Mar 26—Sea Canoeing: Hongs by Starlight

Monday was an unforgettable day. Jessie and I were picked up at our hotel at noon for a Sea Canoeing adventure with John Gray Sea Canoe. They’re a company who have been operating since 1989 and are very highly recommended.

The drive took about an hour to get to the pier where the boat was waiting. It wasn’t bad because the driver was blasting Rhianna and other pop artists, so I had fun singing along (it’s always therapeutic to hear English music when you’re in a foreign country).

When we finally arrived, we were welcomed onto the boat which would be home for the next 10 hours. Immediately after setting sail, the crew set out a display of Thai noodles, stir fried veggies and lots of fruit. Jessie and I didn’t think that they would be serving us lunch as well, so we ate before we left for the tour. Despite being pretty full, I ate a bit and it was delicious.

We cruised for a good hour before we hit the small islands of our destination. The journey was beautiful. All around us was bright emerald, crystal clear water and the skies were beautiful. The water was calm and the ride was very smooth. One of the crew gave us instructions and regulations about going through the hongs. Hongs are areas like caves except they’re open at the top. If you think of a doughnut, there’s open space in the middle. Hongs are like that, it’s a solid rock formation all around it, but the centre is open and light can penetrate it. The only way to enter is through a cave from the outside, which can only be accessed at certain times of the day depending on high tide or low tide.

When we finally arrived to our first hong destination, we met up with our guides for the day. Our guide was named Thep. He was a 27 year old Thai man, who was extremely helpful and friendly. Thep kept us entertained the whole day with his crazy jokes and interesting information.

Thep brought the sea canoe up to the edge of the boat and Jessie got in first (in the front) and I sat in the middle. Thep was our motor and paddled us along the rocks quickly and efficiently, explaining to us the different minerals that caused the colorization on the rocks: iron and calcium mainly.

When we first went into the hong, we had lay back in the canoe because there were so many stalactites coming down and the waters were fairly high. It was much cooler in the cave and it had a totally different eerie feeling compared to outside.

Entering the hong was magical. The water was so calm and peaceful and the sunlight wasn’t as strong as outside, it was very relaxing. There were these beautiful mangrove trees that were growing in the water. Their roots were so cool. Thep paddled us along the hong and then stopped in the middle where we could get out and walk around.

Eventually we had to leave because the tides were going down very quickly and soon we’d have no way to get out. It was crazy that when we entered the hong, people were almost to their knees in water, and now there were areas of the ground without water at all. Thep paddled us out and we went around the island to another cave entrance. This hong was also stunning. Jessie joked that she could set up a hammock and read here for hours.

The whole paddling experience lasted for about an hour and then we came back to the boat and were served hot tea and coffee, watermelon and freshly made banana bread… yum! The captain took the boat to another destination and then it was time for more hong exploration.

As we were eating our banana bread, there was a flash of lightning and a loud strike of thunder. All of the guests started to get worried about going into the ocean, but the staff didn’t seem to mind. Jessie and I waited, but it only happened that once, and it wasn’t even raining so we decided to go for it. Again, we got into our sea canoe with our trusty guide Thep, who expertly paddled us along. Within about 5 minutes, it began to rain, but not much.

The contrast between the air and water was huge. Jessie and I commented on how our grandmother would compare the water to a bathtub, but it was refreshing. The rain was coming down a bit harder now, so Thep decided to take us into the ‘honeymoon cave’. He joked that this is where all of the honeymooners go… it was a little beach inside the cave. I guess it would be very romantic if you were with someone other than your sister!

Once we left the honeymoon cave, the sky had cleared and it was now sunny out. We paddled along into another hong and toured around it for a bit. Then it was time for us to head back to the boat and have some free time. Jessie and I thought it would be fun to try canoeing by ourselves. Since Thep had worked so hard paddling us around, we told him he could join us as our passenger and we would give him a tour. He accepted and we had a great time trying to paddle the boat. I was fairly successful but Jessie seemed to only be able to make it go in circles. Eventually I got the hang of it and gave us a little tour, but by the time we were heading back to the boat, the waves became a bit rougher and it was difficult for me to get the canoe to overtake the waves. Luckily Thep stepped in here and brought us back… so much for being the easy going passenger.

