Bob on a Valley Spokesmen Ride in Thailand 2005

Gate Over the Street in Chaing Mai


Elephants in the River


Bob on an Elephant

I went on a day-long tour today. I watched an elephant show, rode an elephant for about 45 minutes through the jungle (not rain forest), walked through a "native village" where they were selling crafts, rode in an oxcart to lunch, had a good Thai buffet lunch, rode on a bamboo raft down a narrow river, saw a snake show (cobras, pythons, etc.) and visited an orchid/butterfly farm. I can't believe that I did such a touristy thing, but it was fun. The elephant ride was a "life experience". It is really difficult to hang on and balance in the "saddle". You can buy bunches of sugar cane to feed the elephant on the ride. It knows that you have snacks for it and keeps curling its trunk up to you for refills.

Our hotel is a no-star rating. Dick and Geoff stayed here a year ago and mentioned that it had really gone downhill since then. I had to clean the sink and mirror in the bathroom so I wouldn't gag. I left the qTips on the floor. They weren't worth picking up. I bought plastics cups to drink out of because the one glass they gave me was too dirty. There were missing fixtures on the walls with exposed wires. I had to unplug the TV to turn it off. That's OK because I could only get Thai stations. When I got back today, the room hadn't been made up. Most of the problems were caused by the floor maid. She was really ditzy. The rooms were not ready when we arrived. When I got to my room, she was standing next to the window staring out. When I walked past Carol's room, she was holding Carol's hands and singing a song. Carol, being a good sport, sang along with her. Later, the maid went into Dick's room and poured beer for the guys and helped herself to one.

Chiang Mai is nice, though. We had dinner in an open-air restaurant on the river. When we got there, the moths decided to hatch. They were everywhere. Fortunately, they were gone by the time our food got there. Good eats!