Thailand - Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, & Chiang Rai
Day 17 - May 22nd, 2022 - Lopburi to Sukhothai 🚆🚕
Sawasdee Kaaaaa, two to Phitsanulok, please!
Oh, there's no more tickets left on the 10:29 7 Special Express?
😢
So we resigned ourselves to waiting for the 12:41 201 Ordinary upon which we had a sweltering 6 hour journey north in third class. At least it was cheap, something like 60THB for us both.
The journey north was uneventful -- we entertained ourselves by watching the rice paddies pass by outside, considering the various food and drink being peddled by the vendors, and meditating on how moist and sticky our bodies were. There were also many cute train stations to break up the monotony.
Finally -- our backs creaking and legs ripping from the vinyl seats -- we arrived in Phitsanulok. We had planned on taking a bus from here to Old Sukhothai but it was past the last bus now so I found a guy on whatsapp who arranged to pick us up at the train station and drive us to our destination for 1800 baht.
We exchanged selfies and he found us within a minute of us stepping outside. The drive was wonderfully air-conditioned, and about an hour later we pulled in to the Thai Thai Sukhothai resort, just after dark. We were super impressed by our $30/night room. It had a really nice bathroom too with beautiful blue-green tiles and a skylight.
We saw for the first time -- the ubiquitous "No Durian!" sign. I just saw that Thailand has engineered a no-smell durian. There are at least 30 different species of the smelly fruit.
We also heard back from a Finnish orthopaedic surgeon who we had emailed about my tendon situation. Vitali's doctor from Wingate had recommended him -- they send all of their injured athletes to him and he has treated many an Olympian. He wouldn't look at my MRIs (probably because we weren't paying him and he didn't want liability) but said with tendinopathies he always, always, recommends a conservative treatment first -- physical therapy, and that most resolve with just that.
So I did some research on physical therapy and found that various studies point to eccentric loading exercises being the most beneficial for clinical improvement -- with 85% of patients recovering within 6-8 weeks. So I started doing these exercises -- 3 sets of 4 exercises, 3 times a day.
Day 18 - May 23rd, 2022 - Sukhothai
Today we would tour the Sukhothai Historical Park on bike.
Our hotel had them available for 50THB/day. They were sized for Thais, small, even for me. Vitali looked downright ridiculous.
From wikipedia:
Sukhothai was a town founded in the 13th century on the fringe of the Khmer empire. The exact year is unknown, but according to the Fine Arts Office it was between 1238 and 1257. Founded by Phokhun Si Intharathit, it was the first truly independent Thai (Siamese) Kingdom after defeating the Khmers. Sukhothai enjoyed a golden age under their third king, King Ramkhamhaeng, who was credited with creating the Khmer-derived Thai alphabet which is essentially the same as that in use today. He also laid the foundation for politics, the monarchy and religion, as well as expanding its circle of influence. Sukhothai was later ruled by many kings. The province is most known for the historic city of Sukhothai, the capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom.
As a result, there is an extremely dense conglomeration of temples in the area, excellent sightseeing.
We hopped on the tiny bikes, rode through town and to the ticket office to buy passes for the day -- 100THB each.
Single lane paved roads criss-crossed the entire area -- passing numerous ruins. Our first stop was Wat Mahathat.
Check those chedis!!! They were all made out of brick on laterite foundations.
We even saw a danger noodle, which we gave a wide berth.
Then we hopped back on our bikes and rode over to Wat Sa Si, which was on an island.
Everywhere you looked -- perfect geometric order.
We went back to our bikes and saw a couple who had rented this little thing to ride around in! So cute. There weren't many people here at all.
We rode to the next spot, passing so many beautiful vignettes. I had to stop riding every 2 minutes and Vitali's frustration with his bike grew evident. Not only was it difficult to pedal, the left pedal had a loose bolt and kept threatening to fall off!
We went through an area which had all these white herons roosting in trees. There were hundreds of them. We pedaled through that part as fast as we could.
Our final stop in the central area was Wat Chana Songkhram.
We were amazed by the beauty of the structures -- despite being made of rectangular bricks they had incredibly gentle and refined curves.
We decided to ride west to another part of the park (another 100THB each). I had read about Wat Saphan Hin, a temple on the hillside, which was supposed to have a good view over the area.
We travelled through a more remote area, first through fields and then forest. We stopped at a stall on the side of the road, bought a bag of chips, and asked if they could perhaps help us with our mechanical issue. He didn't understand english but he got the gist and directed us down the road to a neighbor who was chilling with his family in a hammock. We gesticulated that we had an issue -- and he very happily went to look for a tool. Unfortunately -- he didn't have the right one, but we thanked him anyway and we continued on.
The road began to climb and before long we were soaked with sweat. We stopped at one temple which I walked up to alone and then we continued for a bit and found the temple we were looking for originally.
Vitali found there was a segment to the top of the hill -- so he ran up. I wished I could have run up too but I could only manage walking.
The view from the top was just okay. I was hoping to see some chedis sticking out from the treetops but you couldn't see much of anything.
The Buddha at the top though was very nice -- and quite large.
