason here in the tropics, it just tastes great. I'm sure it's exactly the same at home, but setting makes everything better, right? Knowing there are elephants 30 feet away certainly adds something to it.
Our work detail for the first real day volunteering seemed like the hardest at first glance: harvesting corn stalks. We piled onto a truck, machete in hand, to head off 40 minutes to a nearby farm. They have a nice deal with some local farmers - we clear their field, and take the just harvested stalks for the elephant's nightly feed. We lucked out that it was a little overcast to start, otherwise it would have been especially brutal in the heat. We were joined by several of the mahouts (a mahout is an elephant trainer - more on them later), and several village folk. They laid charge to the field, and we managed to fill the truck in about an hour and a half, roped bundles piled high with maybe an acre's worth of stalks. It was the perfect amount of work - any less would've seemed light, any more might've become drudgery as the sun was getting full strength.
We then climbed on the pile, and rode home atop the bundles like conquering heroes into Rome. Okay, not quite. But there was a definite feeling of accomplishment. A small endorsement here: at Campmor we nabbed a small handheld fan that at first seemed like an impulse buy, but turned out to be a life saver. It had a little watergun spritzer, and the little fan cooled you down quite easily with a spritz. I donned a shirt on my head, sheik-style, to stay cool and keep the back of my neck from scorching in the near equatorial sun. On the way home we did stop to resupply the park with beer - Chang and Singha. Much appreciated later in the day.
Corn duty took us through to lunch. We got cleaned up (a constant theme here) had another wonderful lunch, and then got on to varnishing railings on the park's new building addition, made of tropical wood. Then it was bath time - first of the day for us with the elephants as we missed the morning session. The river was nice and refreshing, and the elephants actually finished bathing before any of the humans were ready to get out. We would've gladly scrubbed and bucket dowsed them more, but they were on the the dirt and mud portion of events.
We got cleaned up, again. Lek then showed us her documentary about the brutal methods used to break elephants - the same methods used to "train" them to do the circus and painting shows so prevalent in Thailand. I had no idea the extensiveness of it, or how ingrained it was in the society. Lek's stance against it caused her to be disowned by her own family - and since then she has led a crusade to raise awareness, and in general educate people about what is being done. It's not so much a lack of caring on the part of Thais and Westerners alike, it's a type of ignorance - in some cases willful. Most people don't even know about trekking until they see tourist literature about it - and they certainly don't know that an elephant shouldn't have more than 200 pounds on it's back, or it can cause spinal damage to the point it can't give birth. They also certainly don't know the methods used to get that elephant to "accept" riders on its back.
Dinner followed the documentary - conversation was fairly quiet - we were tired from the day, and sobered by the film. This was followed by a Thai lesson from Pom, the fiesty and spry park coordinator. I'm guessing she is hill-tribe, and her age of a certain number shall we say - but you would never know it. She also speaks superb English, and at least French, as she gave us a comparative grammar lesson, conjugating in French, English and Thai.
When the opportunity opened, we nabbed spots for Thai massage, offered by some of the local ladies. The lesson continued in the background, and I can now speak fluent Thai, but only when getting a Thai massage. The massage ladies are part of the partnership Lek has formed with the local village - providing a good bridge between the park and the community: income and jobs for the local people, and they in turn provide the kind of support the park needs, whether by massage, or in the numerous construction and maintenance projects around the park.
After that, we hit the sack. On the walk back to our room, we could hear singing in the dark. There is always one mahout singing Thai pops songs around the park. Imagine 80s power ballads, crooned in Thai. It's strangely funny and entertaining at the same time. Another magical day at the elephant park.
Elephant Park - first day part two
The elephant in Thai society is revered, even venerated at some shrines. It is the symbol of the royal family. But the treatment of domestic elephants is nothing short of barbaric. A lot of the footage of the documentary we saw was difficult to watch.
Lek's work is a break from the brutal "tradition" of elephant training, which said training is really a lack of compassion or understanding of animal rights and psychology. Since logging was banned in Thailand in the mid 80s, literally thousands of elephants were put out of work. Hundreds are still used for the trade illegally, but most of the rest are used for the tourist/trekking industry. As there are no laws protecting elephants (they are considered "livestock") there are little to no penalties for hurting, wounding or even killing one. Jokia's blindness was a result of this treatment - she was shot in both eyes by a slingshot by her owner because she could not haul heavy trees at her age. Lek's oasis for 30+ elephants is but a small refuge - there are still 1600+ domestic "working" elephants in Thailand, many of whom live under dubious conditions.
