Gentle Giant

Without wasting too much time on the internet on this trip, I have to jump around things that have gone on so far. The most current and fresh is my day with the elephants. We were picked up early this morning for a beautiful drive out into this lush tropical valley to meet our elephant. My elephant was Boon Pak, the only male, tusks and all, and my partner was his trainer Kaw. We had read that at this place we went, you literally become the trainer for the day and "own" the elephant but I'm not sure we realized that it really meant that we would be immediately put in that position. It was amazing. We learned about care for the elephant, feeding, health and then commands and mounting. One of the elephants had a bit of a fit which was incredible to see...ears flared, loud quintessential elephant sound. It was a bit intimidating at first, seeing her do this but then we realized she just wanted her baby to come back to her. I must admit, I was really glad to have Boon Pak at that moment. He was so gentle, docile, sweet.

After some basic ground training, it was time to mount. There are a few ways to get on the elephant and I opted for up the front of their head. After placing my hands on Boon Pak's head and saying a command, he raised his trunk to make a step, I placed my foot on and it and he raised his trunk up so I could climb up onto his neck and spin around. I spent a large part of the rest of the day perched high up on his neck, wandering through the valley, crossing streams and swimming at a waterfall with Boon Pak...literally. We got to this gorgeous waterfall and walked the elephants into one of the lower pools and down he went...submerging himself with me still on top. Needless to say, I got a bath of my own. They served us an incredible lunch on the rocks, the remainder of which we got to feed our elephants. Talk about sustainable eating...even the tablecloth was a snack for them (banana leaves)!! We rode them for a while back to camp, learned some new riding techniques, waded through a river and had to say our goodbye's 6 hours later. Boon Pak was amazing, so was Kaw. The feeling of sitting on top of such a huge animal and letting it guide you over tiny trails high up on mountains, down muddy paths with a sheer drop beside you, through rushing rivers...it was incredible. They told us at the beginning how surefoot elephants are and now I see why. Every step they take, they are sure of before taking it. I was sad to leave Boon Pak...we had bonded. Such an incredible experience, so much more impactful then if we had gone and sat on a chair on their back and then watched them do tricks. It truly was something that will stick with me.

So many other amazing details of the day which I am leaving out, but I will save some for in person story telling. All in all, my love of and resport for elephants is enormous now.

Photos to come.

Cabin Fever

I think it's perfect that the inside of an airplane is called the Cabin. It allows me to not have to come up with a new word to describe what I felt after 30+ hours of travel from Burlington to Thailand. My first flight, 3 or so hours from VT to Detroit was great. A 5 hour layover in Detroit, not bad. Then the 12+ hour flight to Tokyo being on a plane where I was not only one of the VERY few non-asians but also taller by many inches. The best part of that flight was that one option for breakfast was fried rice with teriyaki chicken...and the majority of the people around me chose that over the omelette. At this point I was doing ok with the flights. Had some wine, took an ambien, made some notes on what we wanted to check out in Thailand. Then a few hours in the Tokyo airport. I figured there would be some good shopping at least, since Tokyo is such a consumer driven city but alas, nothing exciting minus the cool modern, underlit chairs. The Japanese has a strange lack of body-space concept. I was lounging on one of these cool low couch type things, reading and then suddenly felt my space totally invaded. I look up and sure enough 3 people had decided there was plenty of space to join up. So much for giving my legs room to stretch. Back on another flight...6+ hours from Tokyo to Bangkok with a man behind me that constantly bumped and pushed and kneed the back of my chair. It was at this point that Cabin Fever sunk in. I thought I was going to go mad...another minute in an airplane, I almost lost it. I literally almost stood up and scolded the man behind me but realized after hearing him talk in an excessively loud voice to the flight attendant that it would do no good. Patience. Counting backwards from 10. Going to my happy place. It is the only time I've ever felt suffocated in a plane...and it was bad. Then the procession to the forever long immigration line in the swelteringly hot terminal. I couldn't wait to walk into our fancy Bangkok hotel, hug my sister, take a shower and pass out. 

Day 1 in Thailand has begun! We are about to take the SkyTrain down to the river, catch boats up along the river and check out some of the amazing Wat's and other beautiful, historic, tourist spots. Not to mention seeking out our first bit of Thai food. I am looking forward to totally over-eating Thai food while here. Mmmmmm. 

One night in Bangkok....