Day 132 - Chitwan National Park back to Sauraha

We woke up early in the morning to continue our jungle trek though the community forest. The entire walk was around 7km back to Sauraha where our lodge was located. Some of the trails back to our starting point were completely washed away by the rain that the guides had to recreate the trails by cutting trees, or adding tree trunks to the floor when it was covered by water. I fell and slipped numerous times, and I blame my Nikes for that. Wear good shoes when you go trekking, not old running shoes like mine...

Not too much activity today, but we saw some more herds of deer, owls, and a wild boar running through the forest. On the way back, we caught a ride on a tractor that was driven by the son of one of our tour guides. It was probably one of the most bumpy rides all trip, and I had a hard time staying put!

When we arrived back to Sauraha, we stopped by the river where elephants and their mahouts were taking baths. Again, like in Laos, I saw the Mahouts use sharp picks to prod at the elephants to get them to obey commands. Again, I don't know enough to know how necessary it is to do this, but it was certainly unpleasant to watch...

The rest of the day was spent relaxing at our lodge, playing cards, reading, and resting on the hammocks provided. We had lunch at a local Nepalese restaurant, where we had fried Buffalo Momos. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant where I had grilled fish which was quite good. Tomorrow we head back to Kathmandu, where I will have 12 days to figure out what else I can do in this wonderful country.

Day 107 - Sky Bar in Bangkok and Eating Roaches and Crickets

We spent the last half day in Ayutthaya at the Elephant Village and Floating Market. I showed the tuk-tuk driver the location of where I wanted to get dropped off, and he agreed, but ended up taking us to a different elephant village. Good thing I was already here before, or else I would have just accepted it, but I wasn't going to be fooled this time around!

After shopping and eating some of the local delicacies, we headed back to bangkok on a charter bus. It took about 2 hours to get back and it was already dark. We checked into our hotel and got ready to visit one of the highest bars in the world, and I believe the second highest in all of Bangkok – the Sky Bar at the State Tower of Lebua. This was the bar that was featured in the The Hangover 2, and I'd been wanting to visit it for a while now because the pictures of it looked stunning.

The drinks were around $15/usd, but I think it was worth it for the experience, views, and pictures I was able to take. It was located on the 64^th floor of the hotel, and luckily it wasn't raining when we arrived, although it was sprinkling while we were standing around the circular bar. We went on a Monday, so it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be, and the douchiness factor was low that night as well.

Afterwards, we headed back to Silom in search of some insects to devour. It was one thing Maco wanted to try, and I wanted to redeem myself after chickening out the first time I came across it the last time I was here. We found the street vendor selling a variety of these crispy snacks, and she even offered us a free cricket to try! The last time I was here with my friend Quang, the vendor offered a bag for 30 baht, or a single cricket for 20 baht. Feeling cheated, we declined the offer. This time around, I took the free cricket like it was my last meal...OK not really, but a free cricket tastes better than one that costs 20 baht right? It didn't taste too bad, and I actually ended up swallowing the piece I bit into. We tipped the vendor 10 baht for the free snack and asked how much the huge cockroaches were...10 baht each. This would be the true test, as I have a deep fear of cockroaches whenever I see them crawling around the streets or on the walls... And this cockroach was no ordinary cockroach found in the United States... these were GIANT cockroaches, as you can see by the pictures below. They were probably bigger than the length of my middle finger!

Holding the cockroach in my hand was enough to make me squirm, but I kept my composure and bit the head off...held it in my mouth, and everything was ok until I actually tried to chew and taste the insect. It was DISGUSTING and I immediately spit it out. If ever you are faced with a food shortage and you only had the choice of eating crickets or cockroaches, choose the crickets...

Bangkok at Night

Ayutthaya Elephant Village

My favorite coconut ice cream in Ayutthaya

Look at the size of that thing!