After the documentary, we had the amazing fortune to attend a basi welcoming ceremony. The park had asked the local village shaman to welcome the volunteers. A good handful of our group are a little young to understand the significance of it, but it was something Kristin and I had been interested in finding. As it is usually a family ceremony, you must be invited by a traditional hill tribe home.
The hill tribes of Northern Thailand and Laos believe that we all have 32 souls. When we are ill, or bad luck has befallen us, it is thought that some of your souls may have wandered away or gotten lost. The ceremony reunites them in your body - a homecoming of sorts. The shaman asked four volunteers to sit around a traditional offering; I wanted to be sure Kristin got to be a part of it - luckily as our group was a little gun-shy, both of us got to be in the quartet. The shaman sprinkled us with water from a handful of traditional dousing herbs, and then to symbolize the reunification tied a white strand cord around each of our wrists - a bringer of luck. It's tradition to wear them until they fall off of their own accord, pun not intended.
Dinner was just as diverse and tasty as lunch, and was accompanied by a group of teenagers from the local Lanna music school. The Lanna culture, or northern Thai culture, is considered distinct from the rest of the south. The people of the hills here remind me a little of the Occitan and the Pyrenean people, easy to smile, fiercely proud of their regional identity, a part of a country drawn on a map, but really a people and country of their own. There is a sense of ease about them that their southern, more cosmopolitan neighbors lack. The musicians all burst into a smile anytime I made eye contact with them.
Lanna music, as far as I can tell, is modal, much like its Chinese neighbors. The two stringed bowed drum box, the plucked mandolin, the bamboo flute and drum - seem similar to other instruments of the region. What is interesting is that all the melodies are doubled, with one on the lead, and the other adding flourishes - such as plucked doubles. The melodies are parallel, and seem to be able to be repeated, like Indonesian gamelan. The end is called for when the lead player starts to slow down, and the rest follow winding down like a clock.
After dinner it was time for bed. Even the sound of the water pump outside couldn't keep me awake for long. Day one had slowed time, with all we had done we had only really been at the park for twelve hours!
Lek's work is a break from the brutal "tradition" of elephant training, which said training is really a lack of compassion or understanding of animal rights and psychology. Since logging was banned in Thailand in the mid 80s, literally thousands of elephants were put out of work. Hundreds are still used for the trade illegally, but most of the rest are used for the tourist/trekking industry. As there are no laws protecting elephants (they are considered "livestock") there are little to no penalties for hurting, wounding or even killing one. Jokia's blindness was a result of this treatment - she was shot in both eyes by a slingshot by her owner because she could not haul heavy trees at her age. Lek's oasis for 30+ elephants is but a small refuge - there are still 1600+ domestic "working" elephants in Thailand, many of whom live under dubious conditions.
After the documentary, we had the amazing fortune to attend a basi welcoming ceremony. The park had asked the local village shaman to welcome the volunteers. A good handful of our group are a little young to understand the significance of it, but it was something Kristin and I had been interested in finding. As it is usually a family ceremony, you must be invited by a traditional hill tribe home.
The hill tribes of Northern Thailand and Laos believe that we all have 32 souls. When we are ill, or bad luck has befallen us, it is thought that some of your souls may have wandered away or gotten lost. The ceremony reunites them in your body - a homecoming of sorts. The shaman asked four volunteers to sit around a traditional offering; I wanted to be sure Kristin got to be a part of it - luckily as our group was a little gun-shy, both of us got to be in the quartet. The shaman sprinkled us with water from a handful of traditional dousing herbs, and then to symbolize the reunification tied a white strand cord around each of our wrists - a bringer of luck. It's tradition to wear them until they fall off of their own accord, pun not intended.
Dinner was just as diverse and tasty as lunch, and was accompanied by a group of teenagers from the local Lanna music school. The Lanna culture, or northern Thai culture, is considered distinct from the rest of the south. The people of the hills here remind me a little of the Occitan and the Pyrenean people, easy to smile, fiercely proud of their regional identity, a part of a country drawn on a map, but really a people and country of their own. There is a sense of ease about them that their southern, more cosmopolitan neighbors lack. The musicians all burst into a smile anytime I made eye contact with them.
