Trip with Jen

Elephant ride- Billy and Suk

dyaver — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:49:00 GMT

Our second day in Chiang Mai began when we met our private tour guide and private driver to begin our elephant training camp plus tour that the hotel arranged for us. Our guide's name was Tom, and he was fantastic sharing lots of facts and information about Chiang Mai on our drive to the Maesa elephant camp. On the way to the camp we stopped at a orchid farm. I have never seen so many kinds of orchids in one spot. The climate in Thailand us perfect for them and you see them in the wild. Our next stop was the elephant camp. When we arrived the first thing we saw was the elephants in the river bathing. They looked like they were having a good time, and one was having a great time squirting the visitors with water. Our guide took a of Jen and I standing in front of two elephants with their mahouts. The elephants wrapped their trunks around me for s big hug and one mahout had his elephant take his hat, place it on Jen's head and tap it down a few times. She had no idea this was going on and was quite surprised. Our guide captured this in a series of photos that are priceless. We the proceeded to the elephant to the elephant show where the elephants played soccer, painted pictures, danced,... It is amazing what their mahouts have trained the to do. The paintings were amazing. Apparently for those elephants that can be trained to paint they are taught how to do one to three different paintings. The paintings were quite impressive. After the show we proceeded to the highlight of the day which was an elephant ride, Our elephant's name was Billy and his mahout's name was Suk. Suk and Billy spend every day together. Billy is 37 years old. The ride was magical. We went up into the mountain into the tropical forest and trekked across a river. The elephants truly seem well taken care of, and Suk and Billy have a very good relationship. At one point during then ride, Suk got down and took our camera to take pictures he was off Billy for about 5 minutes and gave Billy verbal instructions to keep on the trail and get him to pose for the pictures. After the elephant ride we headed back to town but stopped first at a store that carried handcrafted items.
Sent from my iPad

Finding Zen in Chiang Mai

dyaver — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:01:00 GMT

Upon our arrival in Chiang Mai after a short flight from Bangkok we were wished away by taxi to an incredible hotel called The Chedi which is on the Ping River. It is a truly amazing place that no words can describe. You need to experience. When we arrived the staff led to a sitting area in then lobby is open on two sides to the outside. They gave us cold scented wash clothes and a delicious welcome drink while they checked us into our room. The room was amazing, an oasis from the hustle of the city. It had a private balcony with two large lounger beds. Although we loved our room we ventured out int Chaing Mai to see three temples in the old city. We took a local bus which is a truck with an open camper on the back with bench seating. Wat Chedi Luang which had an incredible ruin of a very old Chedi, Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chaing Man. The old city was very interesting. We next took a tuk-tuk to the market which was sensory overload. We retreated to our hotel for a cocktail and a light snack sitting outside near the beautiful pool. After a couple hours of relaxing we enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant which is on the river. I was a magical setting including viewing some lighted lanterns someone had released on the other side of the river. The food was fantastic Thai cuisine. Afterwards we relaxed to prepare for our elephant adventure the next day. Truly a zen day.

Sent from my iPad

First day in Bangkok

dyaver — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 22:01:00 GMT

Arrived into Bangkok airport and we were met by someone from the hotel who escorted us to our car service. Waiting for us were cold wash cloth scented with lemongrass and a cold bottle of water. Bangkok is truly an interesting city. The juxtaposition of stunning buildings, homes, temples and then huts/shacks is like nothing I have ever seen before. Our hotel, Marriott Spa and resort is a bit away from city center but is an oasis away from the craziness of Bangkok. Our first venture into the city began with a boat ride on the hotel shuttle to the Central pier where we transferred onto the public express boat To get to the Old City. Our first sight seeing stop was Wat Pho which has the reclining Buddha in the temple. It was stunning. There were many beautiful chedis and other buildings in this compound. Our plan was to visit the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo next but we were side tracked on the way by many "Thai" friends trying to tell us we could not get into the Grand Palace till after 2 pm. This started an unexpected adventure of 3 hours in a tuk-tuk visiting some other temples including the one with the lucky Buddha which is made of alabaster and the Wat Rachapradit. Outside Wat Rachapradit we were approached by 3 young women from university who for a class had to interview a native English speaker. They filmed me while they each took turns asking me simple questions in English like what is your name, where do you live, do you like Thai food, what is your favorite thing about Thailand,.. They were very sweet and afterwards took a picture with Jen and I. Our tuk-tuk tour also included stopping at 4 different stores/export centers since it was a tax free day and the drivers got 5 liters of free gas if they brought customers to all 4 stores. We saw some beautiful jewelry and were taken to two tailors where they can make you suits, pants, blouses,... Prices are amazingly cheap. We ended out tuk-tuk tour and proceeded into the Grand Palace despite being told by at least two Thai "friends" that there were no tickets left or that it was closed. There is always someone looking to scam you to make money. The Grand Palace grounds, chedis, and the Wat Phra Kaeo were magnificent. The emerald Buddha and the gold Chedi were particularly striking. The lotus blossoms and water to bless one another before entering the Wat was a nice way to cool down. By the time we finished our tour of the Grand Palace and Wat we were melting. In the walk back to catch the boat we had another Thai friend tell us that the Wat Pho was closed since it was in direction we were walking. Jennifer decided that anytime we are told something is closed we are heading in the right direction. The trip back down the river was enjoyable and when we got the Marriott boat back to the hotel, we were given the cold lemongrass scented wet washcloths. Jen and I both agreed that this was one of the many highlights of the day. We enjoyed a snack and cocktails at the hotel bar by the pool; 2 for the price of one cocktails, satay and spring rolls. Jennifer spotted a rather large lizard sitting on the ledge of the water pond we were sitting by. She was enamored by it and took a picture of it while it seemed to pose. She did not think it was so cute when it dived into the pond and swam across it fortunately not in our direction. It proceeded to get out of the pond and walk right under the pool lounges of some unsuspecting guests. Jen had that lizard on her mind while we proceeded to go into the pool. After relaxing a bit we had some wonderful Thai food at the hotel restaurant.

Sent from my iPad

In Tokyo airport

dyaver — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:16:00 GMT

Sitting in Tokyo airport waiting for flight to Bangkok. Can't wait to get there.

In airport waiting on flight to Bangkok. On plane sipping champagne with Jen :)

dyaver — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:47:00 GMT

Night before we depart

dyaver — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:04:00 GMT

Jen and I are getting ready to leave for our trip to Thailand tomorrow. Very excited.