We stopped at 7eleven on our way back for some snacks, a pharmacy for some bug spray and sunscreen (the lowest we could find was SPF50, and only one type without brightening ingredients). Exactly opposite of western standards, Thais find pale skin more attractive, so a lot of the sunscreen is extremely high SPF and includes skin brighteners.
We rode back to our hotel after that and then rode to a nearby restaurant for dinner. I couldn't convey that I needed to eat gluten-free food so I just had rice and coconut ice cream. Vitali had some tasty seafood dishes. Somehow we forgot to take photos.
Day 19 - May 24th, 2022 - Sukhothai
We decided to take today off to rest. As usual, we started off with a wonderful breakfast in the hotel restaurant.
Which featured a dish of your choice and a buffet of fruits, cereals, and juices. We usually got the omelet dish. Thais like their eggs medium rare and we experienced the whole gamut of doneness during our time in Thailand -- from basically raw to fully cooked, usually somewhere around what we would consider 50% cooked.
We also ate a lot of these comically tiny bananas. We actually had probably five different types of banana while in Thailand -- each with their own texture and flavor. The littlest ones had the strongest taste. I wish we had recorded which bananas we tried and our review of them.
We walked around our neighborhood for a bit, admiring how adorably decorated the buildings were.
Our bungalow, below right.
And then we headed for the pool where we met a very friendly socked cat.
The pool was great, if a little warm. The water was probably 90 degrees...
We ordered a Thai massage in the afternoon in which two ladies climbed up on to our bed with us and stretched and contorted our bodies while aggressively squeezing and slapping our muscles. It was actually very good, and unbelievably cheap -- 250THB/hour.
Day 20 - May 25th, 2022 - Sukhothai to Chiang Mai 🚕🚆
It was time to continue our journey north, so we took a 100THB tuk tuk to the bus station in new Sukhothai and then rode a minibus (50THB each) back to the Phitsanulok train station. This time, we had reserved a seat on the special express ahead of time!
The train ride north was another 6 hours, but this time we had comfortable seats, air conditioning, and even a hot meal! I was able to eat some of it too! The train ride was $30 for two tickets.
We arrived in Chiang Mai late in the evening and caught a songthaew to our hotel. It was raining lightly.
Vitali grabbed some protein on a stick from outside and checked in to our hotel. Behind the curtain was a full height window and balcony that overlooked the road (and a primary school across the street!). We sat out there in our swimsuits one day and the kids looked over at us and started giggling.
Day 21 - May 26th, 2022 - Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand, in the far mountainous north. It is considered the cultural capital and is thus espoused on every backpacker's list of must-see places in the country. We were looking forward to seeing what it held.
From wikipedia:
Mangrai founded Chiang Mai in 1294 or 1296 on a site that the Lawa people called Wiang Nopburi.
Chiang Mai succeeded Chiang Rai as the capital of Lan Na. Pha Yu enlarged and fortified the city, and built Wat Phra Singh in honor of his father Kham Fu. The ruler was known as the chao. The city was surrounded by a moat and a defensive wall since nearby Taungoo Dynasty of the Bamar people was a constant threat, as were the armies of the Mongol Empire, which decades earlier had conquered most of Yunnan, China, and in 1292 overran the bordering Dai kingdom of Chiang Hung.
With the decline of Lan Na, the city lost importance and was occupied by the Taungoo in 1556. Chiang Mai formally became part of the Thonburi Kingdom in 1774 by an agreement with Chao Kavila, after the Thonburi king Taksin helped drive out the Taungoo Bamar. Subsequent Taungoo counterattack led to Chiang Mai's abandonment between 1776 and 1791. Lampang then served as the capital of what remained of Lan Na. Chiang Mai then slowly grew in cultural, trading, and economic importance to its current status as the unofficial capital of Northern Thailand.
We started our first day off by stopping at a cafe advertising 24THB drinks available with every flavor under the sun. I got a blueberry soda and Vitali got some sort of lavender milk tea drink. After the barista made them she put them in this machine that melted lids on top. They were AWESOME.
It was 9am and our shirts were already sticking to our torsos. We had to have our legs and shoulders covered for visiting temples so it was extra excellent. I had found a google map walking tour so we decided to do about half of it today.
We started with the Temple of the Lion Buddha (Wat Phra Singh). Our first standing temple! Dates to 1345.
From wikipedia:
The temple houses an important Buddha statue: the Phra Buddha Sihing which gives the temple its name. The origins of this statue are unknown but, according to legend, it was based on the lion of Shakya, a statue since lost which used to be housed in the Mahabodhi Temple of Bodh Gaya (India). The Phra Buddha Sihing statue is supposed to have been brought, via Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka), to Ligor (present day Nakhon Si Thammarat) and, from there, via Ayutthaya, to Chiang Mai.
There are two more Buddha statues in Thailand which are claimed to be the Phra Buddha Sihing: one is housed in Wat Phra Mahathat in the city of Nakhon Si Thammarat and another one the Bangkok National Museum.
We were so impressed by the beauty of the facade and of the unapologetically gold chedis around back.
There were a lot of school children visiting this temple so we didn't linger too long. We headed for our next stop, passing by the beautiful moat of the old city along the way.
We stopped at Wat Pansao which was deserted but beautiful.