Lanna music, as far as I can tell, is modal, much like its Chinese neighbors. The two stringed bowed drum box, the plucked mandolin, the bamboo flute and drum - seem similar to other instruments of the region. What is interesting is that all the melodies are doubled, with one on the lead, and the other adding flourishes - such as plucked doubles. The melodies are parallel, and seem to be able to be repeated, like Indonesian gamelan. The end is called for when the lead player starts to slow down, and the rest follow winding down like a clock.
After dinner it was time for bed. Even the sound of the water pump outside couldn't keep me awake for long. Day one had slowed time, with all we had done we had only really been at the park for twelve hours!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Arrival in Chiang Mai and the Elephant Park
Author's note: These entries are postdated, as there was no internet with the elephants. Yet. Thank goodness.
Saturday May 11, 2009
We arrived in Chiang Mai on a no hassle, no frills flight from Bangkok Air. The airport in Chiang Mai is a single terminal, regional deal - very easy to navigate. We had our bags within minutes, and were in a cab before you could say boo. The green mountains here are constantly visible in the distance, and the air here is thankfully cooler than in Bangkok. But it still can get quite hot this time of year.
Sunday night is street market night in Chiang Mai. Vendors line one of the main drags in the old town and it's a friendly mob scene from about sundown to eleven. Lots of great clothing for cheap, the usual touristy knicknacks, and amazing streetside thai massage. For 120 baht, about three bucks, an hour rubdown by little local ladies in a big comfy chair. The sounds of the market almost lull you to sleep and the travel knots are kneaded away. We did a little shopping, and hit the sack as the next day we had to be up bright and early. I'll write more about Ciang Mai later as we're planning on spending a few days here after the Elephant Park.
Sunday May 10, 2009 - part 1
We went to the Elephant Park office at 7.30 a.m., having accidentally stumbled across it the day before in our wanderings. We signed in, and had enough time to get a quick breakfast and coffee at the cafe across the corner. It's a fairly sizeable group for the week - about a dozen - some one weekers like ourselves, and some folks staying for two - and about an even spilt between North Americans, Europeans, and Auzzies.
Our group leader is a charismatic and quirky Thai, who asked us to call him "Brad Pitt". (We shortly found out his real name is "Mammoth", no irony lost on this during his explanation.) He gave us a basic intro to the park, and we watched a DVD in the van on the way made by some American filmmakers about Lek and the elephants. Interestingly, since the doc was made, she's expanded the park even more, and the fruits of her work are evident in the new projects all about. We made a pit stop at a 7-11 (they are everywhere) and loaded up on some gatorade - it being anotehr scorcher of a day.
Lek's valley, northwest of the city, is staggeringly beautiful. Words sort of fail. After an hour long drive, we came down the other side of a dense green mountain and it opened up before us into a fertile valley. And there they were: the Elephants. It was definitely a "Jurassic Park" moment. I didn't have a snarky Jeff Goldblum-esqe comment ready. I was just inexplicably happy to see them there, spread through the field in the distance, great grey sentinals against endless green.
Our bags followed in another pickup, but we were dropped off and whisked away immediately on a tour of the main area. We were introduced to the new star of the park - baby Fae Mai - or "New Sky". Four weeks old as of the 17th. The mother happily muched on some squash as we cooed in amazement at the big youngster.
How to describe an elephant baby? I feel like the proverbial blind man, or that I'm living that passage from St. Ex's "Little Prince". Fae Mai is a rambunctious month old, and she scrambled about the pen as we scratched her through the bamboo railings. Her skin is tough and her hair is bristly. Her trunk, which she is still learning to us, writhes around like a snake with a mind of it's own. Her eyes are bright and curious, and she has a smile not quite of this earth, making her name more than appropriate. It's wonderful to know she will never live in life in chanis, or in painful servitude.
We were then introduced to most of the rest of the elephants during feeding time, a twice daily ritual. As you can imagine, their appetites are elephantine. Big baskets of fruit awaited: bananas and melon and pumpkin. We were shown how to load up a few into their awaiting trunks. I had Mae Perm, a spry 40 or so year old who eagerly accepted my bananas, but would spit the pumpkin out. This was fine until we ran out of bananas, and after two or three pumpkins in a row, she got the message and sighed loudly, proceeding to munch on the harder skinned pumpkins.
