More temples in Bangkok/ Limpini Park

When we got back early on Thursday to Bangkok, we made it to our guesthouse by 10am and were luckily able to check in early. The final guesthouse we stayed at was called the Wild Orchid (similar name to the other Bangkok guesthouse we stayed at, the White Orchid). This guesthouse was extremely busy day and night in the lobby, and was down the street from all the touristy nightlife and markets, and was only $8 each a night, so was a good choice on our part. It had a much laid back feel to it, delicious food in their restaurant, and had a lobby filled with sculptures, plants, waterfalls, and other cool Thai artwork.

We showered and then made it a point to head out early to see the rest of the temples (3) that were popular in the area. It was another hot day so we made sure to take breaks and to drink water or coconuts (the small ones were our favorites…sweeter, more juice and more coconut meat). If you peak at the photos below, you can see the many golden buddhas, animal or human sculptures (there’s one that had scary red possessed eyes…check out the picture), and amazing architecture on the huge temples. I was lucky too because the sky was so beautiful that day which made for great backgrounds for the temples in my pictures. Some of the temples we had to literally hike (or it seemed like mountain climb up), but it was worth it once we reached the top and saw the amazing view from the top of the river, other temples, and city of Bangkok. Other temples, such as the reclining Buddha, you had to take your shoes off and place them in the shoe holder for religious reasons. I was always afraid my shoes would accidently be taken and worn by someone else…hehe (like in Slumdog Millionaire). The Reclining Buddha was my favorite temple/Buddha that we visited since it was so big!! It's one of the biggest Buddha's in the world (I think India has the biggest). Before we went inside, we peaked through the side of the temple and could only see the Buddha’s finger…that’s how big it was! And if you look in the picture I took you can see me with the enormous golden Buddha’s head only! I was able to get a good picture taken from the Buddha’s huge toes, looking down towards its body and head.

After visiting the temples and stopping through the flower market (which had the most beautiful and amazing assortment of colorful flowers I had ever seen!), we headed to Limpini Park. This was my favorite park I have ever been to; honestly. The park was filled with sports activities of every kind. Locals were jogging around the many paths; some were playing tennis, swimming, badminton, and Takraw, which is volleyball and soccer combined. Keith and I loved watching them play Takraw because we had researched how it was a unique and popular sport in Thailand, and also because it’s pretty amazing to watch. The players do all sorts of tricks kicking the small ball with their foot and playing a v-ball sort of game, hitting it over the net. The park also was filled with many different sections, which made it seem so big and spacious. It also had a pretty red temple, many green elephant bushes, plants, flowers and trees and was surrounded by beautiful buildings that made up the city area. There was also a lake, which had swan boats to paddle in and a few bridges to walk over. We peaked in the lake and were surprised, along with some locals and tourists, to find a huge water monitor (looks like some type of reptile, like a crocodile) swimming near the edge, as well as some catfish that were coming to the surface in hopes of food/bread from the tourists. We were told the water monitor was harmless, so we ended up taking a romantic swan boat ride through the lake while the sun was setting. It was very relaxing and always a great date idea. Afterwards, we grabbed some food and our favorite Thai iced teas at a nearby restaurant that was part of a night bazaar market.

Before leaving the Limpini park area and heading back to our guesthouse, we were surprised to see a night yoga class going on in the park, and also a night aerobics class going on right on one of the paths with about 30 people in it! When we got back to our place, we decided to go next door to our guesthouse to Nancy’s Massage & Beauty Salon (like the name mom?) for a 2 hour massage after our long day of visiting temples in the hot weather. The 2 hour massage consisted of a Thai full-body massage, a foot massage, an oil massage and an herbal massage (hot packs pressed onto your back!). This was all soo amazing, relaxing, and a fun experience…and the price you ask? Couldn’t believe it, but it was only $15! What a deal! And what a way to end the day!