Reaction Shot

Day 56 - Bathing Elephants

It was difficult to sleep at night at the lodge because the electricity kept going out, and I was used to the white noise from the fan to put me to sleep. There were lots of insects making noises since we were in the middle of the forest, and the geckos especially made funny sounds that woke me, along with the rats crawling on the roof. I tried to light the citronella coils, but they would go out after 10 minutes. I slept in the net bedding, which is also hard for me to do. The last time I slept in one was at a homestay where I ended up getting a ton of bites on my feet.

Luckily when I woke up, there weren't too many new bites. We headed to the forest to walk our elephants to the river so that we could wash them. We had to share elephants because there weren't enough, and I rode behind someone, which is a lot scarier because there is less to grab onto than if you were in the front.

We got to the river and I was able to switch elephants. We rode them into the river and used brushes to help clean the dirt off their skin and hair. My elephant kept submerging herself completely underwater and I got soaked because of it. It was fun, and of course the mahouts made sure to have them splash water on all of us while we were cleaning them. While I was washing my elephant, I noticed some red marks near her ear that I suspected was blood, but when I washed it, nothing came out, so it was like a stain on her ear...It was probably due to the mahouts using their hooks to stab them when they weren't behaving... I'm not sure what I think about this. Reading the pahmplet, they tried to reassure us that the mahouts only used it when necessary, and for the safety of everyone around them, and for the safety of the elephant herself...and that elephants are just like humans, and sometimes we can react to things in irrational or dangerous ways...It doesn't seem like the mahouts use their weapons ONLY under these circumstances, but I don't know enough to really decide...

After the bathing session, we packed and headed back to the village to grab breakfast before getting transported back to Luang Prabang. Agoes told me that his bus ride to Thailand was horrible and it was impossible to get sleep because the bus felt like it was going to tip over every minute that it tried to get over the muddy dirt roads... I planned on getting a flight to Chiang Mai, but flights were booked for 3 days, so I had to take the bus today... With no hotel room, I had to plan my day so that I could be fresh and clean for the bus ride at 7PM...

I decided to get my laundry done, chill around a bar with wifi, and go to a sauna so that I could use their showers to wash before leaving the town. I rented a bike to do all this, and everything bad just happened in the span of around 2 hours! Some parts of the bicycle fell off while I was riding it...The sauna was a bad idea, because even though I got to shower afterwards, I continued to sweat for the next hour...and when I picked up my laundry, it wasn't ready, and I had to pick it all up semi-wet still... Hopefully the bus ride will be better than what Agoes said since it doesn't seem to be raining as much as when he left...

Day 55 - Mahout Training at the Elephant Village

Took a minivan with a group of 6 others (2 couples from London, and 2 girls from Holland) to the Elephant Village, a center who's objectives are to care and save elephants. Booked a 2 day/1 night tour that includes learning some of the Mahout commands to the elephants.

The center saves elephants from poaching by providing them a viable means of maintaining the expenses needed to feed them and keep them healthy. Due to deforestation and logging  in Thailand and Laos, many elephants don't have enough area to survive in the forests. Most of the Asian elephants are from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Burma, Indonesia, India, and Nepal. The elephants are supported by the tourism industry, while giving people a chance to interact with them and ride them, bathe them, and feed them. They are able to exercise by giving rides to people, and walk around the sanctuary.

When we arrived, we were taken by boat to our lodge across the Nam Kwon river. The lodges were beautiful and basically in the middle of nature and the forest and beside the river. We all got our own private balconies overlooking the river. Afterwards, we each got a little lesson in how to mount the elephant and give verbal commands on how to go forward, move left or right, and stop. We were told to approach the elephant from the right side, and to make sure the elephant seems relaxed (flapping ears and tail, and moving a little) instead of tense (staring intently at you and not moving).

Afterwards, we each rode our elephants through the forest for an hour. We were all supposed to be sitting on the howdahs, but my mahout switched roles with me and I rode on the front of the elephant, grasping for dear life the entire hour. It gave my arms and legs a good workout. Along the walk, the elephants frequently tried to stop and just eat eat and eat! I think our tour guide said that elephants eat as much as 250 kg of food per day. 

