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A Better Elephant Experience

bw elephant

Jokia was born in 1960 along the Thai-Burmese border. When she was younger, Jokia worked in the logging trade to support her tribal family. However, after the 1989 logging ban in Thailand, Jokia found herself unemployed. Being no longer useful to her tribe, they sold her to an illegal logging camp, after which she soon became pregnant. Working through her entire pregnancy, she gave birth while pulling a large log uphill and wearing heavy chains. The baby rolled down the hill behind her and she was not allowed to tend to her newborn. From the death of her new baby, Jokia was understandably depressed and refused to work despite physical threats. One such physical threat included being hit by a sling-shotted rock blinding her in one eye. She started working for a brief time before she hit her owner, who afterwards, completely blinded her by shooting her remaining eye with a bow and arrow. Now, unable to see, Jokia was forced back to work. When Sangduen “Lek” Chailert rescued Jokia in 1999, Lek found Jokia full of infected cuts and scars along with tears coming from her blinded eye and empty socket.

two elephants

The story of this elephant is only one of the 36 currently being supported by the Elephant Nature Park outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand. The pasts of the others are equally tragic from being orphaned when only weeks old to stepping on forgotten land mines to being severely handicapped from being forced to mate when no longer useful. Lek Chailert, the Founder and Director of the Elephant Nature Park was born in the small hill tribe village of Baan Lao. She grew to love elephants when her grandfather received a baby one as payment for saving a man’s life, and now she has made it her life work to save as many of these sacred and revered animals that still remain.

elephant eye

Unfortunately, with these domesticated animals out of work and expensive to care for, their owners have started using them more and more in the tourism industry offering rides. My desire to go see Lek’s Elephant Nature Park came from my two-day trek when I saw how the elephants were treated. There were chains around their ankles and necks, their owners had hooks to stab them with, and many of their tusks were either missing or cut. In a country where no house, no restaurant, and no shop is complete without decorative elephants, I wanted a better elephant experience before leaving, and I found just that at the Elephant Nature Park. We fed the elephants, bathed the elephants, and learned about their complicated but rich history in Thailand.

elephant bath

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Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai, the largest city in Northern Thailand, was a great alternative to the floods in the south. The sun was out most days, although I never complained about a little extra cloud cover making the temperature more bearable in my non-air conditioned room at Smile House. I found the people, both foreigners and locals, very nice. There was Tess and Paul who laughed with me about my fear of heights while zip-lining. Claire and Kalley from Australia who cooked with me and introduced me to some of the more delicious street food like Rotees. And Eid, a Thai native, who showed me some of the better nightlife in and around Chiang Mai. The city felt modern, yet relatively quiet and brimming with Thai culture. And with the famous Sunday Market through the middle of town, I also had the opportunity to haggle over shirts that already only cost 3 US dollars while listening to the shop owner’s favorite line “Same, same…. but different.”

dried orchids

These flowers caught my attention at an orchid farm in Chiang Mai. They were made with real dried orchids. The orchids were lacquered, painted with bronze around the edges, immersed in sulfamate and nickel, and finally coated with a very thin layer of gold.

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Trekking in Northern Thailand

So, a Spaniard, a Korean, a French couple, a group of Argentinians, and an American all pile into the back of a truck. The Korean says, “Ko ki o.” The Argentinians go, “Ko lo ro.” The Spaniard replies, “Ki ki ri ki.” The French shoot back, “Cocorico.” And then the American sings, “Cock a doodle doo.” Then, as if answering Alex Trebek, the truck driver turns around and asks, “What sound does a rooster make?” That scene was a bit dramatized for effect; however at some point during our two day trek, we did all compare our languages’ onomatopoeia for the sound made by a rooster. Always a fun discussion when many languages are represented and given that “cock a doodle doo” sounds the farthest from a rooster’s actual sound. As per usual, the group made the trek.

thailand trek1

thailand trek2

The two days were full of visiting the hill tribes in Northern Thailand, white water and bamboo rafting, sleeping in a hill tribe’s bamboo hut, elephant riding, and waterfall swimming. One of the tribes we visited called the Padaung are famous for their long-necked women. The women undergo a beautifying process throughout their adolescence by adding brass rings to their necks. The effect of the brass rings is to push down the collarbone giving the appearance of an elongated neck. Because eventually their heads are accustomed to being supported by these rings, their necks will atrophy and will be unable to hold the weight of the women’s heads without the rings.

longneck tribe thailand
A woman from the longneck tribe in Northern Thailand
thailand trek3
Floating down the river on a bamboo raft

Another highlight of the journey was around the evening bonfire when the Argentinians picked up the tribe’s guitar and drums and entertained the group.

argentinian at camp fire
As seen at the bonfire

boy from hill village

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Buddhism and Thai Massage

Much of Thai massage techniques facilitate seated meditation. I used this as validation to go to the excellent Thai massage place just next to my guest house. Bon Massage, which is located in the southeast corner of central Chiang Mai near the Thaphe Gate, provides a great atmosphere along with their traditional Thai massages.