After their lunch, it was time for a bath in the river, also a twice daily ritual. There are several family groups at the park, one centered around the yearling Tong Tae (more on him later), and a few others based on individual elephant dynamics. We later found out that the elephants choose their own groupings and family units. We were allowed to accompany the medium group, along with Mae Perm and Jokia, the blind elephant. Mae Perm is Jokia's eyes, acting as her seeing-eye friend about the entier park. Jokia was blinded due to abuse she received working as a logging elephant. She is a gentle, huge creature, and it is sickening to think of anyone harming her. We splashed water on them, and scrubbed their backs with brushes. We had earlier advice not to stand downstream from the elephants, but as any offerings they made in the water floated, it was farily easy to dodge them as they came downstream. For safety safe, we were not to stand directly in front of their heads, or on the feet side if they were lying on their sides in the water. Seeing how quickly they can move proved this to be wise words to follow. There was then a short break, where we got some ice cream from a local tuk-tuk vendor (the equivalent of the the ice cream truck in these parts), and got cleaned up so we could watch a documentary about the elephant in Thai society. All this and it was only halfway through the first afternoon.
Saturday May 11, 2009
We arrived in Chiang Mai on a no hassle, no frills flight from Bangkok Air. The airport in Chiang Mai is a single terminal, regional deal - very easy to navigate. We had our bags within minutes, and were in a cab before you could say boo. The green mountains here are constantly visible in the distance, and the air here is thankfully cooler than in Bangkok. But it still can get quite hot this time of year.
Sunday night is street market night in Chiang Mai. Vendors line one of the main drags in the old town and it's a friendly mob scene from about sundown to eleven. Lots of great clothing for cheap, the usual touristy knicknacks, and amazing streetside thai massage. For 120 baht, about three bucks, an hour rubdown by little local ladies in a big comfy chair. The sounds of the market almost lull you to sleep and the travel knots are kneaded away. We did a little shopping, and hit the sack as the next day we had to be up bright and early. I'll write more about Ciang Mai later as we're planning on spending a few days here after the Elephant Park.
Sunday May 10, 2009 - part 1
We went to the Elephant Park office at 7.30 a.m., having accidentally stumbled across it the day before in our wanderings. We signed in, and had enough time to get a quick breakfast and coffee at the cafe across the corner. It's a fairly sizeable group for the week - about a dozen - some one weekers like ourselves, and some folks staying for two - and about an even spilt between North Americans, Europeans, and Auzzies.
Our group leader is a charismatic and quirky Thai, who asked us to call him "Brad Pitt". (We shortly found out his real name is "Mammoth", no irony lost on this during his explanation.) He gave us a basic intro to the park, and we watched a DVD in the van on the way made by some American filmmakers about Lek and the elephants. Interestingly, since the doc was made, she's expanded the park even more, and the fruits of her work are evident in the new projects all about. We made a pit stop at a 7-11 (they are everywhere) and loaded up on some gatorade - it being anotehr scorcher of a day.
Lek's valley, northwest of the city, is staggeringly beautiful. Words sort of fail. After an hour long drive, we came down the other side of a dense green mountain and it opened up before us into a fertile valley. And there they were: the Elephants. It was definitely a "Jurassic Park" moment. I didn't have a snarky Jeff Goldblum-esqe comment ready. I was just inexplicably happy to see them there, spread through the field in the distance, great grey sentinals against endless green.
Our bags followed in another pickup, but we were dropped off and whisked away immediately on a tour of the main area. We were introduced to the new star of the park - baby Fae Mai - or "New Sky". Four weeks old as of the 17th. The mother happily muched on some squash as we cooed in amazement at the big youngster.
How to describe an elephant baby? I feel like the proverbial blind man, or that I'm living that passage from St. Ex's "Little Prince". Fae Mai is a rambunctious month old, and she scrambled about the pen as we scratched her through the bamboo railings. Her skin is tough and her hair is bristly. Her trunk, which she is still learning to us, writhes around like a snake with a mind of it's own. Her eyes are bright and curious, and she has a smile not quite of this earth, making her name more than appropriate. It's wonderful to know she will never live in life in chanis, or in painful servitude.