Near evening, we all rode our own elephants to the jungle with the mahouts to chain them in the forest (or else they would continue to roam and get lost or run away). This gives them an ample amount of food to eat. On the ride, I kept thinking I was getting bitten in the butt cheek while riding the elephant, but I think it was just their thick hairs.

Afterwards we went to the Tae Chae waterfalls. The entire day it rained, but not as bad as yesterday. It was a light drizzle throughout the day that kind of enhanced the surroundings we were in. The water was chilly cold, but it was fun to swim next to the waterfalls. Not as impressive as yesterday's Kouang Si Waterfalls, but the waterfalls were wider. I showed my new friends how to eat a balut egg, and they were all gagging. I love eating balut in front of white people!

When we got back, we went to the elephant village to have dinner. Had a conversation with the Dutch people about their marijuana laws. It is legal to own 5 plants in your own house, but no more than that. What's interesting is that there's something fishy about where coffeeshops get their marijuana with this law. There isn't another law that makes it legal for a company to produce it, yet police officers don't really crack down or try to find out where they get it from. Maybe they are getting paid to shut up? 

These girls also told me that they wish that people would have better perceptions of Amsterdam and Holland instead of the marijuana culture because there is much more to see there. I do admit, the only place I remember visiting when I was there was the Red Light District...when I was underage...on an Asian tour...with my mom...

Balcony View from my Room

Getting Mahout Lessons with 36 Year old Mae Ouk

Sophie and Eveline from Holland

Feeding Bananas to the Elephants

Tae Chae Waterfalls

Day 54 - National Museum and Kouang Si Waterfalls

The National Museum/Royal Palace Museum was closed yesterday when I visited because it was during lunch hours, so I headed there early in the morning to catch a visit before heading to one of the famous waterfalls on the outskirts of the city.

The Royal Palace was the main residence of King Sisavang Vong in the early 20th century before being converted to a museum. You could catch a glimpse of the living arrangements of the Royal Family, including the bedrooms of the King and Queen as well as the childrens' rooms. One of the rooms near the front of the palace was painted with various scenes of city life in Luang Prabang, each highlighted at different times of the day by the sunlight shining through the windows. I wish I could provide pictures, but no cameras were allowed inside the Palace.

At the back of the museum grounds was a photo exhibition called "The Floating Buddha" which housed a collection of photographs of novice monks at a retreat learning about the practice of meditation. The retreat was created because meditation was often neglected or less important and they were trying to revive it, or at least teach these monks how to do it. There was a quote used at the introduction to the exhibit of what of the Buddhist teachings:

Sabbe dhamma nalam abhinivesaya - nothing whatsoever should be clung to

I could see why such a saying is fundamental to successful meditation, because you really have to let go of everything to clear your mind and transform yourself into another state of consciousness. Is there compassion and connection if you don't cling onto anything though? What about love?

Afterwards, we took a minivan to the Kouang Si waterfalls, about 30 km from town. At the start of the trek up the waterfall was a bear enclosure with bears that were taken from the wild and kept safe from poachers. It's sad to think that we have to capture these animals and create an artificial habitat for them to live in, just to protect them.

The entire waterfall is multi-tiered, and it took a while to get to the top, but along the way, you could stop and take a dip in the cold waters. It was different than other waterfalls that I have seen because the falls were not too high but more like powerful streams, except for the main waterfall at the top. It started to really pour by the time we got to the top and we found ourselves trapped seeking shelter at the restaurant at the top, waiting for the opportunity to trek down when the rain stopped. That opportunity never came and we had to get back to the minivan by a certain time, so we ran down, getting soaked from the pouring rain.

Back at the city center, Agoes left for Thailand, and I decided to stay for a couple more days. I visited the local Red Cross because someone recommended their massages and herbal sauna room. The sauna room was nowhere as hot as the sauna in Vientiene, but was nice nonetheless. I decided near the end of the night to book an Elephant Mahout Training for 2 days and 1 night starting tomorrow. Can't wait to see the elephants tomorrow!

Kouang Si Waterfall

Wat Ho Pha Bang

Photo Exhibit at the National Museum

Wat Ho Pha Bang

Bear Enclosure

Kouang Si Waterfall