This past weekend Nicole and I travelled on a 4 hour bus ride to Chiang Mai. It is the second largest city in Thailand with only 200,000 population. The first being Bangkok with about 7.5 million! When we arrived we ran into two Americans that were traveling around! It was nice to be able to have a full conversation with English speakers and to learn about Chiang Mai. We didn't have a hotel booked so the first task was to find accommodation. We ended up finding a gorgeous hotel right next to the very popular night markets! It cost us the equivalent of 30 USD a night! This was a 4 star hotel! I can't get over how cheap it is! After we settled into the room we headed downstairs to organize a tour that would take us into the hills to meet the Northern hill tribes! The next morning we headed in a big van with two other Austrailians, Nicole was happy to hear her people as she would say! :) We fist stopped at the Karen tribe, or the long neck tribe. They are known for their brass ringed necklaces that they stack to give the impression of a long neck. Each year starting at age 5 they add on more rings. Usually 7 at a time, the tour guide said the most one woman fit was 71! Obviously they have to stop at some time! ha. Along with the Karen long neck tribe were the long ear tribe. This tribe has very big "plugs" in there ears that strecth over time. I couldn't believe how much skin can stretch! This was definitely a sight to see. After the Karen tribe we treked to the Choi Don cave. This was a beautiful cave that had various stalagmites. ( Pardon the spelling?) Following this we visited four other hill tribes. At one of the tribes we talked to a very small 68 year old man who was washing his medicine leaves in a tap. He told us that he has a son who lives in California! Small world! Finally we ended the day with the butterfly and orchid farm which to be honest was a bit lame. Not many butterflies but some pretty flowers. To finish the night we enjoyed some cocktails back at the hotel and headed to the night markets for some shopping. Saturday morning we hired a private car to drive us 2 hours to Lampang where we visited the elephant conservation center. The drive was very relaxing! I would suggest this over the bus, although it is a bit more money it is well worth it! At the center we took a 1 hour elephant trek through the rainforest! Funny thing is that the 2 Americans that we met at the bus station were at the center too! Once again, small world! Following the trek we sat down to watch the elephant show. Here they bathed the elephants then the elephants played instruments, built structures and then painted pictures! They even paint self portraits, it is amazing how these massive creatures can move and learn all of these skills! I would suggest the center because the elephants seem to be cared for very well and they seem happy! We also had the chance to visit the hospital and see the baby elephants! It was a great day. On Sunday I slept in a bit then we headed to the bus station to ride back to Mae Sai.
For the upcoming week, we will be teaching English at school and then helping with the orphanage a bit in the afternoon. I will be teaching grade 1. YIKES!
Keep you updated soon!