Massage is linked to Buddhism in ways beyond its usefulness to meditating in the seated position for seemingly too long a period of time. In addition, the Buddhist concept of Metta, which is understood as Loving Kindness, is applied in the practice of massage and healing work. As a result, both the recipient and practitioner can benefit from Thai massage. Throughout the massage, the practitioner tries to work in a state of mindfulness with great concentration on each breath and each moment.

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Spontaneity vs. Structure

I can attest to the excitement that came with preparing for this trip over the 6 months prior to leaving. From learning about the Balinese tooth filing ceremony and their complicated calendar system, to the USAT Liberty and how it sank, to how the US got so embroiled in the Vietnam War, to how to grow olives in Italy was a significant part of this adventure. Finding Lonely Planet travel guides, looking up other traveler’s blogs, searching for cheap airlines and figuring out how to get from A to B built up anticipation. I am someone who thoroughly loves the feeling of anticipation. It goes back to my birthday philosophy. I love the feeling knowing that my birthday is coming, that it’s one month away, then one week away, and finally days away. I love that anticipation for all that I can and then when my birthday comes, I bring my expectations down as low as I can. No easy task, but birthdays are one day of the year that too often have trouble living up to high expectations. I enjoy the lead-up, I enjoy planning an activity or two, and then I see what happens.

Leading up to five months of travel is slightly different from leading up to November 1st, but the excitement to be attained by the extended runway to what eventually was this trip was just as excitingly filled with thoughts of great potential. So although I sometimes wish I could be more like John Muir and do as he says–“throw some tea and bread into an old sack and jump over the back fence,” I’m not sure I will ever completely be able to do that. Luckily, planning every day’s activities and every night’s lodging for close to 150 days is almost impossibly daunting, which forced me to leave mostly wholes in my itinerary to be filled as I travel.

I also recognize that traveling without a plan requires great confidence and know-how. Having never traveled alone other than to summer camp or a host family in a very planned-environment, I cannot say that I possessed the know-how I would need to have the confidence to travel with minimal planning. Other than just nerding out on the planning, I also did it to assuage some of the fears that I had of this adventure.

Last note about this is that I did not try to eliminate unpredictability. Instead, I learned my options to pick and choose from as I made my way. I feel I chose a route and and some key activities, but have left the rest up to adventure.

Side note: I found a good discussion on spontaneity during travel in Rolf Pott’s book, “Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel,” a quick read for any new traveler looking for some good advice.

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Flight of the Gibbon

My semi-rational fear of falling to my death when at great heights was on display during this zip lining, treetop bridge walking, and abseiling adventure. At no time was this fear higher than when we had to jump off a platform with the rope connected to a carabiner on our backs. Although only a short distance, the free fall period before feeling the harness catch me had my heart racing. That all said, looking down on the trees of the forest while zipping above let me see this piece of Thailand from new perspectives. The mix of having an adrenaline rush, seeing and hearing the gibbons, and appreciating the forest from a canopy level all made this a highlight.

flight of the gibbons

buddha pose

cable from flight of gibbons

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Thai Spicy

Between doing Lonely Planet’s self walking tour of the temples of Chiang Mai’s Old City and going to a Muay Thai Boxing Fight in the evening, I tested my hand at a Thai cooking class. Taking a cooking class when coming to a new place not only teaches a good skill, but also is an introduction to new people, and after class, I made a plan to meet up with two friends the next day.

Buddhist temple
From a Buddhist Temple in Chiang Mai

When making the various dishes and especially the green curry, the teachers would ask what level of spicy we desired. There are two different spicy scales, foreigner spicy and Thai spicy, and unfortunately, the locals seems to have some difficulty converting back and forth. The scale conversion is not quite as well defined as Celsius-Fahrenheit or the English-Metric. I indicated that I wanted foreigner spicy or Thai medium spicy, and although I was making my own curry, judging the spiciness level is not an easy task. In the end, my green curry had some real kick and I ended my meal very hydrated as the cool water provided some relief from the hot food.

chiang mai market
As seen during the class' market tour

At Baan Thai Cookery School, which I would recommend to anyone traveling to Chiang Mai, I chose to prepare gaeng keau waan kai (green curry with chicken), kai pad med ma-maung (fried cashew nut with chicken), pho pea thod (spring rolls), and kao neeaw ma muang (mango with sticky rice). And after a tour of the local market, I sort of learned how to prepare those dishes. Having someone look over my shoulder, add a little extra of this, and throw in a pinch of that into my wok definitely improved the final outcome.

fried cashew nut with chicken
My fried cashew nut with chicken
me cooking curry
Making the green curry paste
green curry with chicken
My green curry with chicken

P.S.  While writing this entry and drinking my fruit shake in a small restaurant, I heard a group discussing which cooking class to take, and I highly recommended the Baan Thai School and made a friend in the process.

