riding elephants and falling in love

Never did I expect to experience Thailand on such a local level with elephant rides, visiting the long-neck tribe, watching traditional performances, and having the pleasure of tasting authentic Thai food and dessert.

I took a total of 400 photos in my three day trip in Chiang Mai, and being a tourist again is such an amazing feeling because it brings me back to my nostalgic days in Japan.

Flight at 4AM in the morning? Easy. Seats that take out all feeling in my legs? Maybe not so much. 

Although this is not my first time visiting Thailand, it has been a while since I've been back.

Things haven't changed but obviously one's perspective of a place changes when one is 8 or 18.

After all- drooling on people's shoulders when napping is now recognized as inappropriate and will not happen again.

(I have a photo of this somewhere, but it will not be making an appearance on the world wide web. Thanks Mom for printing out a hard copy to remind me time and time again of that embarrassing moment.)

The lack of smooth internet access in this part of Asia is quite worrying to be honest.

I have been using Microsoft OneNote for drafting my blogs, instead of saving it onto Blogger itself.

Attaching photos have proven unsuccessful too, with the majority of the pictures failing to load or unable to process.

Our reliance on the internet for communication and connectivity is rather worrisome. Just realizing that without checking up on my Facebook every now and again makes me wonder why I am so disconnected with the "world" is a simple testament at the direction in which our generation is heading.

I'm not too sure if that's a good thing or not. It's certainly something extraordinary though.

I arrived in Chiang Mai at 7 in the morning, and we were surprised with our own chauffeurs for the entire trip. Within this van contains and endless supply of drinks and snacks.

Ugh. Life is tough. 

But I managed to settle for this tiny Chevrolet of a van, and headed off for a traditional Thai breakfast of porridge and fried bread sticks.

Looking out the large windows of my well conditioned and comfortable van, I could compare and contrast my memories of Bangkok to Chiang Mai quite easily.

Chiang Mai is a traditional, beautiful and old city rooted in culture. 

Known as one of the main cities in Northern Thailand, I highly recommend one visits Chiang Mai for its local food and sightseeing spots when visiting Thailand.

I'm writing this blog post in the airplane ride from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, and still I feel that Chiang Mai has something magical to offer that no other city can.

A good comparison will be Queenstown to Auckland, Kyoto to Tokyo, or LA to New York. 

Such diversity within a single country could not possibly be neglected to explore.

At first, I was annoyingly apprehensive and wary about riding elephants

All I could think about was how "evil" the human race has become, subjecting such beautiful large creatures to such tedious work.

However learning how much an elephant weighs in comparison to that of a few humans, and how thick the hide of an elephant is, I began to reconsider my position on riding elephants as animal cruelty.

After all, my illogical thinking can be stopped short when comparing elephants to riding horses.

So I stopped being a brat and got on an elephant.

a photo taken of baby elephant from mommy elephant's back

The ride wasn't as comfortable as I had initially hoped for, but I enjoyed feeling the elephant's movement underneath me. 

Going downhill was certainly scary because the little makeshift saddle thing hardly had any support other than a very rusty metal pole. 

Thai elephants are not as tall as African elephants, so they didn't seem all too intimidating even when up close

The elephant I was riding on just had a baby a year ago, and during the course of the one hour hike through the forest and river(s), this cute baby elephant followed its mom everywhere.

ngawwwww babyyy elephant <3

After the exhausting one hour long ride, we get the opportunity to buy either sugar cane or bananas for our elephants to munch on. 

I felt pretty sorry for my elephant and her baby, so I bought a huge basket full of sugar canes and three bunches of bananas for them to nomnom on. 

The baby elephant was so happy it even trumpeted a little. My heart melted into mush. It is adorable beyond description. My camera fails to capture its beauty in real life.

The respect that the Thai people have for these animals are fundamental in religious beliefs, and I'm extremely grateful it is so. 

I've heard many legends about elephants and their good nature towards humans in Thai folklore, and it is fascinating to see how many southeast asian values are similar in their desire to cooperate and work with nature, instead of dominating and cultivating it to their own human needs.

Visiting the long neck tribe, I felt extremely embarrassed to take photos. I apologize, but you would either have to google image this tribe for a visual aid, or use your imagination via my hopeless descriptions on this blog.

Everyone there was pretty chill and mellow, but some were rather shy and upset about having a camera shoved into their faces. I would be too, if in their position. 

I did take a picture of the houses they lived in though. Hopefully that isn't too intrusive.

The rings around their necks were worn to protect themselves against snake/tiger bites, and gradually over time, it also lengthened the bones in their neck. 

It's an adaption I find quite remarkable, and its something to be treasured greatly, as the next generation of this tribe will no longer be possessing the long neck rings any more.

We also took regular visits to this little bakery that has graced food bloggers' entries all over the world. The cakes and pastries here are so delicious, that the 40 minute drive from the hotel we were staying at worth just to have a bite. Unfortunately I cannot share all 400 photos on this blog, but I'll update a facebook album link soon. ^_^

Having such nice dessert in Thailand, with an "exotic" passionfruit and lime drink to accompany me, I fell in love with Thailand and all its tradition. 

I miss Asia more than I realize, and I am unwilling to sleep each night, knowing that going back to New Zealand means going back to uni. And we all know that sucks a ton of elephant poop.
Falling in love with my origins once again, I find myself dreaming of moving back here in the future.
To be with my family, my friends since young, and just having this close circle of comfort in where I delight in simple and uncomplicated values.
Even now I'm trying to convince my parents to let me take a semester off from uni, to let me stay either in Thailand/Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia, where I have relatives and friends whom can offer me free accomodation and food.
Unfortunately, I'm only in my first semester, first year, studying at university, and taking a 'break' now is nothing other than pure laziness.
=( But still....

I'm going to try and not think about the idea of this vacation ever ending, and continue to look at pretty pictures of cakes and food. >.<

 

Every single day spent here in Chiang Mai has been jam-packed with activities.

From checking in at the cutest little traditional Thai hotel you've ever seen, to experiencing a traditional Thai performance along with a never-ending buffet, where the food is taken to me instead of me having to walk over there and get it myself...(first world complaints, forgive me) my visit to Chiang Mai has been a short-lived but brilliant experience. 

Unfortunately we didn't get the opportunity to see the temple on Doi Suthep Mountain, but all the more reason to come back next year to see it ^_^

All in all, Chiang Mai is a place that one must visit if you ever decide to come to Thailand.

With great family friends, and great company, this place is truly a memory that will last with me for a lifetime.

I'm so fortunate to have parents that have kept in contact with friends for over decades, because I can truly say that I have kept friends since I was five years old.

I think it best I find those pictures of me when young in Thailand and upload them on here once I'm back in Kiwiland. 

Grateful that this beautiful city hasn't changed much, and happy to know that I certainly have.

With love from Chiang Mai,

April