We were then introduced to most of the rest of the elephants during feeding time, a twice daily ritual. As you can imagine, their appetites are elephantine. Big baskets of fruit awaited: bananas and melon and pumpkin. We were shown how to load up a few into their awaiting trunks. I had Mae Perm, a spry 40 or so year old who eagerly accepted my bananas, but would spit the pumpkin out. This was fine until we ran out of bananas, and after two or three pumpkins in a row, she got the message and sighed loudly, proceeding to munch on the harder skinned pumpkins.
After their lunch, it was time for a bath in the river, also a twice daily ritual. There are several family groups at the park, one centered around the yearling Tong Tae (more on him later), and a few others based on individual elephant dynamics. We later found out that the elephants choose their own groupings and family units. We were allowed to accompany the medium group, along with Mae Perm and Jokia, the blind elephant. Mae Perm is Jokia's eyes, acting as her seeing-eye friend about the entier park. Jokia was blinded due to abuse she received working as a logging elephant. She is a gentle, huge creature, and it is sickening to think of anyone harming her. We splashed water on them, and scrubbed their backs with brushes. We had earlier advice not to stand downstream from the elephants, but as any offerings they made in the water floated, it was farily easy to dodge them as they came downstream. For safety safe, we were not to stand directly in front of their heads, or on the feet side if they were lying on their sides in the water. Seeing how quickly they can move proved this to be wise words to follow. There was then a short break, where we got some ice cream from a local tuk-tuk vendor (the equivalent of the the ice cream truck in these parts), and got cleaned up so we could watch a documentary about the elephant in Thai society. All this and it was only halfway through the first afternoon.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Day 2: Acclimitization
We're almost over jet lag. Still woke up before the sun rise, and we watched it rise ever so slowly above the eastern horizon from our balcony this morning. First sunrise I've seen in quite some time. Definitely not complaining.
So I forgot to mention in my last entry that we head to the Elephant Park in Chiang Mai tomorrow. We planned for three nights here in Bangkok to acclimate, get over jet lag, get used to the change in food, etc. All in all, seems to be going well. Should be interesting when we get to the park sans AC and hot water. But considering that it's over 90 degrees most days, cold showers will be just fine. And we get to bathe the elephants in the river, so that should be fun.
But again, I'm getting ahead of myself. Today, after dawn, we had another lovely breakfast, this time with a pancake and Thai maple syrup. Who knew? We headed off for the Golden Mount, not far at all from our hotel. The Golden Mount is a temple atop a ruined temple, and is the highest hill, albeit man-made, this side of the city. The view is nice, but the breeze atop the mount made it even better. The buddhas and bodhisattvas were of a more practical size, but grand and golden nonetheless. The top of the mount does give you a good perspective of just how spread out Bangkok is: it's almost several cities or areas, not unlike L.A. and the Valley, OC, Canyon County, etc. I seem to be etceter-ing a lot this entry. Must be a King and I Siam thing.
Sorry for the dorky musical theatre reference. But King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) is an ever present figure here in Bangkok. A number of the palace fixtures were built by him, and there are monuments and references to him all over the place. He's only beaten out by pictures and huge roadside portraits of the current king. It's interesting knowing the show, and now seeing just how prolific of a ruler he was. Thailand is an interesting study that way - they are very proud of never having been a colony or imperial puppet regime.
And on that note, after the Golden Mount we took our first tuk tuk ride to the Jim Thompson house. That pride mentioned above was related by a guide at the house over a 16th century map that showed Siam next to all it's colonized neighbors. Thompson himself was en ex-pat American, an OSS man after the second world war who went bamboo, so to speak. He loved the country, and pretty much single handedly revitalized the Thai silk trade. He disappeared mysteriously in the Malay Cameron highlands at the age of 61, sparking all kinds of conspiracy stories. Intriguingly, it seems he also had some kind of relationship with the royal princess, but due to Thai decorum, the guide was not forthcoming with any details. She and the royal family do sponsor his house, which holds a stunning collection of east Asian art and artifacts, and is really six traditional Thai stilt house connected together in a way that would give Frank Lloyd Wright a wet dream. Everything was teak and high and vaulted, dark and beautiful.
After the Thompson House we hopped on the sky train, a modern elevated train that blows the New York MTA away. No competition. There isn't a single metro in the US that compares. In fact, we are severely being left behind in the dust when it comes to public transport. Anywho, we went down to Patpong, marginally the red light district, but as it was 11 o'clock, nothing was doing. We had a recommendation from a guide book for a decent reputable Thai massage place. It was a nice massage, not the best we've had (we have some serious shiatsu guys in NYC), but definitely not the worst. An hour later, we were ready for the centerpiece of the day: a two hour meditation session with a real live Thai monk at Wat Matathat.
