Are you the type of person who would love to play with elephants, float down a majestic wild mountain river, and visit ancient jungle temples? If so, Chiang Mai Thailand is the place for you!!! This past weekend, I got the chance to visit this beautiful slow town nestled deep in the mountains of northern Thailand. This trip lasted 4 nights and 3 days and every second was packed with great memories and beautiful sights for me and my two friends from UC. Friday June 29th: Today started off with a short sunrise bike ride to a local coffee shop. Next, we headed out for our elephant filled day trip to the rural back-country of Chiang Mai. We pulled up to the elephant sanctuary and were immediately greeted by, you guessed it, elephants. We got he chance to feed them and greet them. After that, we followed the creatures up into the hills and watched them as they grazed and fed in their natural habitat. Next, we got the chance to bath the elephants in a mud pit, where we rubbed hand-fulls of mud onto their thick skin. After that, we walked the elephants to a watering hole where we swam with them and rinsed off the mud. It was an incredible experience it was beautiful to see how happy these elephants were as opposed to their circus-performing domesticated cousins. Saturday June 30th: Once again, today began with a long bike ride throughout the streets of Chiang Mai. It was nerve wrecking because here, they drive on the left side of the road. So we followed par and biked on the left side of the road (very carefully I might add). Then we headed out to hit the Mae Taeng River for some white water rafting. The water included fast, turbulent, heard pumping rapids as well as slow, calming laminar flow water. Our tour guide was a hoot and decided to throw us out of the raft, and we responded by doing the same to him. As we floated down the river we, saw more elephants drinking from the banks in front of a mountainous tropical back drop. It was an endearing scene and this is the moment I fell in love with Thailand. Because we were swimming, I could not bring my camera phone to take pictures, so a GoPro video is soon to come of our white water rafting experience. Sunday July 2nd: Today we were too exhausted to ride bikes, so we slept in to rest our bodies. We got up around 9 and headed to the mountains for a jungle hike. Halfway through the hike, we encountered an ancient jungle temple called Wat Pha Lat. We witnessed monks in their practice and found tranquility in this quiet, overgrown sanctuary. We continued up the mountain and visited the famous Wat Phra Doi Suthep. This is an intensely intricate golden temple where thousands of tourists flock to every day. After a few minutes of gawking in awe, we headed back to the city for a few famous Thai massages and dinner. We also headed to the market for some bartering and souvenir shopping. This trip was truly a lifetime memory and something I will keep dear to me forever. I only hope that I get the chance to visit this beautiful country again someday.
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Chris Bowers
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