We continued walking along the moat, now with portions of the old city wall visible. Like many other cities of the period, and that we had seen in Ayutthaya and Sukhothai -- were built according to traditional astrological and religious principles. Every aspect of the city layout, including walls, gates, moats, and temples, were placed to appease spirits for protection.
There were more KFCs than I was expecting. It made sense -- Thais love fried food, and they love chicken.
We stopped at Wat Lok Moli which was an entirely different style of temple. The viharn (assembly hall) dates to 1545. There were newer religious buildings on site too.
Then we visited the Dragon Temple (Wat Rajamontean), a new temple, dating to 2010.
This was the first place we noticed most of the animal statues have buttholes. Sometimes gold, sometimes flowery, but always meticulously sculpted.
Across the street was the Golden Horse Temple (Wat Kun Kha Ma), which had zodiac animals outside. We passed by various other temples too. You couldn't walk 200 meters without finding one.
We visited the White Elephant Gate (Chang Phuak).
From our walking guide:
The North Gate was called "Hua Vieng Gate" which means the first gate to enter the city. In Thai language "Hua" means head and in northern Thai "Vieng" is a fortified place. Around 1400 AD this name was changed to "Chang Puek", the "White Elephant Gate". Two events in Chiang Mai's history contributed to this change of name. The first occurred in 1386 AD. King Geu-Na, the eighth ruler of Chiang Mai, was the King who introduced Buddhism from Ceylon to Lannathai. Phra Maha Sumana Thera, a priest from Hariphunchai, had presented the King with some Buddha relics and the King wanted to find a holy place to bury them. To determine the most auspicious site, the King had the relics placed in a howdah on the back of a white elephant and then set it free. Followed by the King and Phra Sumana, the elephant left the city by the Hua Vieng Gate and walked up Doi Suthep until it came to rest at a spot on the hill that is now the location of Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep.
The second event happened about 15 years later. King Saen Muang Ma, the son of King Geu-Na, had led his army on an expedition from Chiang Mai to Sukhothai, with the intention of capturing the city kingdom. When they arrived on the outskirts of Sukhothai, it was decided to rest for the night and attack in the morning. However, while the Chiang Mai army was camped outside of Sukhothai preparing itself for the morning attack on the city, they were savagely attacked by the Sukhothai army. This pre-emptive strike caught the tired Chiang Mai army by surprise and they were easily overwhelmed and slaughtered. King Saen Muang Ma only escaped the massacre with his life because of the courage and stamina of his two faithful servants, Obb and Yeraka. They got the King out of the camp and then, because of the rough terrain, took turns to carry him on their shoulders all the way back to Chiang Mai, a distance of some 250 kilometres. Upon his safe return the King was so grateful that he rewarded his servants with money and materials and nominated them to royal ranking as Khun Chang Sai; the left elephant, and Khun Chang Kava; the right elephant. Both Khun Changs lived at Chieng Chom and later at this location the "Two White Elephants" monument was built in their honour. The elephants were originally placed on either side of the road leading to the "Hua Vieng Gate" and the name was then changed to the "White Elephant Gate".
We continued walking in the unbelievable heat.
We stopped at Wat Saen Muang Ma Luang, a scripture library, inside a large complex with multiple viharns. They were all different.
We wandered through some smaller roads as we started to get more comfortable in the city. It seemed safe. After spending six weeks in Thailand I can happily advise there was nowhere we ever felt even remotely unsafe. Speaking only from our own experience -- we think it has to do with how Thais value the Buddhist principles they follow -- meditation, hard work, and good behaviour lead to enlightenment; of karma; and that all living things are created equal. That means even down to household pests -- doing no harm to ants and mosquitos.
We passed even MORE temples.
And went in to visit the Temple of the Fortified City (Wat Chiang Man).
From our walking guide:
Chiang Mai’s oldest temple began construction shortly after the city’s founding in 1296, and has pretty grounds near the Sriphum corner of the old city. It’s one of the most important historic sites in Chiang Mai and although not as photogenic as other temples (and somewhat neglected), it contains two ancient, diminutive Buddha images; one purported to be almost 2,000 years old. This temple is a good example of classic Lanna architecture.
The oldest structure is the Chang Lom chedi, which is in a style that could have originated from Sri Lanka via Sukhothai, or from Pagan. Fifteen elephants represent a sea of unformed matter upon which the cosmos of the chedi floats.
We were getting tired from walking around in the heat so we headed back for our hotel -- passing the Three Kings monument.
We passed a few snoozing cats.
On the way back we passed even more temples and chedis. We stopped for some coconut ice cream and ducked into a 99 baht store where I found two cute skorts. They were one size fits all with elastic but actually fit me perfectly (which I found after purchase -- no trying on in store!) Next door was a clothing shop that mostly had rayon tourist clothing (think elephant harem pants), but also a few racks of what appeared to be super cute linen shirts. I picked one outout one and tried it on -- once again -- one size fits all, but it fit me perfectly.
The shop owner gave me a discount because she didn't have any water for us! I think I paid 700THB for two of the shirts. I inspected the shirts closer after we got back and found incredible quality stitching and seamsmanship. I wondered if they were handmade. What a deal!