Elephant trekking in Chiang Mai

The elephant tour was absolutely amazing! And because of the helpful lady who worked at our guesthouse, it only cost $30...instead of the whopping $120 we were about to spend booking through a private company before coming:0 Well, it was a full-packed day of fun. We were picked up in the tour van at 8am, with about 10 other tourists. After arriving at the elephant camp, we first saw the elephant show. Keith and I had expected a circus type of act for kids, but we were honestly very impressed and awed by each act. The elephants did everything from carrying the trainers in cool ways, walking over them, to giving them massages, playing hoola-hoop, the harmonica and every sport you could imagine. They played golf, soccer, basketball, bowling, and even painted a picture (more artistic than I could even paint). The elephants had skill, that’s for sure! After the show was over and getting some great pictures of the elephants and also of the mother with her baby, I was able to hop on the back of one of the elephants who performed in the show for a quick picture. The elephant was so smart that he was tickling Keith for a tip! It was cute

The next part of the tour was taking an oxcart ride to the elephant that we would be trekking with. The ox’s had a camel-like bump on their backs which made them seem unique. The oxcart ride took us through the beautiful country area where you could see fields of grass and mountains in the background.

Next, was the elephant trekking which was so much fun! We sat in a very secure seat that was strapped to the elephant. It was so high up, which made for amazing sites of the Thai country area. We trekked through the jungle, through water, and through the country area for about an hour. We bought mini bananas to feed the elephant…and the elephant ate all 20 of the bananas one-by-one with us feeding them to him while we were on his back (so he had to move his trunk up to our seats). He must have been hungry...he ate all of them so fast! I couldn’t imagine how much they eat each day, but it was nice knowing that nearly all the money earned from the tours went towards feeding and taking care of the elephants.

After elephant trekking, we ate a Thai buffet-style lunch, relaxed for a bit, then headed down to the river for bamboo rafting! This was also a cool experience. We were given the traditional Thai style straw pyramid-shaped hats, and had a small group that we shared a raft with. We shared with an Australian family (originally from Malaysia) who we had met throughout the tour. We spent the afternoon with them learning about their huge family trip they were taking through SE Asia and also hearing stories about their country of Australia. They were very nice and a fun group of people to meet. The raft was very smooth riding and a relaxing way to see another part of the jungle and some Thai-style homes off the river. Keith was even able to try steering the raft, although it looked pretty difficult to do since the river was flowing pretty quickly and it was narrow as well.

The next part of the tour was taking us to visit a village that had the Padong, Lisu, and Karen long-neck tribe. The women in the tribe wear heavy golden plates around their neck, which stretches their neck over time. We were able to see pictures of other tribe members wearing very long golden plates, and then a picture of when they had taken it off (to change to a new golden plate). It was unbelievable how long their neck looked! Here at the tribe, the women were stitching scarves and other clothing, so we bought a beautiful multi-color (dark blue, orange, and black) scarf to hang as a decoration in our apartment. There was even a young tribe member there who I took a picture with. Although she was not wearing the golden plate around her neck, some traditional tribe members will begin to wear the decoration at a very young age. All of these tribe members are those who escaped Burma and are now living in Thailand. We also saw a type of monkey and some sleeping pigs at the village.

After visiting the village, the last stop was at a flower orchid. When I think of Thailand, one thing that comes to mind is all the beautiful flowers that are everywhere…on the streets, in hotels, restaurants and other businesses, in and around temples and parks, etc. Here are some pictures from the orchid that can illustrate the gorgeous flowers they have in Thailand.

After the amazing tour, our tour guide dropped us off at the train station, where we took an overnight train back to Bangkok. At the train station we saw the sweet lady we had seen earlier where we grabbed some food, so we chatted (as much as we could with the little English she knew) and gave her an orchid flower we had received from the tour. In return she gave us water bottles...what a kind lady. She's in a picture below with Keith. Well, when we got on the train, we were so tired from the day that we had no trouble falling asleep, although we did meet a German couple near our seats/beds who we talked with most of the night. We actually ended up meeting up with them again in Bangkok for the nightlife the next night. The couple was so much fun and even helped me finish the lines of the German children’s songs that my Oma had taught me when I was little. One thing I love about traveling is how we meet people from all over the world! It helps us learn about other cultures, even if we are not in the actual country yet!