Day 396-397 Home of the Elephant

We were all awoken once again for an early departure. We quickly had breakfast. The menu was pretty bad. We got fried eggs and a bit of a fry. The bizarre thing was that the hotel staff fried the egg in the microwave. Never imagined it was possible but there you go.

For the first time our bus was over an hour late. This was to make today even more difficult as we were only to have a few hours in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is Thailand’s second city. Eventually we got on our way. Only one stop on the way and that was for us to visit a Cashew nut factory. This was good fun as we got plenty of delicious samples most notable was the coconut balls cashew nuts. We all stocked up on some.

We arrived in Chiang Mia and quickly freshened up and had lunch. No rest for the Wicked so we got straight on a tuk tuk destination Thai Elephant Conservation Centre. This was much anticipated so we all hoped it would be worth it.

The main reason behind us selecting this place to enjoy the elephant is due to the fact they treat the elephants exceptionally well. In Bangkok it’s cheap to go and see Elephant shows but those Elephants are beaten to the point they bleed. The conservation contains a hospital for the sick elephants. It’s almost like a retirement home for the older elephants.

The place was located 1 hour outside of Chiang Mia so once we arrived we rushed to see the Elephant show. This showcased how powerful the elephants are. They carried and stacked logs aswell as doing a few showboats for the crowd. The Mohuts then showed us how they get on and off the elephants. It was time for the main event which involved the elephants having a go at painting. Two of the elephants painted self portraits and the others painted flowers. Got to say the paintings were very impressive. I mean the result was much better then I could do.

Mike, Phil and I decided we would get an elephant ride. It’s one of those things that I always wanted to do. It was very enjoyable but a little bumpy. We went through the jungle up hill, down hill and even through water. Along the way we saw the Elephant Hospital were Gary was being kissed by an Elephant. It was an enjoyable afternoon with the Elephants but it was time to head back to Chiang Mia to catch an evening train.

We arrived back to the hotel and quickly had to grab our bags and dash for the train station. We lost another member of the team. Priya had decided to wait in Chiang Mia. CLAP CLAP Priya. We made it with 20 minutes till departure. That sounds like loads of time doesn’t it? Not when Gary decides to forget his passport and wallet. Oops big mistake. Gary decided to run for a taxi and grabbed some money off Rachael. He was in the taxi prepared for the hotel only for Caroline to get a call from the hotel telling how they have given the pouch to Priya. This was “Luck of the Irish” as Gary said. Priya would be in Bangkok in a few days so the pouch could be delivered personally then.

The train left the station at 5:55pm. We chatted for an hour while the train decided to halt a couple of kilometres down the track for no apparent reason. We got some dinner and had the banter with the train staff. We played some drinking games involving coins and cards. Good fun. It was 10pm and time for bed. The train consists of a regular booth with table but the train staff pulled back the table and transformed the booth into a bed and pulled down another section to complete bunk beds. It was pretty impressive and inviting. I hopped up and jumped into bed.

I got to say I got a pretty good night’s sleep thanks to sleeping tablet I got from a Vietnamese Pharmacy. I awoke a couple of times to find that we were stopped but the engine was still on. This was odd but went back to sleep. Next morning we awoke and put the beds away. We got the bad news that we were still a long way from Bangkok.

We arrived at 11am 17 hours later in Bangkok. Delighted to be off the train but upset that the tour was in its final hours.

Stay tuned,
Conor