Today is our only full day in Chiang Mai. Honestly, we are moving a little quick for me. I can barely remember where I am. Three to four day stops per city suit me better. Alas, when you are on a fam trip these decisions are not your own. Get ready for another jam-packed day.
Seriously. That is a hotel lobby. Breakfast is served in the restaurant in the back half. It is, in two words, completely mad.
You know what breakfasts are like. But you did not know, as I did not know until I was on the way
out, that they have a magical looking substance here called
chocolate and banana jam. I repeat
Chocolate And Banana Jam. I have never heard of such a thing, but basically that substance is going to be in the back of my mind until I try it tomorrow morning.
Panorama of the square behind the restaurant. This is the view for breakfast. Completely mad.
The next two photographs were taken by yours truly, but I cannot truly take credit for them. Michael had said to me the first day, "Did you see the anatomically correct statues in the lobby?" As an interior designer, he notices detail.
This morning I took a look, and sure enough, as you walk away from the lobby desk, the statues on either side include the following details.
This would be a
she.
This would be a
he.
You Do Not See That Every Day. (YDNSTED.) (There is no chance that YDNSTED takes off.)
On the way out of the Dhara Dhevi, I finally get a picture of the sign that you can read. Hooray!
There were small parades of kids and adults on the streets today, because today is Khao Phansa. They refer to this as
Buddhist Lent, but I think that is again the Thai way of trying to accommodate and relate
. For example, Buddhist Lent is marked by the arrival of the rainy season and marks a time of study and meditation. Sound like Christian Lent to you? No fasting, no giving up particular habits or pleasures.
In fact, the Thai tradition of Khao Phansa involves the Buddhist monks not leaving their temples and monasteries for three lunar months. It is no coincidence that this is the period when they need to keep the monks from walking through the freshly planted rice paddies. Lent indeed.
Time for the highlight of the day.
Elephant time.
Barbie and Esther emerge from the ladies room. Yes, I am the type of person who, when seeing that the bridge I am on overlooks the restrooms and knowing that my wife is in there, will wait with the camera at the ready to get a picture as she emerges. I cannot explain it, but this is how it must be.
That, my friends, is an elephant.
The camp sells bananas to feed the elephants, and everywhere there are signs warning you to give them bunches at once or the elephants will get impatient. When you read a sign that warns against a 9,000 lb / 4,160 kg animal getting impatient, you do what it says.
Inside the elephant camp were hill tribe people selling some of their wares. There was a terribly cute little girl and, as you can see, everyone in our group took a picture of her. Except me. I took a picture of everyone taking her picture.
So... the elephant camp... First of all, I get that for
a lot of people it is a terrific experience. And I liked a lot of things about it. You can tell there is a
but coming. But Barbie and I saw hundreds of African elephants roaming free in African wildlife reserves. To see their Asian cousins tamed and trained, with guys riding their necks making them do tricks... not my cup of tea. I am
sorry. I cannot not dislike it.
I get it. I do. Elephants are like dogs. Animals that love us, and that we can train. When you see a dog do tricks, you do not think, "Poor little dog." You see that dog's tail wagging as it jumps through a hoop and gets a treat from its master, and everyone's happy. I do not know why I have a mental block that places elephants above dogs, that makes me think,
Do not squeeze that elephant's ear when it does the trick wrong! Let it roam free! On top of that, I bet there is little natural habitat for Asian elephants. These elephants are lucky to be alive, really.
The oldest male elephant shows how he can lift a log. Elephants are Southeast Asia's bulldozers and cranes.
This female paints the same painting over and over, for 600 bhat.
Again, I have to get my head straight and enjoy this. I still cannot help but wish that this was more like Africa, where herds of wild elephants roam free on a reserve and ignore the little people in the open air trucks whizzing around them taking picture.
Alas, that reserve does not exist yet. Which means that Barbara and I are about to ride an elephant's back through the jungle.
We got the last car of the elephant train. Michael and Dori ride the elephant in front of us. Michael had this great idea where we gave them one of our cameras and they gave us one of theirs. This way, Barbie's camera has their shots of us and Dori's camera has our shots of them. Alas, the Waste is going up before I get a chance to look at the pictures on Barbie's camera, meaning that you must again be satisfied with the pictures taken by the official Colossal Waste photographer, yours truly.
