One interesting thing we noticed about Chiang Mai, was the presence of westerners (i.e. non-Asian looking people). Jay explained that the population of Bangkok is roughly 15 million while the population of Chiang Mai is only about 1.7 million. And because Chiang Mai is still very much a hot tourist destination, they (we) tend to stand out more.
Jay picked us up around 8:30AM. We had previously requested our breakfast to be delivered to our room at 6AM. Around 6:15, when it still hadn't arrived, I called, and then it arrived within another few minutes. The U Chiang Mai hotel served a decent breakfast in the unique Southeast Asian style, though the fare was American/British. They gave us what looked like a barrel with metal supports around the center. Instead of it being a hollow container, each layer contained a different food item, toast, eggs, fruit, juice, etc. It was like opening many different layers of a gift.
When Jay dropped us off the previous day, he told us to bring bathing suits, a change of clothes, and shoes that could get wet. (Hence why we bought cheap flip-flops the previous night). One of the excursions I researched before the trip was a day at an elephant sanctuary. We could spend a day bathing, feeding, and cleaning the elephants, though for the price, I just didn't see it as the best way to spend a entire day. Jay told us of a smaller place where we could pay less and only spend a few hours. That seemed much more appealing to us.
Upon arrival, they gave us special clothes to wear and taught us several commands in Thai that the elephants would understand. They are fabulous beasts. Intelligent, stubborn, and incredibly powerful. We fed them bananas, and I got the world's most terrifying hug from a baby elephant. If you're ever given the chance to hug a baby elephant...say no. That mighty, little thing wrapped her trunk around my neck, and she fortunately listened to the trainer's command to release me. Never in my life have I felt my own mortality more than when I realized how quickly that baby elephant could have snapped my neck with her trunk. Not surprisingly, my husband declined the same offer of affection from the tiny giant.
 |
| Baby Elephant - Chiang Mai, Thailand |
 |
| Getting a hug from a baby elephant |
We then met some of the adult elephants. They had several females but only one male. The male, they explained, had been a victim of severe abuse and only had one tusk remaining.
Before the trip, I read about several places in Thailand where you go could go on an elephant ride. I also saw many arguments against the large saddles or carriages that they put on the elephant's back. Unlike horses, elephants' (although used extensively in historic Asian warfare) backs suffer greatly from the weight of those enormous carriages and from carrying humans for hours and hours a day. I wanted to go to a place that didn't support the elephant riding industry.
We did still ride on the elephants, but we did so without any equipment, and they made sure that we sat very close to the shoulders of the elephant and weren't too far on their backs where we would hurt their spines. We also didn't ride them for more than the 10 min walk it took us to get to the river. Yes, river? Why is that, you ask? Elephant bathing, of course.
This part of the day was so much fun! As soon as we got into the river, the elephants squatted down and started splashing themselves with water from their trunks. They also understood Thai commands to spray us with water. Sneaky devils. Haha!
 |
| Elephant Bathing - Chiang Mai, Thailand |
 |
| Elephant spraying me with water - Chiang Mai, Thailand |
When we got back from the river, we rinsed off the river scum, changed out of our wet clothes, and bid farewell to the elephant sanctuary.
Our next stop for the day was the Tiger Kingdom. I had mixed feelings about this place too, and even writing this blog a few years later, I'm still not sure what to make of it. I read many online claims that the animals were sedated or drugged. Then other people (and the actual website) claimed otherwise. Other tiger facilities have been investigated and shut down by the authorities, but the place we went to has been open for 18 years. That helped legitimize it a little bit more for me.
The first thing we did was eat lunch at their buffet restaurant. After all of that elephant excitement, a good lunch hit the spot! Actually, I take that back. The first thing we did upon arrival was buy tickets. There's a pretty long wait (and we didn't even go during busy season), so we ate lunch after we got our timed tickets. When you purchase your tickets, you have several different options. You pay based on the size of tiger you want to encounter and how many encounters you want. Bigger cats were cheaper and had shorter wait times, but the thought of coming face to face with a giant tiger (no matter how calm), scared me just a little too much. We signed up for the baby tigers only.
When our time came, we changed our shoes into the special slippers they gave us, and then proceeded to wait in line for a good 20-30 minutes. They had very strict procedures and rules for visiting. Each tiger had a trainer and guard watching the people and the cats at all times. The baby tigers were very playful, and the trainers had ample toys for them to play with but didn't let us play with the tigers at all. I didn't mind. Haha. We could pet them, but had very specific instructions on how to approach them, and what parts of the cats we couldn't touch (their paws, for example).
 |
| Tiger Kingdom - Chiang Mai, Thailand |
 |
| Baby Tigers - Chiang Mai, Thailand |
They had 3-4 different baby tigers in the area where we were, and each tiger had people visiting it. We spent maybe 5-10 minutes with a tiger before shuffling to the next one. Each tiger was very friendly and not even remotely phased by the strangers who approached it or petted it. When one of them got playful, we backed up a little bit and the trainers would come in with a toy. For the most part, however, the tigers just bathed or rolled around in the heat. The young cats definitely seemed alert to us which helped alleviate my fears about drugging. They really didn't appear all that different from my cats at home except their fur was not soft, and their claws (even as babies) could have done some serious damage.
On our way back to the hotel, Jay asked us if he could drop us off at a big souvenir shop. Apparently, when he does that, they give him fuel vouchers in exchange for the potential business. Honestly, we didn't mind. I enjoy souvenir shopping and the place was absolutely enormous. Inside, the displays were nice and the building was cool. Unfortunately, the prices were pretty high (trying to take advantage of wealthy tourists). I did find some things that I would have liked, but the cashier lines were too long for my patience. Apparently a few tour busses with Chinese tourists arrived around the same time as us, and they aren't shy about buying trinkets and souvenirs. Jay assured us that we didn't have to buy anything, so after about 15 minutes, we met up with him and continued back toward Chiang Mai.
We settled our bill with him when he dropped us off at U Chiang Mai. We took advantage of the hot afternoon and swam in the hotel pool before eating another dinner at the air conditioned restaurant attached to our hotel. Our two days in Chiang Mai worked out better than I could have possibly planned. Tomorrow, we would head back to Bangkok for a day before heading further east to Cambodia and the world wonder, Angkor Wat.
Thanks for reading!
- Foxy the Traveler
No comments:
Post a Comment