FINALLY! We made it back to the air conditioned haven of our hotel room and immediately showered. Vitali got some more protein on a stick and shrimp fried rice.
That evening, I took advantage of the great view down the street our balcony had.
Day 22 - May 27th, 2022 - Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai 🚌
So we had decided to head to Chiang Rai today, Friday, so we could hit the Saturday Night market there and then come back on Sunday for the Sunday Night market in Chiang Mai.
So we headed to the bus stop and wandered around until we found where we were supposed to be. We had a four hour bus ride which passed through rolling hills.
We arrived in town and walked 15 minutes to our accommodation. I had actually found a really good deal on the "family suite" of this particular guesthouse. It turned out to be the entire second floor of the building! It was only $20/night. There was a cafe downstairs that was closed due to the pandemic but the owners had a food stall on the street operating.
I found a restaurant on find me gluten free that had some good reviews so I sent Vitali to go pick up enough food for the two days we were there. I sent him off and went downstairs five minutes later to find he had broken a shoe rack by sitting on it and couldn't find his way out of the building...
We paid the owners for the shoe rack and they just laughed.
The food was outrageous. There was a bbq-like chicken, chicken with mystery seasoning that was sweet and sour -- incredible vegetables and exotic mushrooms. Morning glory, pineapple fried rice with raisins, and some sort of delicious pork curry. We inhaled a good bit of it in one sitting. The flavors were all so different than anything we had had before.
Day 23 - May 28th, 2022 - Chiang Rai
The next morning we had scheduled a scooter to be dropped off at our place so we could scooter around to the sights in Chiang Rai. We figured this would be a good place to learn since it was much quieter here.
The scooter business brought it over and we paid a 2,000THB deposit and the 250THB rental cost for the day. The lady showed Vitali how to ride and said to practice for a bit before we went out.
Notice what she's wearing! Everyone was wearing hoodies, long sleeves, long pants to keep the sun off their skin. We couldn't imagine ever getting so used to the heat and humidity that that would be comfortable.
Vitali felt uncomfortable with the scooter though so we called them back and offered to pay for the day but when they came and took it away they returned all our money. We called a grab to go sightseeing instead.
The driver convinced us along the way to hire him for a few hours so we would have transport back to town. I think we agreed on 300THB for 4 hours? On top of the 180THB we already paid in the grab app.
We went to Wat Rong Khun first, the White Temple. It is owned by Chalermchai Kositpipat, an artist local to the area who decided to rebuild the original temple there that was in disrepair. He designed, constructed, and opened the new building to visitors in 1997. To date, he has spent 1,080 million THB on the project.
In 2014 there was an earthquake that appeared to damage the buildings -- the artist decided to demolish the buildings and not rebuild. But then he had a structural engineering team evaluate the structures and they deemed that generally everything was safe, and Chalermchai decided to rebuild.
The immediate effect upon viewing this temple is of awe and disbelief. It is extraordinary -- unlike anything you have ever seen before. Both a building, a sculpture, and something more. The building is starkly white -- yet the shadows and reflections and surface ornamentation are anything but plain.
Upon closer inspection -- things get weird.
The approach to the temple is across a bridge surrounded by outreaching hands -- symbolizing human desire. The path to happiness and enlightenment is by foregoing temptation and greed, leaving the grotesque behind.
Next you are greeted by figures of Death himself, and Rahu -- who decides the fate of the dead.
And then we reach the ubosot, the main building. Formally, a very traditional Thai temple with multi-leveled roofs and guarded by naga serpents. Ornamentally -- a flaming and organic growth fighting the elements to expand and consume the universe.
Inside -- and unfortunately, no photographs were allowed, dramatic and fiery images filled with apocalyptic imagery -- nuclear warfare, 9/11, oil pumps -- interspersed with western idols like Neo, the Terminator, and Harry Potter. It was so striking we actually bought a signed print of the back wall of the temple in the gift shop for only 1,000THB. Below is an image of this from the internet -- the "Buddha's Victory over Mara".
Outside, more weirdness ensued -- decapitated heads of people and pop culture icons; flaming skulls, and grotesque figures. It all added up to an incredible visionary experience. This artist certainly has flair.
Various other buildings were sprinkled about on the property. He's still building -- and eventually, the artist intends there to be a meditation center here.
Behind the white temple is a sculpted grotto area and adjacent was the bathroom building -- bright gold -- representing the body, a beautiful contrast against the white of the temple, representing the mind.
Nearby was a golden structure which housed an art gallery.
Incredible. The artist is a singular talent.
Adequately blown away we headed over to Wat Huay Pla Kang, a contemporary construction which features a huge statue of Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion, a nine tiered pagoda and a Thai temple.
We headed over to the Blue Temple (Way Rong Suea Ten), another contemporary temple done up in quite an eye-catching way.
The interior was incredibly painted. Unlike the white temple, less hellfire and flames, more celestial oneness.
Phew. We got dropped off back at our hotel at noon, took a nap, and prepared to go out for the evening to see the Saturday Night Market.
We left before sunset to go see a few more sights -- the main market, the central Clock Tower, and another temple.
We saw a fat Budai, which apparently isn't Buddha at all, but a Chinese monk from the 10th century.