Our monk was classic - probably sixty, but he could have been a hundred and sixty and we never would've guessed. There were also two Austrialians working in Bangkok who came, so he walked our quartet, literally, through basic walking meditation and a basic sitting meditation. Through soft toned inflected but very good English, he gave us very practical instruction on how to begin a meditation practise. We have his book, a bargain at 200 baht, which looks very thorough and heartfelt. All in all, a wonderful experience.
After that we headed back to the hotel as it was the heat of the afternoon. We're getting excited for tomorrow when we head north to Chiang Mai, and only forty eight hours until the Elephants. To that end, I am pretty sure we will not have internet access at the park, especially when we are out and about in the countryside with the elephants. So it may be a week before I can give updates. There will be plenty of stories, and plenty of pictures. Don't worry.
Sawadee krop for now.
So I forgot to mention in my last entry that we head to the Elephant Park in Chiang Mai tomorrow. We planned for three nights here in Bangkok to acclimate, get over jet lag, get used to the change in food, etc. All in all, seems to be going well. Should be interesting when we get to the park sans AC and hot water. But considering that it's over 90 degrees most days, cold showers will be just fine. And we get to bathe the elephants in the river, so that should be fun.
But again, I'm getting ahead of myself. Today, after dawn, we had another lovely breakfast, this time with a pancake and Thai maple syrup. Who knew? We headed off for the Golden Mount, not far at all from our hotel. The Golden Mount is a temple atop a ruined temple, and is the highest hill, albeit man-made, this side of the city. The view is nice, but the breeze atop the mount made it even better. The buddhas and bodhisattvas were of a more practical size, but grand and golden nonetheless. The top of the mount does give you a good perspective of just how spread out Bangkok is: it's almost several cities or areas, not unlike L.A. and the Valley, OC, Canyon County, etc. I seem to be etceter-ing a lot this entry. Must be a King and I Siam thing.
Sorry for the dorky musical theatre reference. But King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) is an ever present figure here in Bangkok. A number of the palace fixtures were built by him, and there are monuments and references to him all over the place. He's only beaten out by pictures and huge roadside portraits of the current king. It's interesting knowing the show, and now seeing just how prolific of a ruler he was. Thailand is an interesting study that way - they are very proud of never having been a colony or imperial puppet regime.
And on that note, after the Golden Mount we took our first tuk tuk ride to the Jim Thompson house. That pride mentioned above was related by a guide at the house over a 16th century map that showed Siam next to all it's colonized neighbors. Thompson himself was en ex-pat American, an OSS man after the second world war who went bamboo, so to speak. He loved the country, and pretty much single handedly revitalized the Thai silk trade. He disappeared mysteriously in the Malay Cameron highlands at the age of 61, sparking all kinds of conspiracy stories. Intriguingly, it seems he also had some kind of relationship with the royal princess, but due to Thai decorum, the guide was not forthcoming with any details. She and the royal family do sponsor his house, which holds a stunning collection of east Asian art and artifacts, and is really six traditional Thai stilt house connected together in a way that would give Frank Lloyd Wright a wet dream. Everything was teak and high and vaulted, dark and beautiful.
After the Thompson House we hopped on the sky train, a modern elevated train that blows the New York MTA away. No competition. There isn't a single metro in the US that compares. In fact, we are severely being left behind in the dust when it comes to public transport. Anywho, we went down to Patpong, marginally the red light district, but as it was 11 o'clock, nothing was doing. We had a recommendation from a guide book for a decent reputable Thai massage place. It was a nice massage, not the best we've had (we have some serious shiatsu guys in NYC), but definitely not the worst. An hour later, we were ready for the centerpiece of the day: a two hour meditation session with a real live Thai monk at Wat Matathat.
Our monk was classic - probably sixty, but he could have been a hundred and sixty and we never would've guessed. There were also two Austrialians working in Bangkok who came, so he walked our quartet, literally, through basic walking meditation and a basic sitting meditation. Through soft toned inflected but very good English, he gave us very practical instruction on how to begin a meditation practise. We have his book, a bargain at 200 baht, which looks very thorough and heartfelt. All in all, a wonderful experience.
