One day, seventy-two forms of transportation

Sangkhlaburi, May 24, 2007

You have to go on a trek in Thailand.  Right?  We didn't have the time or the particular desire to go on an overnight jungle trek, so we just opted for a one-day "lite" trek.  With elephants.  And boats. 

When we signed up for the trek, the receptionist said to us, "There are more people who go, farang, like you!"

We lucked out with these fellow farang, though, thank goodness - they turned out to be a terrific group of doctors and nurses with the Indigenous Health Alliance, and wonderful people.

Anyway, this is how we came to be cramming ourselves onto a boat with nine doctors and nurses at 9 in the morning.

We were riding extremely low in the water.

We were shipped (boated?) over to a closer view of the Mon wooden bridge, which looks possibly even more rickety from sea level.

It was pretty relaxing being out on the water.  There was a nice breeze - that is, until we threw a rod (or something... I'm not a mechanic, either) and baked under the sun for a few minutes.  Just when we were ready to start paddling with our lifejackets (these guys were definite go-getters) our guides got the boat started again.

After a little while, we pulled up to a muddy patch on which sat the ruins of a temple.  This was the area's wat for years and years prior to the flooding of the old town in the 1980s.  Apparently, much of this is underwater during the rainy season, but being here at the end of the dry season meant we could explore the area on foot.

We walked inside the building, where we learned that each of these small niches used to hold their own buddha.

We could see that people still come here to worship, laying flowers by the ruined Buddha heads scattered around the property.

Very quickly, we were back in the boat and heading towards... well, we weren't sure exactly what.  But the surroundings were amazing.  I couldn't believe how green everything was, up to and over all of the hills.

Thank gawd the boat didn't break down again.

Eventually, we did stop, and were all ushered into a pickup truck with two back benches.  The road wasn't particularly paved, but we made it through just fine.  Only a couple of fishtails.

The pickup truck soon pulled into a small clearing populated by milling elephants and handlers.  A woman sold bunches of green bananas for feeding the elephants, and how could we resist?

They were definitely appreciative.

These elephants weren't huge.  They knelt down for us to mount, two to an elephant, and we were off!

Our guide was kind enough to take a picture of us as our elephant (whose name I've unfortunately forgotten) forded the first of many streams.

We were on the elephants for an hour and a half.  The ride was peaceful, which surprised me since my only previous elephant-riding experience was at a Florida flea market in the mid-80s, which was not a moment where I communed more deeply with nature.

The only sound was the chiming of the elephants' bells.

We crossed some pretty deep rivers, where the water came up to the elephants' shoulders.

We were also rained on for a little while, which was refreshing in the muggy heat. 

Some of the slopes the elephants picked their way down were pretty steep.  Nobody toppled.

After fording one last river, the elephants all knelt for us to dismount.  With a few more bananas, they were on their way, and we were digging into delicious bags of fried rice with bits of chicken.  There was even a bag of chili sauce to flavor things up a bit.

For dessert, a man squatted and cut up the best pineapple I've ever eaten.  It was sweet and tart and so juicy that a piece actually jumped right out of Husbear's hands.  He juggled it twice before it fell to the ground, where one of the two dogs that had been following us all day snatched it.

After lunch, our guides got out a large plastic barrel and suggested, firmly, that we put anything of value in it, since we'd be getting very wet in short order.  We shrugged and dropped our little camera, the only one we'd brought for the day, in with the other backpacks.

Then, we crossed rivers where the water came up to our armpits and walked on small paths through the jungle until we came to another bend in the river, where long narrow platforms made of lashed-togther bamboo waited for us.  The only instruction we were given, as six-foot bamboo poles were thrust into our hands, was "Two to a raft."

We each shared a raft with a partner and a guide, without whom I'm sure we would have each fallen down that much more.  The first hundred yards or so were difficult for everyone, especially given that they were made up of rapids.  I'd say pretty much everyone fell down except for Husbear and, of course, our guides.  The one gentleman who had kept his camera actually went completely overboard, though his hand remained above water clutching the camera - impressive.

I think I worked more on my balance in the 40 minutes or so we were on those rafts than I have in the previous seven years.

We did get a picture when we stopped.

After the rafts, we were ushered quickly back to town, past a large temple complex complete with enormous reclining Buddha.

It was a great trip, and well worth the money we spent.  Elephant and truck and boat and bamboo raft?  Awesome.

By the time we got back to the hotel, we were pretty hungry again, so... snacks!  On our balcony.  We had to use the balcony as many times as we could.

We felt comparatively refreshed (meaning a little more prepared to ignore the stifling heat) so, time for a closer exploration of the Mon tribe's wooden bridge!

The walk through town to get there - another time that Thailand made us feel like entitled jerks.

The bridge is a marvel - it's anyone's guess how it stays up.  It feels more steady than you'd think, as long as you don't look down or question it too closely.

It was wonderful being able to watch life from the bridge, too.

Laundry.  And I complained about the lack of a dryer.

I'm not sure how you'd ride a bike over this bridge.  The best answer I've gotten so far is "carefully."

This bridge is 400 meters long, which is no small feat.  It's really impressive that it stays up.

On the way back into town, we stopped into an internet joint to send my brother a happy birthday email, and we learned specifically where the no sex zone is in Sangkhlaburi.

After catching up with email, we had a pretty unspectacular dinner at the market (it probably would have been best for us to learn how to say "please make us something tasty, whatever you make here" in Thai, but we didn't).  We hopped motorcycle taxis back to the hotel.  I was feeling really tired, but this little guy at the door caught Husbear's eye and he stopped to take a couple of pictures.

This attracted the attention of a group of young children studying right by the door, so Husbear went over and showed them the pictures he had taken of the snail.  They wanted him to take pictures of them, too, and were pretty impressed with seeing themselves on the screen.  He does have a pretty cool camera.

Exhaustion set in at this point, so we headed off to bed.  It was going to be a fairly difficult day the next day - we had to get back to Bangkok in time to catch a train north to Chiang Mai.  That train would turn out to be maybe the hottest vehicle I'd ever been in.  yay.

In real-time news, it looks like we're moving back to Austin on Sunday!  We will probably only be there for a couple of months, so we're packing very very light.  I hope to have internet and be able to work on the blog some over the next few weeks.  I'm crossing my fingers.

Comments

[auntie]

wonderful post. Looks incredibly lush.. but i guess hi temps and 100% humidity does lead to lushness.... Cute elephants, and you both look tres chic on them.

[Glenna]

Elephant riding? Love it! You guys have all the fun! It just makes me feel so boring to answer the question "What are you going to do today?" with "Going to the grocery, running by the gym, and then out to the movies with friends." Although, to the folks you've been hanging with, that might sound exotic. :-)

[roboppy]

That was awesome. The elephants and rafting and scary brige-ing and GIANT BUDDHA STATUE and all.

Auntie, that's true - it's the one benefit of the crazy weather. Glad you like our elephant chic; it's going to be the newest look!

Glenna, thank you - though half the fun of travel is coming home to familiar things.

Roboppy, you're a sweetie. Thank you!

[RONW]

from the bottom photo, it's just amazing how the Mon wooden bridge is even able to support, itself.

[Jeanne]

Gawwwwwd, elephant riding. You're braver than me! I get edgy on a tandem bicycle with my husband, so I suspect that an elephant trek may be right out of the question! Great post and great photos.

[Boots in the Oven]

The elephants do feel pretty secure - they're just so solid! I always feel like I'm about to fall over on a bicycle, too.