We headed back to near our guesthouse which was where the night market was taking over the streets and setting up.
As the light waned it started to get busy as people began descending on the stalls and picking out goods. I found a nice cotton knee-length vest with a mandarin collar and blue oriental fish print.
Vitali found a Transformer he liked.
We left the main street where the vendors were selling clothes and goods and turned down a side street where all the food vendors were lined up with their offerings. How could you even decide???
We found some quail eggs which I was able to eat -- although we had to stop them from spritzing ours with an atomizer of soy sauce. 😂
We generally just ogled the abundance and variety of food.
Super cheap sushi was on offer. Vitali filled up a tray for only a few dollars.
The fried food filled my dreams.
Fresh fruit and veggies too. We picked up a kilo of rambutan for 50THB.
Seafood grilled on demand was very popular -- some pickled, some not. Vitali had one of these squid and he said it was probably the best he's ever had.
Endless sausages, meatballs, and protein on sticks abound.
There was live music too.
Back in front of our guesthouse, the entire street was lined with masseuses rubbing seated folks with tired legs.
Wow. What an incredible experience. I read somewhere later the most often used Thai phrase amongst each other is -- "Have you eaten?" Their culture is very food centric. It's available everywhere, at all hours. Never shall a person be hungry. Everything had a very high standard of quality and taste. We never had any food that was just okay. We never even got sick either -- the hygiene standards were extremely high. Which you would have inferred by seeing how meticulously clean everything else was.
This was one of my favorite things about Thailand -- the food and night markets.
Day 24 - May 29th, 2022 - Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai 🚌
In the morning we went to visit Baan Dam, the Black House Museum, another visionary environment by an artist named Thawan Duchanee. Since 1975 he has been creating these structures and sculptures. Now, there are 40 buildings filled with horns, art, and phalluses, among other things.
The paintings actually had AR supplements -- you could view a QR code through instagram and the paintings would come alive.
Each building had a different theme under the same general motif.
It was a really incredible place. Even more so than the White Temple. This artist has an obsession with certain objects and you could see him try again and again to work it out through the spaces. They were all so artfully arranged and a joy to behold.
A lot of traditional Thai architectural forms and shapes but definitely more stylized and contemporary.
This was probably the coolest place we saw in all of Thailand. There must be something in the water in Chiang Rai to have raised so many visionary artists.
It was all so easy to photograph.
There was a drum and basket pavilion.
And these concrete dome structures.
King in the North!
We called a grab back to town and then walked to the bus station to head back to Chiang Mai. We got to our guesthouse ($14/night) after dark, dropped our bags, and headed out to see the Sunday Night Market.
Similar to the Chiang Rai Saturday Night Market but there were a lot of temples lit up along the area and adherents making offerings. We also saw for the first time, a not insignificant amount of western tourists.
Vitali got some dumplings for dinner, stopped at 7eleven for me, and headed back for the night.
Day 25 - May 30th, 2022 - Chiang Mai
Having a good night of rest, we watched out the window for the shuttle that would pick us up and take us to Elephant Nature Park, one of the three ethical elephant sanctuary foundations in Thailand. Seeing elephants was high on my list for our visit to Thailand. We paid $150 for the both of us to spend the day there.
The shuttle showed up on time and we met our group -- another couple from Argentina and France, and a woman from the UK.
Our guide explained what our day would be like -- and how it would be mostly unstructured, just going to visit the different elephants and see what they were up to. Lunch was included too.
The drive was about an hour to the north of Chiang Mai. Elephant Nature Park is a rescue and rehabilitation center where elephants from the tourism or logging industry can find sanctuary for the rest of their lives, as well as water buffalo, dogs, and cats.
There are numerous elephant "sanctuaries", preserves, and camps in Thailand, but many of them do not treat their elephants ethically -- forcing them to perform, be bathed, or ridden. Elephants are incredibly intelligent and to force them to do any of those things involves "breaking" them, causing physical and psychological harm. It's inhumane.
Below, Vitali looking like he'd been treated inhumanely by being forced to go to an elephant park.
The facility had a very large visitor center with a lot of educational signage and information on the projects happening there.
Some information from the foundation's website:
Saengduean Chailert, also known as Lek, was born in Thailand in 1961. In return for saving the life of a young man, her grandfather, a shaman or traditional healer, was given an elephant named Thong Kham, meaning Golden One. The bond that developed between Lek and Thong Kham sparked a love and respect for elephants that was to shape the course of her life. After graduating from Chiang Mai Rajabhat University with an Arts degree, Lek worked in the tourism industry where she witnessed the mistreatment and suffering of many elephants and began to provide medical aid to elephants in remote villages. In the 1990’s, Lek started rescuing injured, neglected, and elderly elephants, and in 2003 was able to establish a permanent homeland for them in the beautiful Mae Taeng valley, near Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. Today, Elephant Nature Park is home to over 100 elephants who are finally able to live free from abuse within family herds and develop close friendships with one another. Elephants at the park are not required to work, do not perform tricks, and are not ridden. Instead, they are allowed to live a more natural, dignified life where they are respected. Lek has worked tirelessly to raise international awareness about the plight of both captive and wild Asian elephants. She has been influential in improving the lives of hundreds of elephants in Asia through the work of Save Elephant Foundation, which educates elephant owners and helps them to transition away from elephant riding, performances, and other harmful practices, and instead, adopt the Saddle Off model based on compassion, understanding, and respect. In a male-dominated industry steeped in tradition and resistant to change, Lek’s desire to improve the living conditions of captive Asian elephants has required great courage, pragmatism, and perseverance.
