July 27, 2017. Exploring the jungle around Chiang Mai

LOCATION:  Chiang Mai, Thailand WEATHER:  Hot and humid, of course  

What a crazy day full of fun stuff!

 

Mr. Boy, our taxi driver, picked us up at our hotel promptly at 8:00 AM.  We put ourselves in his hands and let him plan the day.

 

First, he took us to one of the elephant camps in the jungle in the mountains.  These elephants were formerly used by the Long-Necked Tribe (more on that later) and now are just a tourist attraction.  First, we took a (very bumpy) ride on one....

Then, we watched a show where trained elephants did a bunch of amazing things like play soccer, shoot darts, and paint...

The paintings were remarkably good. We were in an audience among hundreds of Chinese tourists.  They oohed and aahed a lot.  At the end, the trainers brought the elephants up close.  Two of them decided to give me a group hug.  It was a bit scary!

Then we went to a monkey school.  It was a bit depressing. Our animal rights daughter would not have been pleased.  The monkeys did a bunch of tricks including some with numbers and posing with the audience....

Then on to an orchid showplace.  The orchids are really pretty.  

This place also has a butterfly cage where beautiful butterflies, some huge, fly all around you.

The orchid/butterfly house place has a restaurant.  Tourists were chowing down on the lunch buffet.  We just weren't hungry, which I think disappointed Mr Boy, as he didn't get his kickback for bringing us here.    Then, on to a tiger show.  Again, we said 'no thank you" to this place as admission was expensive and we weren't thrilled about being in cages with tigers to get our photos taken. Mr. Boy was disaapointed again.   From there, we went to a hilltop village of the Long-Necked People.  They aren't sure where these tribes came from but they believe they sought refuge here from Burma.  At age 5, the girls put a ring around their necks and continue adding a ring on each birthday.  They make their living by selling tourist  things in their very poor village.

They do weaving and embroidery.

 

 

From there, Mr Boy drove us up another mountain that overlooks the city.  It is the site of one of the most famous temples.  We had our choice of a cable car or climbing 1500 steps to the actual temple.  We splurged (10 cents) on the cable car.  While there, I noticed a sign saying that you could "chat" with a monk.  So, we went in.  It was very interesting.  We just sat around a table asking this young monk anything we could think of..  We learned a lot, including how different the rules are from country to country.  For example, in Tibet, monks can touch women.  In other countries, they cannot.  In Japan  (I think), they can even marry.  

We had told Mr Boy that we wanted to try some fried insects.  We had read that the fried silk worms and bamboo worms are espeically tasty.  So, he found a place for us to buy some.

The vendor was selling crickers, grasshoppers, silk worms and bamboo worms.  They were all good. We bought two packages for the bus ride tomorrow.

  After a very full day, Mr. Boy dropped us off at our hotel.  We took a refreshing dip in the swimming pool, then George went in search of one of the famous Thai massages.  These massage parlors are everywhere.  He came back with some intteresting tales and some sore muscles.  The first place quoted him a price, then said he could pay just a little more for a bath with a "nice boy".  He realized he was in the wrong place!  The next one was had a buxom Thai woman who really worked his muscles.  An hour massage for $10 including a generous tip.    We headed out for dinner.  As we were passing a bar, a guy from Vancouver invited us in for a drink.  It was very strange.  The bartender is a transgender woman, dressed in a lacy outfit with a deep male voice.  We see quite a bit of this.

   

For dinner, we shared one of Thailand's best known dishes, a type of sour soup and a platter of stir-fried morning glories.  Good and cheap.