Nat in Thailand

Earlier this month, we sneaked outa China for a two week holiday in Thailand. Other than the joys of being away from the yard for a few weeks, visiting this exotic country was a great experience.
Lush landscape, beautiful fabrics, friendly locals, great food, etc…all in all, a generally great place to visit. I think that the only annoying thing is the fact that you need to constantly be on your guard and even argue to get a fair deal. Invariably, they think that two white females are an easy prey and can get suckered into just about anything to make a quick buck.
We hit three areas in Thailand over the two weeks; Chang Mai, an ancient city in the north of Thailand, Bangkok and finally the island of Phuket. The latter was interesting with the hill tribes and elephant riding. Yes, we did go to an elephant camp where elephants are trained to kick soccer balls and play instruments. I usually don’t like these areas where the animals are trained to do stupid human things, but here, it didn’t look too bad. Riding on the back of the elephant was certainly the highlight of the trip for me.
Down in Bangkok, as we are walking through the downtown streets at night, a group of young men are walking a baby…elephant! The elephant wasn’t chained nor on a leash, simply walking behind the pack like a loyal dog. It was the most bizarre thing to witness in the down-town streets of Bangkok. Turns out that a few people use these elephants as a source of revenue:: guys sell measly pieces of sugar cane for a dollar so that you can feed the elephant. A big disappointment that the authorities tolerate this.


Sunset on Puket Island

In Bangkok at the flower market: a
dozen of long stemmed roses selling for
two dollars!


Main entrance to accommodation in Phuket

Great day out with the elephants

Finally, in Phuket, we swam in the turquoise waters. We were quite fortunate that we had good weather (although the heat was often oppressing) as the monsoon season had just begun. The natural beauty of the beaches is unlike anything I have seen before. Unfortunately, the man-made developments and tourist traps totally spoil the magic on the island to such a point that I am not sure if I would recommend visiting the island had it not been for the absolutely superb accommodations that we were staying at…