Lek is an award-winning conservationist who has been working for over two decades to improve the lives of elephants in Asia and advance their welfare. Lek’s work has received international acclaim and has been documented by National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, the BBC, DW, and CNN as well as in print media around the world, including The Guardian, USA Today, and Forbes. She has received widespread recognition for her work protecting elephants, including being honored as one of six Women Heroes of Global Conservation in 2010 by Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, one of TIME Magazine’s Heroes of Asia in 2005, the Ford Foundation’s Hero of the Planet in 2001, and with the Genesis Award from the Humane Society of the United States in 2003 and 2019.
More recently, the documentary film, Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story has received international acclaim, including being named one of two Best Feature Documentary Films at the 33rd Annual Genesis Awards by The Humane Society of the United States. The film focuses on Lek’s work rescuing an old, blind elephant, named Noi Nah, from abusive conditions and poignantly highlights the plight of the Asian elephant.
Lek continues to be at the forefront of elephant rights issues, raising international awareness and working to advance their welfare. She has initiated projects dedicated to improving the well-being of elephants throughout Asia, including in Thailand, Cambodia, India and Laos. Most days, she can be found at Elephant Nature Park spending time with the rescued herds of elephants as well as the many other animals who have been given sanctuary at the park.
On elephants:
Of all the creature of the world none mirrors the life term of man as the elephant. Living to the ripe old age of 70 years they mature in a very similar way as that of human beings.
The main difference is actually before they are born. The mother is pregnant for just short of two years before the baby arrives.
During their early years the calf follows the mother everywhere learning invaluable survival lessons from her and the rest of the herd. They will also have a special auntie, chosen by the mother as a pseudo-parent in case anything untoward should happen to her. A matriarch, chosen for her keen knowledge of the best feeding areas and skill in leading the herd is the undisputed ruler in the main group consisting of females of varying ages. Males are kept within this herd until they reach the ages of around 13. At that time they are send into exile with the other males and keep a distance of a few kilometers from the females returning only when it is time to repopulate the herd.
They are secretive and shy, keeping their distance from other animals. They especially hate dogs and horses and generally prefer their own company. Most of the day is spent eating and they consume an astonishing 150-300 kg of jungle fodder per day. They enjoy bamboo shoots, grass and all sorts of greens. They sometimes become intoxicated after eating over-ripe fruit. In addition to this massive diet, which only about 50% of which is digested they drink about 150 litres of water daily. It is now clearly evident why it is wrong for them to be in the cities. There simply is no way they can get enough nourishment to keep them sustained. Only four hours are needed to rest each night and they only lie down to sleep when they are sick.
For over 5,000 years elephants have been in the service of man and, until a few centuries ago roamed over much of the planet. At the start of this century there was over 100,000 of them in Siam (Thailand) and the numbers of the Asian elephant species would have been in the millions. Today there are only 3,000-4,000 alive in Thailand amidst a global population that has been estimated as low as 30,000.
Imagine it…in human terms this is the less than Arsenal soccer team supporters at an average home game. Just consider what our world would be like if that was all there were of us… so few that they could comfortably fit into a sports stadium.
Numbers have declined for a number of reasons, not least hunting but the biggest threat they face right now is through human population growth that encroaches their grazing land. They literally have nowhere left to go.
Coupled with the lack of work for the domestic elephant due to the 1989 logging ban the future looks very bleak for the species indeed.
Fortunately for them one lady is concerned with their plight and devotes much of her time to helping them. Sangduen Chailert (Lek) has initiated a programme to look after sick animals. Covering the entire Northern region she travels to instruct the mahouts (elephant trainers) on basic health care and diet. Injections and pills are administered when necessary –more often than not- as well as wound cleaning.
Although the mahouts have been with their elephants for a number of years they still need fundamental advice on how to care for their animals. From overwork to worms there are many subjects beyond the scope of most mahouts and Lek visits teach them how to keep their animals healthy, happy and in prime condition. She calls on over one dozen elephants per week and sometimes more than that in one single day. Her travels take her over some very rough terrain accessible only by four wheel-drive vehicles.
Medicine is expensive and most of it comes via donations from well-wishers. Gem Travel are the main benefactors, using their profits and support services such as transportation to assist wherever they can. The medical help is given free to impoverished mahouts. Without it their elephant would soon succumb to disease and perish. It is difficult to afford the medication but so far resources have barely covered.
So we figured this was a worthy cause to visit.
We visited the "kitchen" first -- where heaps of fruit and vegetables sat in wait. They wouldn't be waiting long though as the elephants are never-sated food eating machines. We watched as volunteers put together little palm packages of rice and banana and cooked them on a grill -- elephant dumplings!
