Sorry for my pathetic lack of blog entries over the past few weeks, as I am now the proud owner of a shiny new Macbook I'll be able to keep in touch more regularly :-) Here's part 1 of my Thailand trip...
Arrived Bangkok 17th Jan for a couple of days, had heard that would be all I needed and I have to agree… First impressions were: dirty, smelly, chaotic! You took your life in your hands crossing the road as no-one stops for you, even at crossings - and taxi drivers were a nightmare, if you insisted they put the meter on, or tried to negotiate the ridiculously high rip-off fare, some would just drive off! My hostel was near Patpong Market, which was an experience in itself - should have been called Ping Pong market, with all the seedy bars and 'shows' nearby.. even as a woman on her own I was being hassled to come in, being constantly stopped and shown a menu of different tricks that the women perform!! The massage place next door to my hostel was even offering 'special testicle massage'... Went for a wander to check out the quality of the local ladyboys, then decided to call it a night. The next day I decided to do the tourist thing and take the Chaophraya river boat (no more taxis for me!) to see the major temples - Wat Arun, Wat Pho and the Grand Palace. All very impressive, but by this point I was all templed-out and very hot, ended up chatting to a guy over lunch and we went for cocktails at a rooftop bar while watching the sun set over Wat Arun… a great end to the day. A visit to Bangkok wouldn't be complete without going to the Khao San Road (where all the backpackers are -I wasn't impressed) where I had a massage, before I caught the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai. 16 hours (and a surprisingly good kip) later I arrived, Chiang Mai was literally a breath of fresh air after the madness of Bangkok. There is a brilliant night market every Sunday, so had a wander round and sampled some of the great street food, so cheap, most dishes around 20 baht (less than 50p). The next day I was up early to start my 2 week volunteering at the Elephant Nature Park, little did I know that they would turn out to be 2 of the best weeks of my life…
After we arrived and were shown around, the first thing we did was bathe the elephants in the river (and each other!) really great fun. We soon discovered that the main tasks would be: a) poo and b) food. When we weren't doing that, we were doing other tasks such as making mud pits for the elephants to roll in, building fence posts, and the worst job of all…cutting corn - we had to cut down a whole field of corn with machetes, and then bundle it up and carry it to the truck - in the blazing heat, not a nice task! As a reward we went tubing down the river so it wasn't all bad… the park is an amazing place, home to 35 elephants rescued from all kinds of terrible situations and who have suffered horrendous abuse throughout their lives. They can now live out the rest of their days in a wonderful place where they will never have to work or be beaten again. The owner, Lek, is truly inspirational - dedicating her life to saving elephants, although sadly there is so much more to be done... The park is also home to around 400 dogs, mostly rescued from the Bangkok floods - not to mention many cats too! Anyone who knows me will know that this is the perfect place for me :-) What made the experience even better were the fantastic group of volunteers who were there, we all got on so well and had a great laugh, not to mention the volunteer co-ordinators who work at the park, so entertaining, really great guys who do a fantastic job.
For the second week, a few of us went to live with a hill tribe, 8 hours outside Chiang Mai. The money we paid goes to the villagers so they will keep their elephants with them to roam freely rather than being leased out to trekking camps, so its a great programme. The journey there was long, with the last 2 hours crammed into the back of a truck, not the most comfortable ride ever! Arrived at the village and set up our 'beds' (thin mats on the floor & a sleeping bag under a mozzie net) in one of the family houses. The villagers were really friendly, and the kids just wanted to play - just a shame we couldn't speak their language! I've never seen kids who have so little, be so happy - could definitely teach Western kids a thing or two… I fell in love with one little girl, wished I could have taken her home! 'The 'facilities' in the village left a lot to be desired, no electricity, hot water, or wifi (so no Facebook!!) The next few days were spent trekking to follow the elephants in the wild (was amazing to see them in their natural habitat and particularly to see twin elephants which are very rare), learning about the villagers and their lives and trying to learn how to cook some Thai dishes; nights were spent around the camp fire with Toby playing his guitar, and havng a drink (or two!) After one late night we had to wake at 5.30am to climb up a big hill to watch the sunrise - halfway up I was definitely wondering what the hell I was doing there but the view was well worth it. On the last night we had a traditional Thai dinner with the villagers in their houses, had a bit of a Q&A with them, bought some of the hand woven items the women in the village made, and took some last pics… Again, I had an amazing group of people to share the experience with, which made it so special. I didn't want to leave…
But leave I had to, and spent the next couple of days on a post-elephant comedown, before heading off to a little place called Pai for a couple of days. Not much to do there really, and it was so hot, so I just chilled and arranged the next leg of my trip, heading down south to Koh Phangan to spend a week with Monica, who I met during my week at the village. Was definitely looking forward to some beach time & relaxation!
