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Fantastic elephant encounter in Thailand
https://elephantecovalley.com/
Eco Valley elephants were one of our best days in Chiang Mai A great lunch was served, then we were fitted with red cover ups so we wouldn’t get dirty and given lockers to store our things. The handlers showed up next with a huge mama elephant we could pet and take photos with. She was gentle and seemed to like the attention We learned all about the making of elephant poo paper and mixed fresh veggies into balls to feed them. Several elephants came up to the rail to be fed bananas and the mixed veggie balls we had made. They were so friendly and cute, especially the baby elephant. Time to get in the water with them. The handlers had them lay down so we could scrub them. What fun! Then they stood up and decided to spray water at us. A lot of silly screaming followed from everyone getting wet. This was one of the highlights of our Thailand trip. I think it was about $95 a person and we’ll worth it. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1e379827c.jpeg Our handlers introduce us to mama https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d969739f5.jpeg Tasty lunch served https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3bce6fce7.jpeg Coming to meet us https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0765f3089.jpeg We love bananas https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c5e782e21.jpeg Making veggie balls to feed elephants https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7bf40ff90.jpeg We are hungry https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7ff659c54.jpeg Scrub-a-dub https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...59eceace0.jpeg Time to get in the water https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...747aee4cb.jpeg Our group. Elephants love to spray you https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fc8ed0d66.jpeg The huge gull elephant |
Bull elephant
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TPAYT, what a wonderful experience!
And I am happy to see that you are continuing with your Thailand trip report! How many nights/weeks did you spend in Thailand? What was your itinerary? We hope to include Thailand in a SE Asia trip in the next 2 years or so. |
Sad to see that this elephant attraction is not totally ethical - close encounters feeding washing etc are not to be encouraged.
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KarenWoo…our itinerary
3 nights Bangkok, fly to 3 nights Chiang Mai, drive to 2 nights Chiang Rai, fly back to 1 night Bangkok The flight back to Chicago from Chiang Rai was not a great schedule so we decided to return to Bangkok for an extra night and an easier flight home. One of the best things we did near Chiang Mai was a cooking class at Grandma’s Home Cooking School https://www.grandmascookingschool.com/ We met our chef, Garnet, at a market to learn about ingredients. Then off to the school’s garden to learn about herbs. The teaching kitchen was first class with top-notch equipment and a mise en place for each student. What fun that was. I’m not a great cook but my dishes turned out beautiful and tasty. Garnet was so informative, hands on, friendly, and entertaining. A day that will be remembered. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...29d41afcf.jpeg Our chef, Garnet https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cc082d44a.jpeg Classroom https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1fc4d44b4.jpeg My finished Pad Thai Looks good enough to eat https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ae9b36547.jpeg Me a chef? Not likely, but my food did turn out great with a great teacher https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e6ff93ad1.jpeg Ingredients for Pad Thai |
The White temple and Blue temple were both gorgeous
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ddf9b6659.jpeg Too bad the sky wasn’t blue https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...72e33691b.jpeg Another experience that was cherished was the boat ride on The Mekong River. An interesting part of the world. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...df57c0a99.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...30c6fdb03.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...eb042e1ad.jpeg A gray day but at least it wasn’t so hot and humid https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...13288d3eb.jpeg China has now leased land in Laos on the river to build a gambling complex like Las Vegas. Our guide called it “Laos Vegas” |
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