We then walked past the special birthday cake area -- where volunteers assemble "birthday cakes" (above right) paid for by donations -- to the elephants. For a small donation you get a video of these treats being fed to your choice of elephant or group of elephants.
Then we went to meet two friendly females. We were able to walk up near them and say hello. Bulls can stand 9' tall and weigh between 7,000 - 12,000lbs, with females somewhat smaller.
Then we headed over to a different group -- a baby, mom, and auntie. We watched a mahout feed and play with them for a bit.
We also saw the pens they head to at night (for safety). Each pen has a big pile of sand for laying down and some of them even had fireplaces! The older elephants get cold at night in the winter.
Then we visited the area where the bulls were -- they are kept separate as it is in the wild. He might wave at some females to come and visit and if she's interested she is welcome to go.
We visited some water buffaloes too -- who were hanging out where all the poop gets dumped??
Gross.
Then we met another baby and our guide threw him some figs.
Then we headed to lunch which was a huge buffet and I was able to walk with someone to find out what I could eat. I had incredible massaman curry. Everything was vegetarian.
After lunch we headed back out and found a group chilling in the river. It's hydrotherapy for them.
Then we headed to see the two babies again -- who were playing with each other! The one apparently has a little bit of a bully personality and kept bothering the other while she was trying to sleep.
An auntie came over and greeted the mothers -- our guide explained this one was checking in to see if the mothers needed a break from child care.
It was amazing seeing the elephants play and interact with each other.
Then we went to visit the dogs and cats. We went into a kennel full of dogs -- size small -- and it was like being inside a furry car wash.
The cats were the cutest though. These two were the friendliest kitties who came right up for pets.
We picked up a small carved elephant that was carved by a mahout -- one of the skills the foundation teaches them to help replace lost income.
After that we packed up and were taken back to our guesthouse.
Day 26 - May 31st, 2022 - Chiang Mai
Today, we'd do the other half of the Chiang Mai walking tour we had found, before moving to a different hotel.
We started off at the Ta Pae Gate, restored in 1985 to match historic photos. There were a few people offering to take pictures running through the pigeons.
We passed even more temples. We were beginning to get temple'd out.
We got a 35THB custom drink out of a vending machine (why can't we have nice things like this in the US?) and then continued our walk.
We headed to the Temple of the Great Stupa (Wat Chedi Luang), the tallest structure in the city.
From our walking guide:
Dating from 1441, the 84-metre (280 ft.) high pagoda was felled to half that height in an earthquake in the late 16th century. To this day the partially renovated chedi remains the tallest structure in the old city and the main attraction. The large Viharn or assembly hall has a brass statue of a standing Buddha installed by King Saen Muang Ma. He also planted the ancient Dipterocarp tree in the grounds. It is believed that a great catastrophe will befall the city when the tree falls. A small cross shaped building adjacent to the tree houses the city pillar dedicated to the spirit of the city. The tree and the spirit are said to protect Chiang Mai from evil and disaster.
King Saen Muang Ma (1385-1401) began construction on Wat Chedi Luang in 1391 to hold the ashes of his father, Ku Na. The building was expanded by later kings, reaching its final form in 1475.
Spire on temple housed the Emerald Buddha before an earthquake in 1545 toppled top spire of the temple reducing it to the current 61 meters.
The King then moved the Buddha in the Chedi for 6 years before moving it to Luang Prabang (in present-day Laos) and five years later the city fell to the Burmese.
There was some sort of festival happening -- lots of monks and adherents walking around, placing offerings on shrines, donating coins for good health, and quite interestingly -- hauling a tube of water up the side of the chedi to toss on it.
Speaking of monks -- we had read about a "monk chat" that was supposed to be here. Every day, a table of monks sit and wait for visitors to talk to. It's a way to exchange culture and for the younger monks to practice their english. We looked for the table but we couldn't find one -- I suspect because of the festival they weren't doing it.
Also on the topic -- we had wanted to experience the morning alms where Buddhists will offer merits to the monks as an act of religious virtue. This can be food, fruit, toiletries, even money. The monks give blessings in return for the offerings. The monks subsist on these offerings, which is why they include things like toiletries. We were a little intimidated about participating and I later learned that as a woman I couldn't even give my offering to them -- I had to put it on the ground first -- so we passed.
We headed back to our hotel, passing through a beautiful alley. We also had a conversation with a tuk tuk driver. They started by asking if we wanted to go anywhere. When we told him no, they struck up a conversation. We learned this guy was a Muay Thai fighter -- he had the broken nose to prove it. He showed us a picture of his wife -- a beautiful blonde dutch woman -- and his daughter. Good for him!
We explained we wanted to go to Doi Suthep the day after tomorrow but wanted to go at sunset. After a lot of hemming and hawwing about the time of day best to go he brought his friend over who would take us when we wanted -- for the sunrise. We arranged to meet him the day after tomorrow at 4am outside our hotel.
We picked up our bags and carried them over to our next stay, a somewhat fancier place where we decided to splurge ($30/night) and relax for a bit.
It was really, really nice. The bed was supremely comfortable, we had a great balcony with a seating area AND an outdoor shower and bath tub. The tile was a stunning mix of shades of mint and pale yellow. We were living it up!
