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I woke up and walked outside my bunk to the bathroom. It was an
outdoor bathroom with stone sinks in the open air and mirrors lining
the walls a few feet away. I quickly got ready and went up to the
cabana for breakfast. I ordered a fruit and yogurt bowl but when I
went to pay realized I didn't have enough Baht dollars. The host gave
me directions to the ATM so I headed down the street to pull money
out. It was the first time in over a week I had to withdraw money
because everything in Thailand was so inexpensive.
I walked back to the hostel and paid ฿70 for my fruit and ฿200 for my
night stay. I sat down and ate a colorful bowl of fruit. Some of the
fruit in my breakfast, I had never even seen before. Silvia came out
and joined me for breakfast. We discussed our plans to meet up when I
returned from the elephant camp.
A few minutes later a man in a safari outfit approached the cabana and
announced "Julie Kastler?" I put down my coffee and raised my hand. "I
take you to Elephant Camp" he said as he grabbed my bag and led me to the truck. He had a squirrel on his left shoulder and it would run in
and out of his shirt. I asked why his squirrel was the color pink and
he said "ahh, have happy new years and too many drinks, so color him
pink!"
He tossed my bag in the truck and offered his hand as I climbed in the
open railed back. We pulled out of the hostel and I watched the road
behind me as we drove down the winding country road to Northern Chiang Mai, where I would be staying overnight.
We passed through the beautiful country side, mountains in the
distance and nothing but bright green trees covering every inch of
land. It was a long drive and I thought we would pick up others on the
way, but I remained the only one on the long trip up the mountain.
We pulled into the The Baan Chang Mai Elephant Sanctuary and elephants were roaming around freely in the open yard, just inches away from the truck.
The guide opened the back of the truck and led me over to the
rest of the group. He gave us the rundown of the next two days. Today
we would be going on a hike in the rain forest, followed by white
water rafting and then wrapping up the day with a bamboo raft down the
river. He explained all meals were provided and that coffee, tea and
water was free. Once we get back from our adventure. In the morning we
would be assigned an elephant and the mahouts would teach us how to
train, bath and ride the elephants all day.
I met the people in my group Matt and Renee from Australia and Myriam
and Jeroen from Belgium. We gathered water and bananas for the road
and the guide piled us in the back of the truck. We drove down bumpy
dirt roads all the way up to the rain forest. We all got to know each
other on the long drive. Matt was a Wine Rep, Renee worked in child
care and Myriam in Marketing. Myriam and Jeroen just got engaged so
they shared their engagement story with us as our truck jerked us
around in the back, forcing us to reach for the railings several
times. It was really easy to meet people from other countries when
traveling because you all had the same interests when it came to
conversing. Music, travel and food dominate the conversations and you
find at the end of the day that you are all really not that much
different.
We reached the rain forest and our guide took us through a village
picking up several different herbs. He would lift the herbs to our
noses, have us smell them and then telling us which Thai dishes they
were used in. He guided us up through the forest on a mile hike to a
waterfall. Climbing up and over scattered rocks, fallen trees, bamboo
bridges, I got lost in a moment. It was the most beautiful hike I had
taken. In the distance you could see the clouds overlapping the tips
of the mountains and forest full with green exotic trees of all
different shapes and sizes. Our guide would stop from time to time to
share a fact about the forest. He pointed to the long train of ants
marching up the trail. "This means rain is on the way soon. When you
see ants they know ahead of time that it will rain later today."
He hiked all the way to the top until we reached a large waterfall. We
rested up top for a while and then looped back down the trail for
lunch. Waiting for us on a long bamboo table was fresh cut pineapple,
Pad Thai and bottled waters. We sat and ate together talking about
what we would do with a million dollars, buy a huge mansion or travel
the world. All of us were world travelers and thrived for adventures
like today.
We wrapped up lunch and headed back to the truck. Our guide took us to
our next adventure, white water rafting down the Mae Taeng River. He
handed us each a bright orange life jacket, helmet and paddle. Our
rafting guide jumped in the raft and gave us a brief rundown of how
to maneuver down the river. "This is how you position feet so you
don't fall out, this is how you hold paddle so you don't knock out
friends teeth, this is forward paddle and backward paddle. Okay, you
ready??"
We all released a laugh and agreed we would just learn as we go. We
jumped into the raft and quickly caught on. Rafting in Southeast Asia
was an unreal experience. The vibrant green color along the river is
breathtaking. The scenery is so very different then North America.
Most of the ride was pretty smooth with only a few points where we
would paddle hard to steer through the rocks and glide through the
white water drops as water rushed into our raft. Whenever we would hit
a big wave our guide would yell "Oh My Buddha!" I personally found
this hilarious that they say it that way. It's the little things you
pick up on your trip that make it the most entertaining.
Once we reached the calm, they helped us out of the raft and onto the
next adventure. Removing our life jackets, we were instructed to climb
onto the long, narrow bamboo raft. We propped up our feet and floated
down the river on the bamboo. After the intense afternoon of white
water rafting, this was a nice way to unwind us from the rush. Slowly,
we made our way down the now shallow water to the final stop.
Today was another unexpected day. Yesterday I was in busy, fast paced
Bangkok and today I was floating down the Mae Taeng River. Thailand
truly is full of surprises; I had no idea what I would be getting
myself into in this trip. I was learning more and more that life is an
adventure the more open you are to just going with the flow. Yesterday
I had emailed the elephant camp to do a two day elephant training camp
but they replied back saying they only had the two day hiking
/rafting/ elephant adventure. I wasn't even intending to be on that
hike today but found myself pleasantly surprised with a new favorite
memory.