After that we headed back to the hotel as it was the heat of the afternoon. We're getting excited for tomorrow when we head north to Chiang Mai, and only forty eight hours until the Elephants. To that end, I am pretty sure we will not have internet access at the park, especially when we are out and about in the countryside with the elephants. So it may be a week before I can give updates. There will be plenty of stories, and plenty of pictures. Don't worry.
Sawadee krop for now.
Friday, May 8, 2009
May You Live in Interesting Times
Day one in Bankok, and it is hot. That sweltering, walk into a wall hot. The kind of hot that make New Orleanians and Bangkokians similar to each other yet different from everyone else, the kind of hot that makes hot sauce and chilis part of your blood stream, the kind of hot that makes you sweat your sin out in the first ten minutes of walking in the morning. But I'm not complaining.
I am however, skipping ahead. We traveled 22 hours to get here, so some weave of story must be woven to encompass that thread. We left JFK and had our layover at Narita in Tokyo, altogether an uneventful flight on a lovely airline: ANA. Very clean, very efficient, very Japanese. We were two of only a handful of westerners on board, and thankfully, no screaming children. Interestingly, the flight was rather silent. It was when we landed that things got interesting. The quarantine crew came on board to scan for H1n1 flu, and lo and behold, someone three seats from us was tagged by the scanner. The crew was all clad in surgical gowns, gloves and masks, and the whole thing had a William Gibson quality to it. They took her off the plane, and held the thirty or so of us around her at the back of the section for another twenty minutes while she was tested. The doctor in charge was a cheery older Japanese man, who smiled and said to us we'd be out in a few minutes. Otherwise, the whole affair would have been more ominous than it already was. She was cleared, and we exited the plane, the lumps easing from our throats as the thought of three day quarantine in Tokyo abated. That's the closest I ever need to be to an epidemic, and a rather intriguing way to reenter the country of my birth.
After that, our flight to Bangkok was smooth and easy. Fourteen hours into our journey I finally succumbed to some fitful sleep. We made it through customs quickly, and jumped into a hooptie of a cab - the trunk securing our bags with a bungee cord. As we careened down the highway toward the city, I noticed our cab, and most of the others on the road were CNG cars, or ran on natural gas. Intriguingly green.
Our cabbie had no idea where our hotel was, and first tried to deposit us in the backpacker section of town, Banglamphu. We passed a dozen 7-11s (they seem to be ubitquitous in Bangkok, the NY coner deli equivalent). We stuck to our guns, having printed a map of where we needed to go. He eventually had to hop out and call from a payphone for directions, all done with a smile. We made it, twenty-six hours after leaving New York, and settled in for some jet lagged sleep.
The morning arrived for us earlier than usual, although we were well awake. Our hotel, a little boutique affair called Lamphu Tree hotel, is delightful. A lovely lobby, bar, pool, and the room is spacious with a balcony overlooking the canal, and very clean. And I can attest that the mattress and pillows are very comfortable. Breakfast was coffee, eggs, toast and bacon. I'm at the side lobby now typing away at their internet cafe.
But the morning! Ah, the heat! And the light! Everything has a golden glow here, the light being equatorially intense. We strode out with our sunglasses and hats, every bit in wander mode, and headed toward the old section of town. Hustlers abound in Bangkok, and being unable to truly blend in, they approach you very friendly, and very insistently. One the guide books got it right by saying that if someone speaks to you that way, they want something from you. Real Bangkokians who are not on the make seem very much like real New Yorkers, they ahve their own agenda that has little or nothing to do with you. We easily went into city mode, and after the first three attempts, had "Mai Krop" (No thanks) down, and our city walk with clear intention suited for southeast Asia.
Today is Buddha's Birthday, a major holiday to buddhists everywhere. We started the day right by stopping to see the Emerald Buddha, at a stunning Wat a part of the Grand Palace. The palace grounds themselves are impressive, and while it was busy, it was not nearly as crowded as other touristy places we have been. The entire complex consists of several wats, and intriguing side items like a mini replica of Angkor Wat, which we'll be seeing in person in a month or so.
After meditating at the Emerald Buddha's feet, we then went across the way to Wat Po, to see the gian reclining Buddha. He is truly impressive. His complex is the home of traditional Thai medicine, and was very active with monks and visitors alike. Several other wats housed buddhas an bodhisatvas, and we had several more lovely meditations. We then headed up to the Amulet market where Kristin purchased a small day purse, and over to Wat Matathat, to see if they were offering any mediations in English. Just so happens, they have them on the second Saturday of each month, and that's tomorrow. Good timing.
