The Purposeful Tourist

I don't really like to think of myself as a "tourist" except every once in a while it hits me in the face that I actually am one, and I cave in and occupy that space I feel so almighty judgemental about! [hubris is a trap].

So yesterday, through a series of rather odd events, I ended up doing the tourist thing. It had its moments which will unfold here. I was due to meet a Mr Dam, who I met the day before on one of many "getting lost" walks around ChiangMai [though how one can get lost in the Old CIty is a wonder since it is laid out on a square with canals on the edges- but I did indeed get lost about 4 times which means I walked for about 2+ hours around the place]. 

Anyway, Mr Dam actually ran across Moonmuang Rd [lots of traffic] to ask if he could help me. In the course of our conversation, he offered me a trip the next day up to the waterfall [Mae Son- pronounced May-Sa] and to the Elephant Camp for a reasonable price. We made a date to meet at the end of my Street at 9 AM the next morning. Those who know me well, know I was standing at the meeting spot at 8:50.

I waited for an hour and no Mr Dam. There was however a huge bus parked near my street, and the driver and his off-sider were sitting outside the Wat [temple] waiting for the American tourists who just schlepped down the lane to learn Thai cooking. The off-sider kept asking me if I wanted her to call her Uncle, who would take me in his taxi where I wanted to go. Eventually, I accepted the offer...and to cut to the chase, ended up with a different guy who the Uncle bumped into on the street. This guy, Pan [pronounced Baan] was a real tour guide and he took me to the Waterfall and the Elephant camp...and a bit more.

The Mae Son Waterfall is composed of 10 different levels and a trail/track runs along beside it up a moderately steep hill. The falls are beautiful, and so is the Jungle surrounding them. 

One of the Falls at Mae Son-more snaps for later

The track is pretty ok with a  few challenges. I spent about an hour and 1/2 wandering around, and because it was early in the day, there were hardly any people there. It was very pleasant....when I came back down from the top, there were people setting up picnic lunches on the rocks around the falls. 

I felt a bit peckish myself, so I asked Baan if he would find us a place to eat....don't know why but I can never bring myself to make a driver wait outside while I stuff myself, so I invited him to eat with me. It always takes a bit of coersion to get them to accept, but it did happen. 

Unfortunately, he took me to the Tiger Kingdom [first offering to stop at 7/11 which I resoundingly knocked back]. They have a buffet lunch there, but the bummer is, you have to watch all these doped up Tigers llet tourists drape themselves all over them, while their mates take photos. 

I kept imagining  Madagascar like conversations [minus Chris Rock and Robin Williams who are WAY too hyped up for these dopey tigers!] The conversations went something like: "Wow, this is SO boring! Wish we were romping around in the Jungle stalking other wild animals and chomping them up. I'm sick of these people lying all over me!" 

My fave was the woman with the Dreds who had to arrange her hair across the tiger's back before she let her boyfriend take a snap.

All of this prepared me for the Elephant Camp- I thought I was going to the one where they rehabilitate elephants so they can be put back into the wild....but NO! This one was the camp where the elephants were the entertainers- rolling hula hoops around their trunks, playing soccer, throwing darts at balloons and even painting a picture with their trunks. Again with the Madagascar voices, but this time Robin and Chris were part of the conversation, because you could definitely see that some of these elephants had personalities [and I am NOT anthropromorphising ]. At the end they called me into the arena, and got two elephants to hug me and then one gave me an elephant "kiss" [anthropromorphising here] comprised of sand and elephant spit.

Kissed by a baby elephant-YUM

 Their skin is really soft which was a surprise. I couldn't help but think about what kind of life these animals have working for human entertainment instead of running around in their natural environment and being free. There is another elephant camp -an Eco one, where you learn elephant commands and wash and take care of them. 

After my day yesterday, I am more than a little sore -not just from all the walking I've done in the last couple of days, but from the rock hard bed I've been sleeping on... which means I really need to rest or I will be in pain for the rest of this trip!......where is your maintenance team when you need them??

Moving guest houses today to a cleaner one with hot water, so I can have a hot shower and use the loo without being in the line of fire from a leaking shower tap. Then the Dentist tomorrow. Hope you like the diorama from their window- it cracked me up when I saw it.