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Best Laid Schemes

The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft aglay.  -Robert Burns

This quote as written by Robert Burns and later quoted by John Steinbeck, describes how I felt when rainy season hit Thailand early. I knew the rainy season wasn’t normally for another month and thus the risk of flooding and excessive rains was minimal. The Suan Mokkh Meditation Retreat, which was to take place starting on April 1 near Chaiya in Southern Thailand was canceled on account of severe flooding. The story of how my plans shifted goes as follows.

After my train is canceled Monday night, I wake up at WE Bangkok Hostel and start planning how I am going to make my way towards Suan Mokkh Monastery. I first check the Monastery’s website in the morning, and they have a notice on the home page indicating that they are unaffected by the flooding. Unfortunately, trains, planes and some buses have been stopped that would have otherwise ventured southwards. Only the tourist buses are stopped because it’s not economical to charter a bus that tourists won’t want to take because laying on the beach sounds less glamorous when the beach is already underwater. I go to the Bangkok South Bus Terminal and purchase my bus ticket that is scheduled to leave in the evening.

Around 3pm, I’m double checking that the bus is still leaving, that the weather hasn’t worsened too much, and that the monastery is still unaffected. Now, on the monastery’s home page, I read, “The April 2011 Retreat may get canceled.” This felt like getting wait-listed in that I wasn’t sure if I should keep pursuing it or if I should already start moving on. Because of the word “may” in the sentence on the monastery’s website, and because I feel I am a relatively optimistic person, I took my chances and made my way to the bus station, all the while checking the website to make sure the update hadn’t changed.

Fast forwarding to 6pm, I get to the bus station early because I do not know exactly where to go and don’t want to miss my bus. Immediately at 6pm, everything stops, people stand up, and the national anthem is played on the loud speaker. I also stood up, but at the time I had little idea of what was transpiring. I grab some dinner, meet a couple Thais also waiting for the same bus, and make myself comfortable for the 10-hour journey when I get to my seat. I have not always been so lucky, but the bus I picked for this journey had a great chair that reclined almost 70-degrees. However, about 10 minutes into the trip, before I try falling asleep, I check my phone one last time to see if anything new was posted on the monastery’s website, and I read that the meditation retreat has been canceled.

suan mokkh screenshot

I spend a minute or two frustrated and disappointed, and then remember I’m en route to the middle of a terrible tropical storm and it might be 24 hours before I could get back to Bangkok, assuming everything went relatively smoothly. I consider my options. The cost I paid for the bus is now a sunk cost and there’s no reason to pay for a return bus if I don’t have to. I decide to make a fool of myself by roaming the moving bus tripping over seats and bags until I get to the driver. Eventually, I communicate that I want off the bus, and I trip my way back to my seat to get my backpack as the diver pulls over on the side of the highway. I get my things, get off the bus, and am now somewhere near Bangkok in the middle of a highway. Considering the situation, I don’t feel I’m doing too badly.

Within an hour, I get to the Northern Bangkok Bus Station, which I learn is called Mo Chit, find a bus to Chiang Mai, and board another bus, which is slightly less comfortable and heading North. After sleeping decently on the ten hour bus ride, I arrive in Chiang Mai about the time I would’ve arrived at the monastery, get my barrings, find a place to stay, and figure out what there is to do. As any feel-good story should end, I find that there are a couple monasteries near Chiang Mai, research them online, and learn that one has meditation courses. I try emailing and calling with little success. I get over there, ask around, and eventually sign myself up for a week long retreat starting on Monday, April 4th.

I now will experience Northern Thailand for several days, not be torrentially rained on, and will still learn Vipassana Meditation. Sometimes initial plans are not the best laid schemes.

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Flooding in Southern Thailand

It’s decision time here in Thailand.  The monastery with the best dates and a meditation program that best fit to my level of practice has now been affected by the flooding.  The rain is supposed to start letting up tomorrow, but the question remains if I try to get down there and take my chances.  Flights are cancelled, trains are cancelled, and now all that remain are buses.

