Chiang Rai

It was time to move on. Next stop was Chiang Rai. The ride from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai was about 5 hours. For the most part, the scenery along the way was nothing special.

We stopped for a break where there were a few cafe type places. Granny and I went into one and had a cup of coffee while Granny soaked her feet. Although it appeared to be the thing to do, I abstained.

We were staying at the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp. The triangle reference in the name is because from our room we could see three countries - Thailand, Laos and Myanamar (formerly Burma). On the left is a picture from our our room looking over the three countries. However, it's impossible to see where one country ends and the other begins. On the right is a picture from the terrace where we had lunch. It overlooks the beautiful pool and also the 3 countries.

When we got to Chiang Rai, Mr. Keng asked if we would like to see the "White Temple". Absolutely. When we got there, both Granny and I thought it was like Disneyland. Although it looks like something from an amusement park, it is actually a working temple and it is one of the most visited attractions in Chiang Rai.

The second part of our resort's name is Elephant Camp. Included in the stay is an "experience" for each guest. I chose "Mahout" for my experience. A mahout is an elephant trainer. I didn't think I was going to do much training. However I would get to ride an elephant. Granny picked the same but we'll get to that later.

We were given "official" mahout outfits to wear. On the right, you can see Granny dressed in her mahout clothing including special pants, shirt and shoes. We were scheduled early in the morning and it was still a bit misty when we went to meet our "trainees".

Getting up on an elephant is NOT an easy task. Granny couldn't do it so she decided to switch her "experience" to a massage to be administered later that afternoon. I finally made it up, but it would have been much easier with a ladder.

The first challenge was getting on the elephant. The second challenge was staying on the elephant. Fortunately my elephant had a lot of very short hairs on the back of his neck. I could grab these and keep some semblance of balance.

The elephant sort of rocks as he walks and I didn't want to "rock" off. IT IS HIGH UP THERE! Of course the elephant wants to stop and grab some food along the way. That also presented a challenge.

We took a path up to the front of the resort where I was faced with the final challenge - getting off the elephant. Click HERE to see a video of the elephant "training" experience. Now that the elephant is trained, my job is done. And I got a thumbs up for doing such a good job of training the elephant!