Elephant Nature Park

the Elephant Nature Park just outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand

 is an elephant rescue sanctuary and rehab, 

which also acts as a community preservation project 

and educational opportunity 

for visitors from all over the world.  

this day was one of most precious of all those i spent in Thailand.  

the plight of the Asian elephant is a sad one.

many elephants have been abandoned from the logging industry,

 where they had 'jobs' and have now been left to fend for themselves.  

some of them are rescued from the streets of Bangkok where they are used to 

draw the almighty baht (currency) from tourists hands via begging.

the sight of these elephants... 

whose sensitive feet can feel vibrations up to 10 miles away,  

pacing and swaying due to stress from the sounds of the city...

UGH. its simply heart-wrenching. 

while there are approx. 40 elephants in the herd here,

the sanctuary is also home to 50 or so stray dogs. 

 i'm sure that number has multiplied exponentially 

by the time i even posted this.  

many of them also bearing the visual scars 

of a more gruesome past.

they are so fortunate to have found refuge in this haven:

     

  

the park is run entirely on donations - 

much of the funding realized through visitors, like myself,

 who come daily to interact with, feed and bathe the elephants.  

there is NO elephant riding at this facility,

we were here to learn and to help them...

not use them for our benefit.   

this girl is creating a painting that she can sell 

to raise money for the park:

the reason behind needing so much money for the park?

elephants EAT, and they EAT a LOT.

they eat constantly.  

they are eating machines! 

heres just one side of the food room... 

they'll go through this in a day or two. 

EASILY

   

after we fed them MASSIVE baskets of cucumbers 

and bananas and squash and zucchini

and and and and... 

it was time to head down to the river for a bath. 

     

the females (not necessarily their moms) 

protect the babies in the river crossing:

  

  

luckily, they had us there for assistance.

ha. 

   

and they emerged, all the mud and dust washed off...

so fresh and so clean clean.

   

and headed immediately for their favorite scratching posts:

   

ever wonder what an elephant looks like from above? 

now you know!

and then guess what?

time to eat again!

and again:

   and again:

  

and then, sadly, it was time to say goodbye:

 

if you ever find yourself in Northern Thailand, 

and i hope for your sake that you do,

  i highly suggest you make a trip to the park 

to help support the cause 

and learn more about these amazing animals. 

you can read more about the Elephant Nature Park at:

www.saveelephant.org

breakfast in chiang mai

 

figured these guys would know a good breakfast spot,

so I followed them.

REALLY?

 

dogs of chiang mai, thailand.

another reason I fell in love with chiang mai, and thailand in general,

was the ubiquitous presence of dogs.

some were pets, well taken care of,

and guarding their owners shops:

and many others were just roaming the streets,

either in packs:

or, solo -

having a snooze during rush hour traffic:

these two were just the other side of the flower market.

guarding their turf.

I went the OTHER way.

so many sweet faces to capture.

look at the expression in this little girl’s eyes. 

love.

  

chiang mai nite bazaar

 

strolling back from dinner, I spotted preparations for a festivity.

wat party!

 

 

 

chiang mai’s nite bazaar holds all sorts of treasures and trinkets to buy.

you could spend hours taking in all of the… THINGS.

 

  

  

 

good thing I was traveling with just a backpack.

I would have bartered my way into loads of purchases.

       

then, heading back across the river to my room,

distracted by the light reflections in the water:

 

 

I nearly walked right into

mr itsy bitsy’s masterpiece.

yikes!

    

dinner on the ping river

 

there are a few spots in chiang mai

where you can sit and have a lovely meal overlooking the river.

this was one of them.

look! a spot reserved!

just for me.

 

this was their ON the river seating:

(closed at the time)

 

 

 

and this,

drum roll please…

is quite possibly the best thing I have eaten in my LIFE!!!

and this is saying a LOT when you’re in thailand.

the food is AMAZING.

‘khao soi’ is a northern thai specialty

(sadly, as this was the last time I had it.  waaaaaaaaaah!)

a coconuty, peanuty, chickeny, fried and fresh egg noodley concoction.

I prefer just to call it…

YUM-ALICIOUS!

 

 

and for dessert?

black sesame dumplings in green tea.

yes. I just had to try it.  

 

 

so good! 

  

with a full belly, and a smile,

I sat here after dinner listening to the sounds of the river rushing by.

contentment and peace.

the magic of thailand:

 

ping river. chiang mai, thailand.

 

just the other side of chiang mai’s flower market

lies the ping river.

the ping is a tributary of bangkok’s chao phraya, waaay downstream.

but this is a much less busy waterway.

and maybe a bit cleaner too?

maybe.

 

 

 

I spied the cutest little spot from across the river:

    

 

and so decided to cross over and check it out.

 

    

  and heres the front of that adorable little building.

a tea shop! 

I guess its tea time.

 

 

hmmmmm.

that looks like a pretty nice spot to have dinner…

 

chiang mai flower market

 

having read about the riverside flower market in chiang mai,

I decided to stroll through it on my way to dinner.

it’s thailand’s version of parisians grabbing a baguette

on the way home to their families.

drive thru flower stop:

 

 

flowers are a part of the thai’s daily rituals.

these will be hung from each family’s ‘spirit house’

as offerings to the spirits:

  

 

here’s an example of a spirit house,

which come In all different materials, shapes and sizes.

how lucky are these spirits???

green FANTA!

  

 

I like the idea of offering something so beautiful to the spirits,

so that they might protect and provide for your family.

 

 

strolling through the chiang mai flower market

was a pre-dinner visual feast:

 

   

  

 

 

 

 

where the flower portion of the market ends,

you round a corner and the produce begins.

and from there, the road continues on to chinatown.

 

 

 

so many fruits I’ve never seen or tasted! 

 

 

  

 

hmmm. now im hungry.