Vitali agreed to walk across town to a restaurant I had found on find me gluten free. We ordered stir fried morning glory, a traditional northern Thailand dish called Khao Soi, green curry, fried squid, spring rolls, and a steamed fish.
Wowaweewa. My favorite was the Khao Soi which had a coconut, mustard, and red chili flavor. It was COMPLETELY unlike anything I had ever eaten before, and spicy as fuck. My ears tearing between mouthfuls: "It's sooo good". 😭
The green curry was excellent too, and was fast becoming my favorite dish.
Day 27 - June 1st, 2022 - Chiang Mai
We took today off to chill, ordering breakfast at the hotel restaurant ($5 for a sandwich and fruit plate), as well as enjoying some delicious full leaf tea. The tea service cost only a dollar.
We spent the afternoon chilling at the pool which was empty. We were noticing all the places we had stayed were mostly empty. I guess it was late in the season but also we had read that the tourism industry was struggling to recover because of "difficult" Thai entry rules for foreigners. I guess western foreigners have a low standard for "difficult", because all it took was 15 minutes to fill out a form.
Like I mentioned before, this was the start of the monsoon season -- so we were pleasantly surprised by very good weather with plenty of sun. Lucky us.
Day 28 - June 2nd, 2022 - Chiang Mai
We went outside at 4am and not a minute later our driver came over with his Lexus. He said he had slept right over there to be here first thing for us! We drove about 30 minutes up Doi Suthep, up a crazy amount of switchbacks, to the temple on top, which dates to 1383. We walked up 309 steps, flanked with ferocious nagas in the darkness. We took the below photo later when it was light out.
At the top, we removed our shoes, did a lap around the uppermost portion, and then headed down to the viewing platform to shoot a timelapse of the sunrise.
Somehow, either the file got accidentally deleted or I never hit record... but the timelapse is lost. Here's a photo Vitali took.
It was pretty hazy and we didn't get any crazy colors so I wasn't too upset about losing it.
After the sun rose we walked around the temple complex, admiring the flowers, the durian (totally bizarre how they grow -- don't let one fall on your head), and the morning light.
We headed back down, saw the biggest gong ever, and met back up with our driver.
As we descended the mountain he stopped for us several times -- we didn't request to see anything additional when we hired his services but he showed us some more places anyway, which we thought was nice.
We stopped at a roadside temple which was a rest stop for monks who would make the trek up the mountain.
Then we stopped at Wat Pha Lat, an absolutely incredible hidden gem, a meditation retreat and temple tucked into the forest. It is traditionally reached via hiking trail, and we saw a few folks coming up that morning. It was so incredibly peaceful and beautiful.
I especially liked this little shrine across the stream.
There were very small waterfalls and plenty of statue guardians.
We met back up with our driver, headed back, and arranged to have him pick us up the next morning to go to the airport at 7am.
Day 29 - June 3rd, 2022 - Chiang Mai to Bangkok ✈️
Luckily the airport had a lounge we had access to -- the Thai Silk Lounge, which had a nice breakfast spread. We checked our artwork tube from the White Temple planeside and hoped for the best. We found ourselves seated in the emergency row too.
Once we landed in Bangkok we took a grab to the storage unit to drop off some things and then headed to the Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun hospital for my second opinion. That's a mouthful.
This hospital was not quite as nice as the other -- there was someone on a gurney in the waiting area (no sick or injured people to be seen at the other), but there was also someone playing a grand piano at the back of the space.
We got checked in then headed over to the Orthopaedic department where I handed over my CD of MRIs and we waited for about an hour. We noted that the other hospital had apple juice boxes but they only had water here. Lots of limping folks, including me -- although I was 80% better than I had been at the last appointment.
Eventually I met with the doctor who had reviewed my MRIs. He looked at my tendon which by now was completely normal in appearance. He seemed very surprised that the other surgeon would suggest surgery, to the point of him acting like it was laughably ridiculous. He explained that the scar tissue in the MRI is totally normal in a tendon that had been ruptured and repaired and it was highly unlikely my tendon would rupture now -- it is much more likely in the months immediately following surgery rather than years later. He said to focus on eccentric exercises (which I had been doing), stretching, and massage, and it should recover just fine. He said I could return to our activities (hiking) as pain allowed and that there was practically no chance of rupturing my tendon while walking or hiking.
To say I was relieved would be an understatement. Now I only had to focus on rehabilitating it and on July 19th when we had our first trek planned. I wondered if I would be recovered by then. We paid our bill (a much more reasonable number -- about $100), and headed for pizza.
We had become regulars at Pizza Massilia by now and our waitress knew our order. The last time I had been in I was wearing a boot -- and now I wasn't. They noticed! The owner even came by at the end and gave us both shots of limoncello. The mood was celebratory.
We called a grab to our hotel up by Don Mueang International -- the smaller airport in Bangkok, mostly servicing low cost airlines. This room was unbelievably cheap -- $13 for the night. Like every other place we had stayed -- it was spotless.
In the morning, we'd depart Thailand on the 30th and expiring day of our tourist visa, to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We'd come back to Thailand after to see the couple of places we had wanted to go but missed.
I think this was the longest post ever.
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