I tried taking a sleeper train last night, but it was cancelled at the last moment.  Apparently, other trains took off this morning, so I am not sure if my train was cancelled for purely weather-related reasons.  Trains, now, however have all been cancelled today that originate in Bangkok and head southwards.  Upon learning my train was cancelled last night at 11pm, I found some other people wearing over-sized backpacks looking as lost as I was, and we rallied to find a good hostel and spend the night in Bangkok.  The Hostel we stayed at is called WE Bangkok and the people were very friendly and the accommodations very clean.

I have considered my other options, which if I am unable to attend this meditation retreat, will probably consist of going to northern Thailand and into Laos for a couple days.  I have to make sure there are no travel visa issues.  Both areas are supposed to be spectacular as I’ve heard from all the people I’ve run into during my trip.

My current plan is to try to get on an overnight bus tonight to the monastery.  I already have my ticket, and I feel I am so close that it is worth a try because I do not know when else I might have the opportunity to take a 10-day mediation retreat.  If the bus is cancelled, can’t make it to the monastery, or the retreat itself is cancelled, which is now also an option as indicated on their website, I will turn around, and do my plan B, which really doesn’t sound too bad.  In the meantime, I would only burn about 24 hours on this adventure to see if I can get down to the Suan Mokkh Monastery before having to restart in Bangkok.

Today I spent playing in Bangkok.  After meeting Joel from British Columbia on Khaosan Road, we shared stories, took a Long Tail Boat Ride through the canals of Bangkok, and later grabbed some delicious Thai food washed down by fresh Coconut water.

Bangkok Long Tail Boat
Bangkok Long Tail Boat
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My own “Eat, Pray, Love”, but not really

When I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love” a couple months before leaving on this trip, it wasn’t hard for me to find some parallels between her adventures and what mine were hopefully going to become. Some of the more obvious ones include that we both would go to Indonesia and Italy, and I planned to meditate at a monastery. And I do not doubt that by the time I complete my journey, there will probably be other similarities I could draw.

Unfortunately and fortunately, our starting points were a little different. My trip would have probably been a bit different if I had been given a substantial publisher’s advance. I feel that this is almost like cheating because I feel that the budgeting that took place to make my trip a reality began well before I ever started planning and will continue after the trip is past. Budgeting was one of my bigger challenges because with enough money, the possibilities become almost endless. The part where I feel fortunate in our differences is that I am not divorced nor have ever been married, and I am not unhealthily off and on with someone as she describes her David.

Some similarities that I’m hoping for include having the opportunity to gorge on delicious food in Italy. I want to find that pizza that even though it falls apart when barely picked up, it doesn’t matter because it is so delicious when you finally get it to your mouth. I want to eat some meals overflowing with seafood and others that include so much pasta that I don’t even have room for dessert, which when the time comes I’m sure I can find a little left over space. After all, that’s why I’ve been told we have two stomachs—one big one for dinner and another even bigger one for dessert.

When I meditate, I wouldn’t mind experiencing some sort of similar meditative transcendence that Liz does, but I would happy with just being able to sit still for several hours without moving. This alone will be a great feat. And although I plan to go to a monastery where talking is against the rules, I hope to at some point in the trip meet my own Richard from Texas. I want to meet someone who makes me feel despite all that might be going on that everything is going to end up okay, someone who always has something positive to say even if it might feel a little backhanded, and someone who will listen to my stories and offer his two cents. I do need to make sure, though, not to end up with a nickname as bad as “Groceries”.

For the “Love” part of the book, the part that took place in Indonesia, where Liz finds her Brazilian lover, I feel I have to keep my mind open and see what happens. When I was talking to my grandma a couple months ago and we were discussing my plans for this trip, she had two tokens of advice that remain clearly in mind. First is to be safe and second is to find a nice Jewish girl. Both are very grandma-like things to say, and I’m not sure which of the two is more grandma-like. And I know that she will be happy with any girl that I’m happy with because of my many cousins (her grandchildren), several have married other Jews and several have not, and she loves all of her grandchildren-in-laws dearly.

So I guess in terms of this trip being my own version of “Eat, Pray, Love”, only time can tell. And in terms of me endorsing this book, I do admit to enjoying it, but only to the extent that I would visiting similar places and doing similar activities. I feel I may have liked it more knowing that I was about to embark on my own tale, and had the book not included so much about Liz’s inability to move on from her divorce and bouts with depression, I may have really enjoyed this book. I’m probably just jealous that I didn’t get a substantial advance on my own travel journal.