When you look down at your feet and see an elephant neck... this is not something you see every day.
I was going to run a video here where I talked about the bad traffic during
Elephant Carmageddon, but it was not funny enough. Not even close.
Unlike you cars that need to stop for gasoline, elephants just grab something with their trunk when they are hungry.
I see that elephant with a mahout on his head and North Americans on the seat tied to his back and I ask myself, well, how did I get here?
We were told that the elephants like walking through the river. It is cool for them.
Some elephants kept their trunks in the water, but Michael and Dori's like to keep hers just above the water line. She uses it like a snorkel.
Our ride is THERE.
Okay. We have completed the
magical elephant riding that I actually had a hard time not disliking because I cannot not think that this is something that I should not be doing portion of our day. As with everything that we do while traveling, this was a good thing for Barbie to see so that she can describe it to a client and gauge if it is for them or not.
Now, off to a Four Seasons for lunch and a site inspection.
I nearly got it.
This is not a bad view to see from a hotel lobby. This property was designed to accomodate both hotel guests and permanent residents. The idea that one might retire and spend one's time in Northern Thailand, relaxing in a luxurious home being waited on by Four Season's calibre staff is, how you say, beyond imagination.
Barbie poses with a decorative umbrella in the lobby.
We saw many rooms and suites, but these posts would average 80 pictures instead of 60 were I to share hotel room pics.
But this is worthy to share. This is the Thai cooking school at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai.
He liked Barbie and did not bite down.
On the other hand...
While entering the bar and restaurant that sits adjacent to the pool and spa, they placed this decorative frame around a teardrop shaped hole.
Okay. I did not show you the normal room that was amazing. I did not show you the beautiful two bedroom suite. I did not eve show you the Amazing three bedroom suite wich had been recently occupied by Oscar winner Denzel Washington.
But this you get to see. And know that this sculpture sits on a living room table of a three building five bedroom villa that would cost a paltry $5 million were you to buy it.
We have done the site inspection, looking at everything the Four Seasons Chiang Mai has to offer, and have thus earned ourselves a lunch.
Another group meal shot. Perhaps this habit of taking a picture of the group eating makes it look like we are always eating. We are not, I swear. However, it is obvious that the times we are most often together and not in motion happen during meals. There. And, to keep up the yearbook naming names thingy; Left to Right: Matthew, Dori, Greta, Nicole, Michael, Kelli, Cynthia, My EMpty Chair, Barbie, Tom. (Esther must have briefly left the table.)
The grounds of the Four Seasons Chiang Mai. Esther commented that the costs of groundskeeping must be astronomical. No doubt she is correct.
No menu for this meal, but I think I know my way around it.
Chicken wrapped in banana leaves, baked to juicy perfection.
Spring rolls with a honey based sauce.
The first few courses on my plate.
A shrimp salad of sorts.
A very, very special Thai iced tea. You ask, "Why the double
very?"
The ice cubes are frozen tea.
I will award a special prize to the person who first leaves a comment correctly naming the country, city and hotel where I was last served iced tea with iced tea ice cubes inside.
Beef broth vegetable soup.
Fried fish.
Curry chicken.
Wok-friend vegetables.
Dessert; Ice cream, mango slices, and fried banana spring roll.
Fried banana spring roll deserves a closer look. Anytime you cook a a banana, you win me over.
I do not know exactly where I took this, but for a photograph from a moving bus, I am extremely fond of it. It captures the different aspects of Thailand. The spider webs of powerlines you see everywhere, a statue either from or honoring the country's history, the beautiful landscape that cover every inch of this place, all under the clouds that rain down on this place and make it the lushest land I have ever seen.
At last! I got a picture of the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai sign!
There was no planned dinner, which meant that Barbie and I skipped dinner, got some work done and then climbed into bed. In bed, we fired up Slingbox on the MacBook Air and watched, of course, The Bachelorette. This is of particular interest because an episode of this very season of The Bachelorette was shot at none other than the very resort in which we are staying. You got that right. We are staying in the far-away Thai resort where they shot The Bachelorette. Now that is exciting.
For the record, I fell asleep less than halfway through the episode, but I still get a little giddy every time I see the TV remote on the computer screen and the listing of all the programs we have on the DVR in our Los Angeles bedroom.
Until tomorrow.
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