Been there...done that...

Hello Family & Friends!

Another amazing week has gone by!  I’m a year older and extremely appreciative of my wonderful family and friends, good health and the blessings that I continue to receive from the universe.  Thank you all for being a part of my life and for making me feel so special.

For my birthday, I decided to treat myself to a short trip.  I went up to Chiang Rai – a three hour bus ride north.   I've been to Chiang Rai once before.  I was the photographer for the picture in blog post #1 of Bob, Marcus & Lauren in northern Thailand.  We went to Chiang Rai on that trip.  Some might say, "Been there...done that...why go again?"  In 1986 we weren't there long enough for any of us to have a really good memory of Chiang Rai, so I wanted to make some new memories.

Here are some highlights of my trip:

Davinci’s Italian Restaurant – Have I told you already that I LOVE Thai food?   On Saturday, after I arrived in Chiang Rai, I walked down to the “Walking Street” where they sell everything that you can imagine, including Thai food.  I’m not too interested in buying more stuff…but I was able to munch my way through the food stalls!  Tasty!

Afterwards, I was feeling the need for some cool air and a glass of wine.  While walking along, my eyes caught sight of some wine glasses, so I made a beeline for the restaurant.  Turns out it was Davinci’s.  It’s on the main street where the foreigners hang out.  The guy who seated me was nice, so we struck up a conversation in Thai.  After ordering my wine, I decided to order a mixed salad.  Surprise, surprise…it was the best mixed salad that I’d had in quite a while!  And it came with some good bread!  I ordered another glass of wine to help it all go down well.  I mentioned to the waiter that my birthday was the following day.  He said that if I returned, he would do something special.  I decided to return the next day mainly because that salad was SO good but also to see if he would remember.  I had my salad, my wine and spinach ravioli (delicious).  The waiter surprised me at the end of my meal by bringing out a nicely decorated brownie with birthday candles.  No singing – that made me happy!  Sorry – I failed to take a picture of the brownie – or get his name!  Nice way to celebrate my birthday, though!  And here's the link to a review - I couldn't find an actual restaurant website:

http://www.chiangraitimes.com/da-vinci-restaurant-review-chiangrai.html 

White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) – This temple was so sparkly, that it made me blink.  The artist  is Chalermchai Kositpipat.  Here's his wiki link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalermchai_Kositpipat  

This link has great pictures:

http://www.thailandforchildren.com/chiang-mai-family-travel/chiang-rai/white-temple-wat-rong-khun-thailand

Here are a couple of mine:

 

 Not very good at selfies

The fish were amazing

Unfortunately the Golden bathrooms were closed for repairs, so I didn’t get to have that “golden” experience.

Black House - Thawan Duchanee was the artist for this creation!  Here's the wiki info about him: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thawan_Duchanee  

This link has great pictures: http://www.neverendingvoyage.com/black-house-chiang-rai-thailand/

The grounds where the Black House is located are beautiful.  Here is a picture I took (there were several horses):

Wadthampla Maesai Chiengrai (Monkey/Fish Cave) - I'm stealing someone else's blog post...again!  The pictures are so much better than mine:-(  I'm beginning to think I need to take a photography course and buy a better camera.  It would also help having someone along with me to take the photos (hint, hint)!  Here's the link:http://ullanadventures.com/monkey-fish-cave/

There were so many "wild" monkeys at this temple!  They wouldn't bother you unless you had food.  Vendors selling food would give each customer a bamboo stick to "shush" away the monkeys.  Not to hit them - just to hit the ground in order to scare them.  It was neat to watch the monkeys carrying their babies, playing in the trees and eating.  The peanut vendor was very popular.  The monkeys would eat the peanuts right out of your hand!  Not mine - I passed on feeding them.  Of course, I did climb up to the cave.  That was fun! 

Here's one of my pictures (Monkey sitting to the right of the Naga heads):

Golden Triangle – Yep!  So close I had to go.  I don't know why, but I got a little anxious walking to this spot.  There is so much history here...and the Myanmar election!  For wiki info click here:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Triangle_%28Southeast_Asia%29

Here are a couple of pictures:

Looking at Myanmar
 

All in all, it was a great weekend!  I’ll be in Laos next week, so will not do a blog post.  Look for another post two weeks from now!

Make every moment count!

Elephants, Water Buffalo & Dogs...Oh My!

Sawatdii Kha,

I hope you all had a wonderful week.  My week was amazing and memorable...

First, a bit more about Dengue fever:

My friend, Yada, is almost back to normal.  She sent me this link about the rise of Dengue cases in Thailand.  I'm NEVER forgetting to put on my insect repellent...EVER!

Thailand reports spike in dengue cases amongst adults

Now on to the good stuff~ 

Highlight of the week:

1    Elephant Nature Park – For centuries Asian Elephants have been used in Thailand as working and performing animals.  There is a controversy these days about how elephants should be treated.  One side believes that elephants should be left to their natural habitat and not used for work – while others believe they should be used to work and show off their skills.  There are still people who abuse elephants in order to get them to work/perform.  This Lonely Planet article discusses this controversy: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thailand/travel-tips-and-articles/how-to-interact-ethically-with-elephants-in-thailand

h

      I have seen elephants at the zoo, and we used to see one regularly from afar during our stay in our first Bangkok apartment.  However, seeing elephants the way I did at the Elephant Nature Park on Saturday was awesome! To read more about this incredible park, and the person who had the vision to open it, go to this link: http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/

Many of the elephants that we saw at the park were physically disabled due to past abuse.  The owner, Lek, purchased these elephants (and lots of other animals) from their owners in order to allow them to spend their remaining days in a sort of retirement village, where they are very well maintained.  The entry fees pay for the upkeep of the animals at the park.  Money well spent.

I was surprised at how good it felt to feed them, bathe them and watch them interact with each other.  Each elephant has a mahout – an elephant keeper/caregiver - who is always nearby to take care of the elephant and keep things safe for all involved. 

We all stood around and fed and rubbed the oldest elephant in the park - Mae Thai (Mother Thai).  She's 80 years old!  We watched the elephants cover themselves in mud (a way to stay cool and ward off insects).  We saw the baby, Yendii (Happy) in one of the groups chase a water buffalo who was coming too close to the herd.  Yendii's mother has a slanted back from overwork, so she can’t move around very well.  Another female in the herd has taken it upon herself to become the Yendii's nanny and stays close to the him at all times.  The Yendii went to its birth mother when wanted to nurse.  There are so many stories about these elephants, that I could go on and on (but I won't).  I could have watched and interacted with them for weeks!  Here are some pictures to tell the rest of story:

 Feeding our elephant

Hanging out with Popcorn

So happy!

Beautiful location for beautiful elephants!

Bathing the elephant we all thought was pregnant - she's not!

That's all from me!  As my former principal used to say..."Have an epic week!"