Last night was the first really good night of sleep that we've had all trip. We slept until about 7 and woke up feeling refreshed for the day, which is good, because today was long.
Rather than exploring the sights on our own, which is what we've been doing all trip, we hired a guide to take us to the Elephant Conservation Center, an elephant hospital, and a couple of temples that were outside of Chiang Mai. Joe (not the same Joe from the cooking class) picked us up from Gap's House at 8:25. It was supposed to be 8:15, but we were running late again, so he had to wait for the pokey Americans. For 1500 baht ($50) apeice, Joe drove us around from 8:30-6:00, told us about the sites, bought us lunch, and gave us valuable advice about Chiang Mai and the surrounding area.
Carrie: Joe's English was awesome. Besides serving as our wheels, he was our private tutor on Thai life, so we got our every question answered. What's going on with all the election signs? Does the king have any kids? Do people love the monarchy, or just this king specifically? etc.
And Joe showed off what he knew of American culture, mainly what he's learned from TV and the movies. He wants to go to Texas someday, and went through a "cowboy" phase in high school. He still listens to "cowboy music" (country) and is a huge fan of WWF. That part got Eric and I howling.
Eric says, "you know that's not real, right?" And Joe did not know that, despite all the convincing we tried, but he kind of pushed it off as his friends all say its real. Bleeding and bruises, and all. Eric gave him the background on how it all came out a long time ago in the US as being fake, and how some wrestlers have gone into acting. Joe would not be persuaded. Eric and I kept meaning to pantimime out a slugfest just to demostrate how the pros do it, but forgot all about it by the time we got to the temple. Maybe it's better that way. It was a little like telling Joe there is no Santa Clause.
Eric: The trip started with Joe buying cigarettes in some alley in a non-tourist part of Chiang Mai (you can tell because the shop signs are only written in Thai). After another brief stop where Joe bought us "coffee" made from instant crystals, we arrived at the Elephant Conservation Center (ECC).
Although Thais revere elephants, the country has a real problem in how they treat them. They often live in poor conditions and are overworked, in previous years from logging but now mainly for tourist elephant rides and shows. The ECC, which got its original funding by a personal initiative of the Queen, takes in these animals, provides medical care, and a home for the ones that can't be rehabilitated.
We arrived just in time for the main show to start. It was neat, with the elephants performing various tricks (e.g., retrieving a hat from the ground and placing it on the owner's head, and then bowing on cue, painting, and playing the marimbas (up the scale, down the scale)) and displaying their considerable log-moving skills.
Carrie: When the show was over the audience could feed the elephants bananas and sugar cane, 20 baht a bunch. Boy could those critters fork it in. Eric was going to take some picture of me feeding them, not to mention feed them too, but I handed out the bundle like it was on fire. Well, I felt so bad for them, poor historically overworked elephants. I wish they didn't have to do a show at all. No worries though, we did get plenty of pictures later.
They also have a paper production site where they use, yes, elephant dung. There is a lot of washing and bleaching involved, but it seems like a better thing to do with it than start a dung collection. We got a small book and some cards, all procedes go back to the ECC.
Eric: Afterwards, our guide took us to see the baby elephants, and Carrie and I got to hand-feed them. The little ones are adorable; one was 9-months-old, and we had to put the food directly in its mouth rather than letting it grab the food with its trunk.
A brief stopover at the medical clinic, where they mostly treat illness and minor physical injuries, was next. We didn't stay long, as the animals were somewhat far away and they didn't have much information in English.
Our next stop was at the world's first elephant hospital, run by the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE). We were crying within 15 minutes. The first elephant we saw was a young (3-year-old?) female whose foot was blown off by a landmine, and who then had to walk 20 kilometers to the hospital with a bloody stump. It's been nearly a year, I think, since she arrived, and she is healing quite nicely. I guess she is ready for an artificial limb that will enable her to walk on that leg again, but the FAE still needs to raise more money to fit her with one. Each of the 10-or-so elephants at the FAE has a similar story. We donated some money and were sad that we couldn't give more.
Our elephant tour finished with a visit to the elephant cemetary, a place we never would have found without a personal guide (the tourist buses never go here). In between a couple of mountain foothills, the cemetary lies on a small field littered with large mounds of earth out of which sprout trees and bamboo. In Thailand, elephants are buried with all of the same funeral ceremonies, presided over by Buddhist monks, as are humans. The plants growing out of the graves are to provide the elephants with food on their way to their next lives.
After this entire experience, both Carrie and I find ourselves more drawn to the animals. They have a depth in their eyes, and there is something about them that seems wise. Both Carrie and I felt that in a lot of ways, they seemed more human than even chimps. Another outcome of this experience: we think we have found the place where we'll send some of our charitible giving once we have enough income to do much. The FAE runs entirely on donations, including 25% of its budget from the Bridget Bardot foundation. Carrie and I were both moved by seeing these animals, 100% of whom are in need of medical attention because of human maleficience. After this, we were so glad that we opted to feed and learn about elephants, rather than doing the standard tourist elephant riding.
We next went to two temples. One was incredibly old, built in the 15th century, and the other was a beautiful modern temple. We had a good time, and were pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of strangers, but after our emotional morning with the elephants, it almost felt like we were going through the motions. On the bright side, however, I got some wonderful pictures.
I have some great news to report: I have tried insects! Whoo hoo! On the way to the temples, Joe took us by an authentic Thai market. I had asked him before if he liked insects, and he said a little. So when we were at the market, he grabbed a bug that looked a bit like a fat larva with wings (like a moth with the wings of a beetle), and gave it to me. Because I had wanted to try bugs and also because Joe just handed it to me in the course of normal conversation, I ate it without much of a pause or second thought. The whole experience was so matter-of-fact that it honestly felt a bit anticlimatic. I was expecting pictures, and maybe video, of the moment of truth, but Carrie wasn't even watching (not her fault, I just didn't want to make a scene).
The bug was...just kinda squishy and not very flavorful. Joe then grabbed a long, thin worm that grows in bamboo shoots and is eaten like potato chips, but it was just like a flavorless pork rind. I didn't end up buying any, but I'm glad I tried them.
Well, off to eat some 90 cent Thai food that's better than anything available in the USA. Ah, culinary heaven.
