A day exploring the region...

Today was a spectacular adventure! Early this morning, we got in a van with 12 people and drove to our first stop of the day- an elephant sanctuary. We did a lot of research before coming to Thailand to learn about 'ethical elephant sanctuaries' - we wanted to visit a place that prioritized the well-being of the elephants so we chose a small family operation that has no restraints, riding or performances with a natural environment for the elephants. Bonus for us, they also had a baby elephant! Did you know it elephant pregnancy lasts 18-22 months? We were so excited for this part of our day, and excited to see the elephant, because it is the national animal of Thailand! 🐘 

When we arrived, we put on a red shirt, because the elephants can recognise that colour and they are traditional shirts of the Karen Hill Tribe people. In the daylight, elephants can only see two colours, red and green. Since most of their food is green, we definitely shouldn't wear that colour! Our group got to feed the elephants some 'snacks' of sugar cane stalks and bamboo leaves. 🥬 Then, we went to a station with a huge mortar and pestle machine made of wood. Together, we added ingredients like medicinal roots, plants, bananas, anice, and more, to create vitamin-meatballs for the elephants. 

After feeding, we got to play near the elephants and take pictures. The baby elephant were super playful, (🩷) but the older animals liked their food more than us! The elephant keepers, in Thai they are called Kwan-chaang, had to lay out some food so that the elephants would stay put to play with us. 

Lastly, we were given little buckets and scrubbers to help wash the elephants while they bathed. Two of the animals were led into the water, again being enticed with food, and we helped bathe them - mostly we just watched. The older elephant used his trunk to spray us with water. :) :) 

Next, we drove to a river about an hour from the elephant sanctuary. Our group split into smaller groups and we each got onto our own bamboo raft. The bamboo rafts is one of the oldest forms of transportation in Thailand and it is made of long pieces of bamboo tied together to float down a river. There were wooden benches on top of the raft, so we wouldn't get completely soaked! The ride was very smooth, and quite long. Our feet got wet, but that was it. There was a man who helped steer the boat through the rocks. When we got to the end of our raft ride the van was there to take us to the final part of the adventure - the sticky waterfall. 

The sticky waterfall, also known as Bua Thong Waterfall is in the Namtok Bau Tong-Nam Phu Chet Si National Park. This is a beautiful national park with a think forest, if you did not know the waterfall was there you could miss it! The waterfall is made of porous limestone rocks with minerals that make them sticky. You walk down a long path past four entry tiers and then climb all the way up using different paths. In our hour, we had enough time to climb twice, sometimes using the rope for stability. 

It was a fabulous day, each activity was so fun and we met nice people from other parts of the world and we learned about cultural and natural aspects of Chiang Mai. 

Love Bella and Alex