Elephant park

   A week or so ago I went to an elephant sanctuary out side of Chiang Mai. Instead of riding the elephants, we fed them and washed them in the river. This park was a cruelty free place and the goal was to get the elephants back into the wild. Most elephants are treated very badly, getting beaten and tortured to make them tame
   We took a bus into the country and arrived at the 200 acre park. There, the elephants were given free range to wander. The first thing we did is see the massive food storage area. The elephants could eat a whole lot! There was also a covered walkway that the elephants could walk underneath and directly under you. Next we went to feed them, and they eat a whole lot! We broke for lunch, which was an extravagant buffet (the elephants weren't the only ones who ate well!).
   After lunch we went into the river and splashed the elephants with buckets of water. It was fun and refreshing to splash in the cool, clean water with the elephants. After that we fed the baby elephant (who ate like a toddler) and then it was time to go. Overall it was a fascinating and memorable experience.

Bug Museum

   In Chiang Mai there is a museum of bugs that has on display cases full of carefully preserved insects in glass cases. We went in and the friendly owner of the museum showed us around a bit. We were the only ones there and it was very small. The first case displayed several large tarantulas, a long centipede (about 6 inches) and a bunch of large beetles (about 3-4 inches). One of the beetles could kill you by pinching the artery in your hand, and another could cut your finger off between its head and body. (pictures) The second and third floors contained butterflies and then more bugs including a display of fighting beetles! (pictures) It was fun way to spend the afternoon

The man who ran the place was a spry 81-yr old, retired lawyer who never meant to be an entomologist (someone who studies insects). He and his wife spent a lifetime studying over 400 species of mosquitoes in an effort to study and eradicate malaria in Thailand.

What my mom really liked about the guy and museum was his respect for life. There were many displays with writing about how we must all respect nature, about love, about his own personal spiritual journey. Quite moving and touching.

Thai Cooking Class

 A couple of days ago my mom and I did a Thai cooking class at a farm. We were picked up from our hotel in a song tao, a converted pick-up truck with a cover and seats in the rear truck bed. We headed out with the rest of our group and stopped at a market, where we learned a few basic ingredients we would be using. The market was a typical Thai market, basically a large covered shelter with stalls selling fish, meat, veggies, sauces and cooking supplies.
   After that we got back into the song tao and headed out to the farm. It was quite a ways out of the main town and we got a chance to see some of the country side, filled with rice fields, farms, and a whole lot of cows. We got to the farm. There were open air buildings to cook in but first we looked at the herbs and veggies growing around. It was interesting to see all the herbs and learn what they were. Many we recognized from Thai meals we had had.
   We finished that and finally got down to the cooking. Inside each building were maybe a dozen cooking stations with a stove for everyone learning to cook. I shared a station with my mom. We started out by making a coconut milk and chicken soup (tom khar). It was delicious. Next we made a curry. We had to mash various herbs and spices together with a mortar and pestle to form the base for it. It was cooked in a pot with chicken and veggies. mmmmmmmm
   Next we made a stir fry with chicken and cashews. We fried in a big wok pot. It was perfectly done, and it was eaten quickly and eagerly. We proceeded to make spring rolls and a dessert, mango in sticky rice. They were both great but we were so full we had to bring some home.
   My conclusions: we can make anything better than a restaurant can.

New Year's Eve in Chiang Mai

CD xmas tree

   In Chiang Mai, I have to say, New Year's Eve is a massive deal. At the Tha Phae gate on the east side of the city, was a humongous celebration. Many streets were closed off and packed with people. There were street stalls with tons of food and more stalls selling clothing, jewelery, and lots of other stuff. A huge stage had been set up and there was a massive Christmas tree made entirely from CDs! Far away it sparkled and you could only tell it was made of CDs if you went up close.
   But the most amazing thing was the lanterns. In the streets hundreds and hundreds of lanterns, a paper hot air balloon thing that when you lit the material at the bottom, drifted off into the sky, in vast numbers. It was quite a sight to see them all drifting away. We also got a massage on the street and an iced mocha at a starbucks , where we sat on the 3rd floor, enjoying the view and the drink. Then, at midnight we watched fireworks shoot into the air, beginning the new year.

massages on the street

Tigers in Chiang Mai

   A couple weeks ago we arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand, by train. After a few days of getting settled in the city, we took a tuk tuk, a small, open-air taxi thing, out about 17 kilometers outside of the city to the Chiang Mai tiger park. There, for an exorbitant price, you could go face to face with tigers and actually pet them inside their enclosures. We started out by meeting the young six month old tigers. It was thrilling and a bit scary to be up so close to such an amazing and powerful animal..... I mean really, they could rip you apart if they wanted.

me with a 6 month old tiger

    Next before we left we decided to look at the other tigers, though we couldn't go in with them unless we got more tickets for it. Well, when we saw the baby tigers, we decided that we had to go in and pet them, so we had to get more tickets. They were adorable.

me with a baby (1 month old)

     In all it was an okay trip out there, although getting there was not half the fun, in a tuk tuk on the car fumed road. It also seemed that the staff could be a tad cruel at times to the tigers, bugging them and shoving them around so the tourists could pet them. A word of advice..... if you are in Chiang Mai, and go see the tigers, only visit the baby ones.

   I am posting this from Penang Island, Malaysia. A week ago we left our place in Singapore and all the amenities there; ipad, movies, nice place. We took the train all the way up to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. The hotel room there was troublesome to get to and it stunk like heck there too.

   Someone must have had a durian in the room. It's a very stinky fruit that apparently tastes better than it smells. It is forbidden for people to bring durian in hotel rooms. I know why first-hand!

   The next day we were planning to take the overnight train up here to Penang, but the tickets were all sold out so we eventually found a bus to take, but by that time most of the day had gone by and we had to leave. That meant we didn't do any attraction at all there. When we reached Penang is was past midnight but a day earlier than we had planned and we still had to take the ferry out to the actual island. By the time we found a hotel it was past 1 in the morning. The hotel we stayed at was just horrid and a few rooms down there were very loud people in the night.
   The next day we eagerly left our hotel to stay  with the couchsurfing family that we had planned to stay with. It turned out that they had four young boys ages 2, 4, 6, and 8. They were absolutely crazy in the small apartment. We stayed with them two nights and then went to catch our train to Bangkok, Thailand. When we finally got to the train station on the mainland, we found that there had been a derailment and we couldn't go that day.
   We eventually decided that our best course of action was to go back to Penang, and on the ferry back over we met a kind Malaysian family who took us to a hotel they knew and got us a discount too. Overall things worked out and I enjoyed my time here in Penang. Tomorrow, though, we finally go on the train to Thailand.

Singapore

part of the Singapore skyline

a cool building

   I am currently in Singapore. I have been surfing in Kuta and it was quite fun too. Then on Sunday we flew to Singapore. It is like any big city like Chicago or New York. I like it here and it certainly is a big change from Bali. Christmas is also big here and on the main shopping road there are big displays.
   We took the tour bus around and saw the botanic gardens. We are staying at a nice place (with friends) while we try to get a visa for Thailand. I don't mind staying here a while though....