Chiang Mai Day Trip

There's so much to tell you about our vacation in northern Thailand. I think the most memorable day for me was the day we drove an hour outside Chiang Mai to Mae Ping Elephant Village. After watching the elephants put on a spectacular show, which included running a flag up a pole, moving/stacking logs, and painting a picture of a tree, they came into the crowd to get up close and personal with us. In addition, it gave the elephants a chance to collect any gratuities from the spectators. The one photo is of Catherine giving the young (not sure of its age) elephant a tip. It also gave us a chance to touch the elephants trunk. As you saw in one of the previous blogs, we also went on a nearly hour-long elephant ride through the river and countryside. The motion of the elephant ride put Catherine to sleep about 10 minutes into the ride. After putting on the show and giving rides, the elephants were released to roam the countryside for some afternoon R&R. We then went to a nearby resort hotel to eat a very tasty buffet lunch. Following lunch, we couldn't resist going to yet another show, this one put on by a couple of monkeys. They did all sorts of tricks. One of them especially enjoyed giving the spectators kisses. Catherine wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to pet a elephant and get a kiss from a monkey in the same day. As you can see from the photo, momma was a cringing a little as the monkey put his arms on Catherine's shoulders and puckered his lips right before the big smooch.