Chiang Mai

18/10/11 – 22/10/11

18-20: On route to Chiang Mai we stop off at the White Temple, one of the most unique temples in the world due to its artistic decoration. Last day of my tour with Gap (now known as G-Adventures) so we have a final meal at the coupon place in the Night Bazaar before a few drinks at a local bar. The next day I transfer to a hostel and go to see Thai boxing in the evening. This is followed up on the 20th with me visiting some of the local temples here – Wat Jediluang, Wat Chiangmun. After I have a quick walk through the local China Town here where straight away you can see the difference in culture.

21: I have a day trip to the Elephant Nature Park (ENP). Instead of going elephant riding at another attraction I instead choose to visit the ENP because here they rescue injured or rejected animals and give them some much need care and attention, and most importantly love. On arriving we are first taken to see two elephants which have been injured by land mines in Burma. You can clearly see the damage they have suffered as they can only put weight on three legs. One had its ankle blow off while the other lost its toe. We have a quick chance to feed them before we head back to the main building to feed some of the other elephants. After feeding its bath time so we each grab a bucket before heading down to the river which runs alongside the sanctuary, time to get wet. As the elephants step in we all join in to throw water over them to help them cool off in the hot weather. Then we grab our own lunch before we have another chance to meet other residents here where the process is repeated. We are also shown a video about the work done here and the ritual elephants have to go through so they are made submissive to work. I have had a great day and am happy I choose to go somewhere where these massive creatures are being helped.

22: Another animal day as I head to Chiang Mai zoo further out of town to hopefully see pandas. My mission is successful and I get to see 3 of only 35 pandas outside of China. Disappointed that they are all asleep I head for the exit but am stopped in my tracks by the sound of raised voices behind me as one decides its food time and wakes up to feed. They are big creatures and its surprising how man-like their movements are, they are also very fussy eaters. That evening I head out with the last member of my tour group who stuck around the same as me for one last meal. Been a bit of a sad week as I have mostly only said goodbye to people, a chance in scenery is needed.