It is now definitely siesta hour. Dinner later, and we'll see what the night brings. All in all, a great way to start in Thailand, here in the mighty and busy city of Bangkok.
I am however, skipping ahead. We traveled 22 hours to get here, so some weave of story must be woven to encompass that thread. We left JFK and had our layover at Narita in Tokyo, altogether an uneventful flight on a lovely airline: ANA. Very clean, very efficient, very Japanese. We were two of only a handful of westerners on board, and thankfully, no screaming children. Interestingly, the flight was rather silent. It was when we landed that things got interesting. The quarantine crew came on board to scan for H1n1 flu, and lo and behold, someone three seats from us was tagged by the scanner. The crew was all clad in surgical gowns, gloves and masks, and the whole thing had a William Gibson quality to it. They took her off the plane, and held the thirty or so of us around her at the back of the section for another twenty minutes while she was tested. The doctor in charge was a cheery older Japanese man, who smiled and said to us we'd be out in a few minutes. Otherwise, the whole affair would have been more ominous than it already was. She was cleared, and we exited the plane, the lumps easing from our throats as the thought of three day quarantine in Tokyo abated. That's the closest I ever need to be to an epidemic, and a rather intriguing way to reenter the country of my birth.
After that, our flight to Bangkok was smooth and easy. Fourteen hours into our journey I finally succumbed to some fitful sleep. We made it through customs quickly, and jumped into a hooptie of a cab - the trunk securing our bags with a bungee cord. As we careened down the highway toward the city, I noticed our cab, and most of the others on the road were CNG cars, or ran on natural gas. Intriguingly green.
Our cabbie had no idea where our hotel was, and first tried to deposit us in the backpacker section of town, Banglamphu. We passed a dozen 7-11s (they seem to be ubitquitous in Bangkok, the NY coner deli equivalent). We stuck to our guns, having printed a map of where we needed to go. He eventually had to hop out and call from a payphone for directions, all done with a smile. We made it, twenty-six hours after leaving New York, and settled in for some jet lagged sleep.
The morning arrived for us earlier than usual, although we were well awake. Our hotel, a little boutique affair called Lamphu Tree hotel, is delightful. A lovely lobby, bar, pool, and the room is spacious with a balcony overlooking the canal, and very clean. And I can attest that the mattress and pillows are very comfortable. Breakfast was coffee, eggs, toast and bacon. I'm at the side lobby now typing away at their internet cafe.
But the morning! Ah, the heat! And the light! Everything has a golden glow here, the light being equatorially intense. We strode out with our sunglasses and hats, every bit in wander mode, and headed toward the old section of town. Hustlers abound in Bangkok, and being unable to truly blend in, they approach you very friendly, and very insistently. One the guide books got it right by saying that if someone speaks to you that way, they want something from you. Real Bangkokians who are not on the make seem very much like real New Yorkers, they ahve their own agenda that has little or nothing to do with you. We easily went into city mode, and after the first three attempts, had "Mai Krop" (No thanks) down, and our city walk with clear intention suited for southeast Asia.
Today is Buddha's Birthday, a major holiday to buddhists everywhere. We started the day right by stopping to see the Emerald Buddha, at a stunning Wat a part of the Grand Palace. The palace grounds themselves are impressive, and while it was busy, it was not nearly as crowded as other touristy places we have been. The entire complex consists of several wats, and intriguing side items like a mini replica of Angkor Wat, which we'll be seeing in person in a month or so.
After meditating at the Emerald Buddha's feet, we then went across the way to Wat Po, to see the gian reclining Buddha. He is truly impressive. His complex is the home of traditional Thai medicine, and was very active with monks and visitors alike. Several other wats housed buddhas an bodhisatvas, and we had several more lovely meditations. We then headed up to the Amulet market where Kristin purchased a small day purse, and over to Wat Matathat, to see if they were offering any mediations in English. Just so happens, they have them on the second Saturday of each month, and that's tomorrow. Good timing.
It is now definitely siesta hour. Dinner later, and we'll see what the night brings. All in all, a great way to start in Thailand, here in the mighty and busy city of Bangkok.
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