Chiang Mai Zoo

It was an overcast day so it seemed like a good idea to visit the zoo they have here in Chaing Mai. We started out walking, and of course, we happened upon more mysterious ancient temples. The oldest part of this one was from the 1300s but the main temple (in the foreground) is newer dating from the mid 1500's.















Eventually we took a tuk tuk the rest of the way to the zoo. It looked like this.



The zoo was very spread out with lots of jungley areas and beautiful gardens full of orchids.















The main attraction here are the pandas. Only the male was on display as they were preparing the female for a one year visit to China. Actually, due to the language barrier I could not quite get all the facts straight. Anyway, the male panda was very interesting and entertaining.


















There were hundreds of school kids of every age at the zoo with us. They were so cute with their colorful hats and backpacks.


Here are a bunch of kids checking out the mother and baby hippo.



Parrot habitat









This giant elephant was hanging out with his handler on the side of the road. Not sure why they have tire tubes on his tusks. I supposed to protect them? He was very friendly, especially if you came by with sugar cane!



A tree trunk with intricate carvings


We also rode the somewhat rickety monorail they had going through the park which was cool. Should have gotten a picture! You can see the green elevated track in the next to photos.









All in all, I really liked the zoo. They are doing a lot of construction to make it even bigger and better.


We went home in the back of this pick up truck. It is a common way to get around here since they don't seem to have buses.


Here is a picture of the place we are staying right now. I'm pretty happy with it because it is air conditioned, has a fan and a refrigerator and a private bath plus is super clean for $12 a night. Oh and they give you free bottled water everyday. The beautiful new swimming pool is almost completed too.



One other thing to like... It is across the street from the temple, which they say is good because the prayers of the monks drift over the wall and bless you. Tonight they were playing this instrument there in the temple when I got home. It sounded pretty good! I wish I could get the video to work so you could hear it too! Sounds heavenly!

Location:Chiang Mai

The elephant camp

As you may realize (or not, as it has not been very clear from my posts) I have been here in Chiang Mai for about a week now. This is a city about an hour by plane north of Bangkok . One of the things this area is known for is the elephant sanctuaries that are found out in the nearby countryside.
Today I visited one of these "camps" and had up close and personal interactions with some of these gentle giants.
The main entrance with pictures of the royal family who, I am told, chose this camp to visit.


Not a real elephant head


The landscaping was beautiful





We were first lead to a platform with a little " bay" where they parked the elephant for us to get on.



There was no orientation or anything. I was actually terrified.


We went up a steep muddy trail to get to this spot. I was hanging on for dear life.















You can see their footprints in the deep mud. They stepped in the same place with each step.


He waded out into the stream


And blew some water from his trunk.


About half way through the ride they stopped and gave "Jumbo" a bundle of his favorite kind of grass which he carried around like the one in the picture below.



After about a thirty minute walk through some awesome jungle we got back.


The guy in the hat told me to stand there between the elephants. I had so idea they were going to hug me.





You could buy bananas and sugarcane to feed them. The elephants were super friendly but it was pretty scary to be so close to them. They were not restrained by anything other than the mahouts (elephant drivers)


Of course this baby (2yrs) was so cute. He got a lot of attention. He was wearing a bell around his neck which he would shake his head and jingle on purpose to get attention. You can just barely see the little girl in the pink dress trying to work up her nerve to give him a banana.


Then they let all the elephants wade in to get a bath


They actually scrubbed them down with brushes and the elephants seemed to enjoy it very much.



Next we got to watch them paint which was really amazing. Here's the baby painting flowers.





One of the older ones did a landscape. Not sure if the guy was whispering commands to him, but even if he did it was incredible.


How could an elephant be taught to do this?


This experience with the elephants was one of the most exciting things I have ever done. I wished for Carl and all my grandkids to be here to see it with me.









This place is pretty nice. I think it is probably the best thing for these elephants to be cared for like this. There is not enough jungle left to support them. They have over 70 elephants at this camp alone and there are quite a few other camps. It is troubling, however, to learn that there have been problems with baby elephants being smuggled into Thailand from Burma to work in these tourist camps. Now they are supposed to be microchipping them to prove they are not smuggled. I hope this place is one of the ethical ones! I'll be sorry I went if it turns out not to be.








Here's a hint about the next unbelievable encounter we had!

Location:Chaing Mai