Alex and Chrissy go to Asia

The morning started off with excited anticipation for the bamboo raft ride and elephant sanctuary experience. However, the day was so much more! Breakfast at the hotel was delicious with fresh fruits, yogurt, banana bread, an egg burger and more. Dressed in her Dolce Vida sandals Chrissy was ready to nap on the ride to the elephant sanctuary.

At 8:45AM, the driver had arrived to the hotel and Alex and Chrissy boarded the songthaew. Little did they know, this was the paddy wagon type vehicle that would take them through the highways, towns, and mountains of Northern Thailand. The driver picked up a nice American family on the way who have lived in Guam and now Japan because of the Navy. No one had any idea how long the drive was or what we were getting into. Don’t worry moms and dads, the girls were safe! Over the course of the next hour, the roads went from highway, to paved roads through villages, to paved roads through the mountains. It was necessary to hold onto the railing at the top of the songthaew to avoid falling off the seat. Needless to say, Chrissy did not pop in her AirPods and take a nice nap on the drive.

They finally arrived for the bamboo raft rides down the Wang River. Alex and Chrissy did not realize that this meant sitting in at least an inch of water for an hour and going through what could be considered level 1 rapids in the US! A couple of times, the bamboo raft got stuck on a rock and everyone had to get off to help move it and hop back on before it started down the river again. The man guiding the raft used a long pice of bamboo to push off rocks to float. The highlight of the ride was seeing a momma and baby elephant bathing themselves in the water!

Following the rafting, Alex and Chrissy hopped back into the songthaew for another 45 minute drive through windy mountain roads, rice fields, and dirt paths that were one car wide. The ride was bumpy but the views were amazing.

When everyone arrived at the Chiangmai Elephant Sanctuary at Huay Hoi, Karen clothes were provided to wear when feeding the elephants. Simon, the tour guide, was a silly Thai man who taught everyone how to give the elephants bananas in fun ways. If you yelled “bone” the elephant would raise it’s trunk and open it’s mouth, ready for a banana to be thrown or placed inside. Holding the banana in your left hand behind your back enticed the elephant to “hug” you with it’s trunk. Alex even got the feed an elephant it’s special mush wrapped in banana leaves!

After the humans ate their lunch, it was time to give the elephants their mud baths. This began with Simon smathering mud on everyone on the tour and then teaching us how to do the same to the elephants. Alex and Chrissy did not expect to get as muddy as they did but you have to do what Simon says! The elephants loved being cooled down.

Following the mud bath, the group trekked down to the river to wash the elephants. Clothed in only bathing suits and barefoot, the group followed the elephants to the river. The water was refreshing and it was a blast splashing the elephants to clean them off. The elephant handlers had fun splashing tourists and using the elephants trunks to spray people.

The last activity of the day was a surprise hike to a waterfall. Now half muddy, barefoot, and still in bikinis, Alex and Chrissy trekked 30 minutes through the steep terrain to the Mua Puai waterfall. It was quite refreshing to shower off all the mud and sweat from the day. The tour provided a choice of water, soda, or beer for refreshments.

After hiking back from the waterfall, the tour concluded. Alex and Chrissy hopped back into the songthaew and were driven back to their hotel in Chiang Mai. The drive was peaceful and beautiful as the sun was setting throughout the drive. The sun went from a glowing orange to a glowing red. After a long day, Alex needed pad Thai and Chrissy needed a shower.

Highlight of the day

Alex – seeing the mom and baby elephant bathing during the bamboo raft

Chrissy – making new human and animal friends