Chiang Mai

Yesterday was a travel day. We flew from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. We have just a few things of interest to report that we learned from our new guide on our way to the hotel from the airport.

Chiang Mai is a very old city. It was established in 1296. The Burmese destgroyed it in 1555 and took the people as slaves. It was under Burmese rule for 216 years and was liberated in 1777. It took 26 years to pus the Burmese out. It was one of the six capitol cities of Siam and is known as the land of the roses because of its hospitality. 1.8 million people live here, 95% of whom are Buddhist. There are 1,242 Buddhist temples.

We passed some rice paddies and learned that you can't tell what kind of rice is growing there from just looking. You have to feel the top. If it is short and fat then it is sticky rice. If it is long grained then it is white rice.

Last night, we had another Thai dinner. We sat on the floor around round tables. Pan, our guide, told us this kind of dining table is called Kun Dak. He also explained that in this part of Thailand, they use chili paste every day, all day. We found that to be true. Nearly every part of the meal was very spicy. Dad, again, was a very good sport. It kept us from eating too much.

Okay...now for today, November 2nd. We went to The Elephant Training Center in Chiang Dao where we saw an elephant show, rode on an elephant, and went on a bamboo raft ride down the Ping River. Before getting to that, though, there are some things that we're sure you've always wanted to know about elephants. The elephants in Thailand are of the Indian variety. They are the ones with the smaller ears. Their are three sexes - male, female, and inbetween. The inbetween are male elephants that don't have tusks. There are about 1500 white elephants in the jungles. They are constantly in danger because of poachers who come from the city. They pay the local villagers to kill them. They use guns or cross bows with poison arrows. The elephant tusks cost more than an elephant.

Thailand is a land of superstition. Many people believe that having elephant tusk or bone will protect them from evil spirits.

When a male elephant is interested in a female, he woos her by singing to her and giving her leaves and other things to eat. An elphant pregancy lasts 22-24 months (I know I said something alittle different the other day--but that was from information from another guide). Anyway, after she has been pregnant for a year, the female elephant looks for another female to accompany her the remaining months and serve as her midwife. During the delivery, the midwife stand behind the mother and helps her. When the baby is born, the midwife pushes the mother out of the way so that she doesn't accidentally step on the baby. She catches the baby which weighs about 90-100 kilos, cleans her up and calls the mother back so she can nurse the baby. The midwife continues to help take care of the baby which is nursed for about 1 1/2 years.

In an elephant camp, the baby is taken from the mother when he is 2 1/2 years old to begin it training. It is a very traumatic time. The baby elephant then enters primary school where it learns basic skills. From 6-10 years old, the baby elephant goes to secondary school where they learn more advanced skills having to do with logging. Between 11-16 years of age, the elephants learn to work in teams and work 4-6 hours a day in the cooler parts of the day. The prime years of an elephant's working life are between 17-38 when they work 8-10 hours a day. Between 39 and 50, the elephant's power gradually decreases and they work between 6 and 8 ours a day. Between 51 and 60 years of age, the elephants become more and more tired and often have health problems. At 60, they retire and get a pension. Their life expectancy is about 75. An elephant weighs an average of 4 1/2 tons. He sleeps 4 hours a day and spends most the the rest of the day eating. He needs 240 kilos of food and 180-200 liters of water a day. He also produces 100 kilos of dung a day which they use for fertilizer and process to make paper. When elephants sleep, they post a guard to protect them from poachers, etc.

There are many snakes here - poisonous and nonpoisonous. Our guide told us that if you approach a snake and it slithers away, it isn't poisonous. If, however, it stops and looks back at you, it is. Lord Buddha taught that you shouldn't kill animals, but the figure that it is between you and the snake, it's okay to kill it. It is also okay to kill for food - just not for sport.

Okay, now for what we actually did...The elephant training camp was spectacular. First, we fed some of the elephants sugar cane. We then watched them bathe in the river. We then watched a show. It began with a baby elephant raising a flag on a flag pole to open the festivities. We then watched them pull, push and lift logs to arrange them in a pile. They picked up trash and put it in a basket. They, actually, picked up anything their mahouts (trainers) asked them to including putting the trainers' hats on their heads. It ended with an elephant painting a picture that would have fit in perfectly in the Museum of Modern Art. Oh--we learned that an elephants height is the same as two times around it's foot.

We then went on an hour's ride on an elephant through the jungle and back up the river. We sat on a wooden seat that was strapped to the elephant's back and secured with a bamboo loop around it's tail. We even had a seat belt - which we needed. We ride was very unsteady. In places, it could rival anything at Six Flags. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and the experience was terrific!

Afterward, we went on a bamboo raft ride down the Ping River for an hour. It was so peaceful.

We stopped for lunch where we sang "Happy Birthday" to one of our group. That prompted our guide to tell us how birthdays are celebrated traditionally in Thailand. If you were a Thai, the day before your birthday you would go to the market and put together a basketful of items - fruits and other gifts. On your birthday, you would take the basket to the nearest temple and present it to the chielf monk. You would tell him you had brought it because it is your birthday. You would sit on the floor before him, making sure you were lower than he is. You would then prostrate yourself on the floor 3 times, and the monk would dip a reed in holy water and bless you.

He also told us how Thais do not end meals as we do with dessert. They drink water at the end of their meal. They eat lots of rice and vegetables and only have meat on special occasions. The sticky rice is very good for those who do hard labor.

Back to the elephant...an elephant with a big tusk can list up to one ton (we saw one roll a long up on his tusks and lift it). If it is more than one ton, it takes 2 elephants working together. For every 5 days that an elephant works, he needs 2 days of rest. I asked if the mahouts are always male. He said yes, emphatically. He then said that while the mahout is gone, usually for months at a time, his wife has to live by very strict ruled. She cannot wear make up or dress up nicely; she cannot chat with strangers; she in not allowed to stay on the balcony after dinner. If she does, they believe that it will bring bad luck to her husband.

Other interesting trivia---a banana tree symbolizes easy. They plant that in front of their houses if they want an easy life. Jack fruit represents power. You will often see banana trees and jack fruit trees planted in front of homes.

We learned alittle about the Golden Triangle which isn't very far from here. It is the border where Laos, Myanmar (Burma), and Thailand meet. For many years, it was the case. The Thai government has worked very hard to replace opium as the cash crop. It has been difficult because all of the hill people, according to our guide, use drugs for all kind of different reasons. When they become addicted to opium they use 80 pipes a day. They neglect their children and aren't able to do anything. The government set up schools to try to stop the cycle. They have been quite successful, although it is still a problem in some remote areas.

Okay--our last stop was a wonderful orchid farm. There are 25,000 species of orchid and 10,000 of them are found in Thailand. They do not grow in soil but are attached to trees are are hung in baskets. They need to be sprayed with water twice a day and fertilized once a week. It takes 2 1/2 years before they bloom for the first time, and they live for 35 years. The farm was amazing - the flowers were absolutely gorgeous.

We took a break from Thai food tonight.

Well, I really rambled on today. I'm sure you are more than thrilled with all of the tidbits of information.