Once we returned to the camp, I said goodbye to Matt, Renee, Myriam
and Jeroen. They had completed the elephant training yesterday so
would be heading back into town. The host introduced himself as Nine
as he held up nine fingers. He grabbed my bag and led me up a curvy
path surrounded by skinny, tall green trees and lantern poles. Tucked
at the top of the hill rest a huge white house with a wide balcony
overlooking the rain forest. I had no idea that I would be staying at
such a stunning property. When they listed overnight camp on the
website, I pictured tents or small cabins. We walked across the red
and black decorative tiled patio lined with wooden doors, stone
pillars and bamboo furniture. Nine led me to my own private room and I
asked if the whole room was for me alone. He nodded and opened my door to expose a queen bed with windows that opened off to the patio,
with a view of the rain forest. He told me dinner will be served at
the main lodge at 6:30pm and I was welcome to shower down the hall
before.
I dropped my bags on my bed and walked out onto the balcony. In all of
my wildest dreams, I would have never expected to be at an Elephant
Retreat in Thailand, overlooking a dreamlike view of the rain forest.
A mix of emotions ran through me and I began to cry at the edge of
this balcony. I made it to Thailand, I knew that I would discover
emotions that haven't surfaced in a while but this experience, it was
special.
As the ants predicted, the rain poured down so I sat under the patio
and held my face in my hands as I soaked in this moment I was hoping
to discover. The storm soon turned into a monsoon so returned to my
room. I lay on my bed and watched the rain poor as thunder struck
over and over.
By dinner time, the storm passed and I made my down the path to the
main hut. Once I arrived, Nine called my name and guided me over to a
smaller hut with two tables set for dinner. A family from Germany sat
at one table and they sat me at a table with mother and daughter for
England at the other. Kris introduced herself and her daughter,
Ramona. We dug into the Mas Mhan soup made of chicken, potatoes, onion and yams. Ramona began to tell me she was looking to do a volunteer trip next summer after graduation so was checking into this camp.
They asked how traveling on my own was and I told them about the first day of hiccups but after that, it has truly been a dream come true. Kris
leaned in and told me "I passed." She went on to tell me, I was tested
three times and remained positive. She told me that is why I was
having a great trip because I had earned it with my patience. I hadn't
even thought if it that way.
As we talked more through dinner Ramona smiled and said in her English accent "Oh, I would die to have an American accent!" I almost spit out my food in shock and asked why. She said that just listening to me talk, I sounded just like the people in the movies. Kris agreed and
said Americans sound like a musical when we talk because of the
fluctuation in our tone when we speak. She told me that in their
country they all sound mono toned, but we sound sophisticated and
sexy. I disagreed and always felt we sounded dull and they were the
ones who sounded so classy. I told them how my girlfriends and I used
to pretend we had an English accent and say certain phrases over and
over. Ramona laughed at this and told me her friends would do the same
with American accents. I asked her to say something for me as an
American and she blushed. I begged her again and she said fine and
asked what to say. I told her the most generic American line I could
think of. She paused for a moment and then repeated it, "I am so
excited to see Britney Spears, she is awesome!" We all burst into
laughter and agreed she did sound like an American.
It's funny to think that we all think what others have is more unique. I still
believe they have more sophisticated accents but Ramona and Kris
argued with me that they would kill to sound like me when I speak.
After dinner the Mahouts gathered us around to make Chinese Lanterns.
They gave us each a white paper lantern and candles to wrap in the
attached wires. They told us we would get to make one wish tonight as
we released the burning lanterns into the sky. I had two wishes so
would have to narrow it down to just one. After we constructed our
lanterns, they had extra material so told us we would be making two
wishes tonight. I thought to myself how great this was that I didn't
have to choose just one.
Walking us down to the yard, they lit our lanterns one by one and
reminded us to make our wish. I released my first lantern, made my
wish and watched the light rise into the dark sky. Everyone around me
began releasing their lanterns and now the black sky was lit with
dozens of glowing lights, scattering in the night. I lighted my second
lantern and watched my last wish get lost in the sky.
Another unexpected night and I shook my head as they led us to the
fire pit with the Mahouts playing guitars and handmade drums. The
Mahouts passed around Thai Whiskey and asked us all join them in
singing tonight. They played music that anyone from all countries
would know, "Let it Be" Beatles, "Don't want to Miss a Thing"
Aerosmith, "Wonderwall" Oasis. Singing along, we drank Thai Whiskey
and they made us a Thai bamboo dessert on the fire. Nine explained that
instead of roasting marshmallows, in Thailand they fill a bamboo with
rice, coconut milk and sugar. After roasting on the fire, they took a
machete, cut the top off and walked around handing us pieces of the
sticky sweet rice. After the whiskey settled in more, Ramona, Kris and
I requested "Someone like You" by Adele. So the three of us sang our
hearts out while the Mahouts and Germans sat that one out.
This whole day- whole trip just kept proving to be a series of events
I couldn't have dreamt up any better. Walking to dinner, I had no idea
that I would be lucky enough to meet Kris and Ramona. They were a
sweet pair to encounter in Thailand. They made me realize that often
we forget what we have is special. Where I longed to be more like
them, they were wishing to be more like me. It's easy to think what
you lack more than embracing what you have, a weakness we all are
guilty of.
- comments
Miriam Ham's Baby Boy A good friend of mine took her family white water rafting earlier this summer and I've just been dyin to try. And then you go and have to rub it in. Then you get to hang out with my "mom" (Myriam.... The other spelling is my mom's ACTUAL name Miriam). Awesome day. We went almost 40 days without rain, but yesterday, I guess ants were out marching again, because we got some. Can't wait to see the pics, and I can't wait for your TWO dreams to come true.