And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! But before I get into the heart of Chiang Mai, a quick note on the Friday night red-eye from Hyderabad: I am lucky enough to be sitting amidst a group of rowdy Indian men who are keeping the sweet Thai air hostess on her toes by ordering two whiskey sodas each, every 5 minutes. (No wonder alcohol is banned on Indian carriers!) My first hunch is destination bachelor party, but these guys are way past marrying age. More likely a destination collective mid-life crisis. Bangkok does love its kinky side.
As you can imagine, I arrive in Chiang Mai a little short on sleep but otherwise pretty excited about the prospect of spending (almost) a full week in one place – and such a lovely one at that. Laura’s choice of guest house could not suit me more. The River View Lodge, sat beside the river - a little ways back from the main road, is charming and serene, with crisp white sheets and a ground-floor balcony looking out onto a lovely garden.
I fall into a deep sleep waiting for Laura to arrive and when she does we get right down to business: pad thai, pedicures and Thai massages. I am definitely on holiday.
Although I don’t develop strong feelings for the city of Chiang Mai (2nd biggest city in Thailand after Bangkok), I fall head over heels for the treasures tucked away in the lush hills that surround it. My first priority is riding an elephant – a prospect I find simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. Given that I screamed blue murder for the full 15 minutes of an up-hill donkey-ride in Santorini, Greece exactly a year ago, I’m not quite sure how I’ll take to the ellies, but I’ve been into the big lumbering fellows for ages.
An hour outside Chiang Mai we pull up to Maetaman Elephant Camp. I’m a little weirded out that upon entering the camp, the first thing we see are about 15-20 elephants chained up. The pang of sadness is fleeting, as we are quickly ushered to an elephant show (tricks galore) and then onto the back of a 30 yr old female named Layya for an hour long rainy trek through the scenic hills.
The pang returns but not that day. I have a grand time riding Layya through the mist and drizzle, rewarding her eager trunk with bananas and sugar cane and conquering my fear of straddling her bare back.
A famous hilltop temple, royal gardens, a tribal village, rafting, waterfalls, a monkey show, some night market shopping and a couple dinners later, Laura and I head back in the direction of the Maetaman Camp, but this time our destination is the Elephant Nature Park, a haven where abused elephants are free to roam the land as they please and are not forced into one of the 3 professions domesticated elephants in Thailand typically take on to earn their keep: illegal logging, street begging (city streets are a very stressful habitat) or trekking (with tourists on a back that has not been designed to carry such weight).
I figured watching elephants in their natural habitat would be cool but I didn’t begin to realise just how thrilling – not to mention relaxing – it would feel to be in such close proximity to so many of the animals. Feeding and bathing them fills me with awe, but more than anything, I love sitting in the gazebo and watching them interact with each other off in the distance. They hang out in their family units – being playful and affectionate – and sometimes walk off for some ‘alone time’ or to chill with a friend from another fam.
The day’s not all fun and whimsy, though, and I am deeply distressed when I find out how elephants across Asia are ‘domesticated’ and how mistreated they tend to be throughout their lives. Domestic elephants have no rights in Thailand – legally, they are the equivalent of livestock. Between the ages of 2 and 4, they all undergo a ritual ‘spirit-breaking,’ called phaajaan, during which they are tortured into a life of submission. Kept in an enclosure only slightly bigger than themselves, they are deprived of food, water and sleep and are hit, poked and jabbed with nail-adorned bamboo sticks until they are injured, bleeding and indisputably obedient to their human masters. This practice has been going on for thousands of years and continues today with every domesticated elephant in Asia – it’s the industry standard – a reality of elephant training that those who rely on elephants for their own livelihood hardly consider torture.
All but two of the 30+ pachyderms at the elephant sanctuary went through this ‘training’ as babies. The founder of the park, Lek, aims to prove that elephants can be tamed just as well with respect, love and positive reinforcement. So she’s really a behavioural scientist with a 100+ year experiment on her hands – Hope, a juvenile male elephant of about 7 or 8, never went into the ‘training crush,’ and he’s going to be the one to show the world that training does not have to be a mission in soul destruction.
The national geographic video we watch about elephants in Thailand and the phaajaan is very graphic and brings our spirits down, but the knowledge gained is invaluable. It is a relief that we are here, where the elephants cavort and frolic to their hearts’ content, though I do feel awful about having had so much fun at Layya’s expense. The afternoon ends with a tea-time snack of banana balls (for the ellies not us!), a 5 o’clock bath in the river and then bedtime. The elephants all tucked in, I leave the park knowing that this experience is going to stay with me forever. I’d like to come back some day with kids in tow.
If Wednesday is all about the elephants, then Thursday is all about us. We decide to end our trip on an uber indulgent note and hit up the Spa at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai. Beautifully landscaped with rice paddies, tropical flowers, winding paths and palm trees, and surrounded by misty Chiang Mai mountains, the resort is indisputably magical. We follow three blissful hours in the penthouse suite at the spa with an equally long wine-drenched lunch on a terrace restaurant. Shielded from monsoon rains by an opportune roof, we thoroughly enjoy being inches away from the downpour as all around us, its energetic sheets pummel and quench the resort’s lush grounds.
All in all, the week flies by and I find myself falling head over heels in love with Thailand all over again. I love: dragon fruit, green papaya salad, pad se ew, Thai massages, elephants, orchids, good friends, funky clothing, Singha beer, Thai iced tea, the almost fluorescent green of a rice paddy, flavourful peanuts, misty mountains, tuk tuks, golden buddhas, spirit houses, friendly people and clean bathrooms!
I think I’m in love. And not really looking forward to going back. Especially when I put on the bikini I wore to the beach in Goa – only to discover that it still smells of fermented coconut oil…
No comments:
Post a Comment