A Week in Thailand

Phuket and Koh Phi Phi Island

We started the trip in Phuket just to stay the night and catch the ferry in the morning to Koh Phi Phi Island.  In Koh Phi Phi we swam, kayaked and hiked our way around the island.  We also had some of the best fresh fruit smoothies of our lives.  One night we went to a fire dance show and barely escaped without third degree burns.  The dancers were not trained professionals, but young amateurs opening up for the real fire show that would come on later.  After I barely escaped a near fatal throw to the face we decided to call it a night.  We stayed three nights and then headed back to the mainland to catch a flight to Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai

Our flight arrived late at night so we checked in to our hostel and prepared to get up early to go to Patara Elephant Farm to be an elephant owner for a day.  In the morning the shuttle picked us up and drove us an hour and a half to the farm.  Walking up to farm I was greeted by a baby elephant and mama who were happy to grab my hand with their trunks and then investigate my hair.    We sat through orientation of how to approach elephants, check if they lay down to sleep, if they were sweating and if they had pooped.  After orientation we got to meet our elephant for the day, my elephant was Ploi an eleven year old female who is known as ‘The Wanderer.’  I learned how to give commands in Thai for her to follow me, lie down and open her mouth.  I got her feed her, brush off all the dirt on her back and then give her a bath in the river.  After giving Ploi her bath I was walking up to the bathroom and I noticed blood all over my legs and sought out medical aide.  Turns out I had been attacked by blood sucking flies and had to get special treatment. 

Once I had been treated I learned three different ways to get on her back and was successful at all three.  Then we were off to go trek to a waterfall in the jungle where we would have lunch and swim with the elephants.  Ploi kept wandering off into the foliage so I kept having to dodge branches, vines and the occasional mud pie she would throw over her shoulder at me.  We made it to the waterfall, ate a fantastic Thai lunch and then jumped in the water to swim with the elephants.  There was this one baby elephant that would not leave me alone, he kept trying to bite my leg and drag me into the water to play.  By the end of the day I was so happy with how I had spent my time and reflected on all I had learned about this giant and beautiful animal. 

Over the next few days we went white water rafting, saw paper being made out of elephant dung, went to some golden temples, took a cooking class and made friends with locals who took us to some authentic Thai restaurants.  The rafting trip was quite dangerous but our guide was a riot.  He flipped us on purpose and was convinced I was never wet enough so he would periodically fill his helmet with water and throw it on me.  The elephant dung paper place was really cool and actually quite the process.  The temples were so detailed and beautiful and listening to the monks chant was an experience to remember.  The Thai cooking class was a blast! We met awesome people, made and ate delicious food and got a recipe book.  When it was time to leave Chiang Mai we were sad to go because of all the fun we had and the new friends we would miss. 

Bangkok

We literally only had one night in Bangkok because our flight back to China was the following day.  We were dropped off at the infamous Kao San Road and wandered around Thailand’s party street.  My favorite was the edible bug cart that had every bug you could imagine deep fried and ready for consumption.  Scorpions, grasshoppers, fire ants, grubs, you name it.    A few streets over was our hostel that was a traditional Thai house and where we stayed in a 22 bed mixed dorm.  Ended up not being so bad and we heard some interesting tales of some wild nights that had been happening to some of our roommates.  The next morning we walked around Bangkok seeing some sights like China Town, The Grand Palace, the big Buddha and some temples.  After a few hours of that we had to grad a shuttle to the airport for our flight back to Shenzhen.  We were sad to leave the warm weather and go back to work, but the memories and friends we made had made our trip one to remember.