As we got back onto the boat, it was time for arts and crafts! We were making Patongs which are traditional Buddhist ‘offerings’ that float in the water. They’re similar to lanterns, but instead are made out of leaves and flowers. We started off with a base from banana tree trunk. This is important because the banana tree trunk has many air pockets in it, so it’s light and floats well. Next we assembled banana leaves into beautiful shapes and decorated it with orchids and beautiful yellow and pink flowers. We made 3 of the orchids into birds that sit in the centre... they're very cute.

We stuck in 3 sticks of incense which symbolize monks, Buddha and Buddhist scripture. Thep also cut off pieces of our hair for good luck. There were two candles that are used to illuminate the way. It was so neat watching everyone build their patongs because they were all different. Each one was beautiful and was specially crafted with the care of the guides.

Soon, the Patongs were set aside and the dinner was brought out. It was a feast! There was curry, rice, soup, BBQ shrimp, fish, chicken, veggies …. So many delicious choices! Jessie and I ate till our heart’s content and then it was time to go and release our Patongs.

Thep was in the canoe waiting for us and soon we were off paddling away. By now, it was dark and the water was black. We paddled into a small cave so that the surrounding area was completely dark. Thep lit our candles and incense and Jessie and I made a wish and released our Patong in the cave. It was a really beautiful experience, especially since the flames from the candles reflected on the water and bounced off the walls of the cave.

A little while later, Thep blew out the flames from our candles and splashed some of the water around. Because it was so dark, we were able to see brilliant glimmers of light coming from the water! Apparently it’s bioluminescent plankton, and when you touch it, it glows. It was amazing to see because Jessie and I have never seen anything like that before. We probably spent the next 15 minutes splashing around off the sides of the canoe… it was unreal! Unfortunately the camera wouldn’t pick it up, so we don’t have any pictures of this, but it’s definitely unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

Heading back to the boat, we climbed on board and got comfortable. We soon departed on the hour long ride back to the pier. Jessie and I met some nice people and had some good conversations. We also took photos with one of the tour guides who has a striking resemblance to Morgan Freeman.

A little while later we arrived at the pier, and soon we were back in our hotel. After a long shower, Jessie and I both hit the sack exhausted.

Mar 24- Patara Elephant Farm

On Saturday, Jessie and I were picked up bright and early at 7:45am. We were on our way to the Patara Elephant Farm, and were becoming ‘elephant owners for a day’. Throughout our whole trip, we had both been very excited for this experience. The trip was fairly expensive, but was the number one rated activity to do in Chiang Mai, Thailand, so we knew it would be great.

The drive was about 1 hour and when we finally arrived to the farm, we were amazed by all of the natural beauty. Looking out over rice fields, grains and large trees was beautiful, especially when we noticed the elephants off in the distance… wow!

We were first introduced to our guide for the day, Jack. He spoke very good English and gave us an introduction to the farm and their mission. The farm actually began 10 years ago in an effort to rescue abandoned and abused elephants and to help foster breeding success. The tours have only been offered for five years (I’m sure to offset the high costs of keeping elephants) so it’s nice to know that it was a rescue project before it became a tourist attraction.

Jack told us stories about how baby elephants are separated from their mothers and brought to markets as a tourist attraction. The owner will charge tourists money to touch and feed the baby elephant. This makes good money for the owner, but being around such huge crowds of people in a very urban setting can cause huge emotional damage to the elephant. Moreover, once the elephant gets older and bigger and can no longer fit into the truck that takes it to the market, the owner doesn’t want it anymore (too expensive to keep it and he’s not making any money off of it) so he abandons the elephant.

Other tragic stories included the demand for ivory that come from the tusks of elephants. Apparently only 60% of ivory is visible from the outside of the face, so many poachers will actually kill the whole elephant to dig into it’s head and take out the rest. It’s a horrible industry that needlessly kills beautiful elephants for nothing. This farm is an organization that helps rescue animals that have been hurt, helps facilitate breeding and puts elephants back into the wild. It was really neat to experience something that was more than a typical tourist attraction and actually had the main focus on helping the elephants.

After our information session, we were brought to a hut where we would be assigned an elephant. My elephant was Pangwon, she was a twenty year old female who had recently given birth to a little baby (who was so adorable!). Jessie’s elephant was Muhree, she was 46 years old and was slightly smaller than the rest. When we met the elephants, we were able to get on their good sides by feeding them. Each person got a basket filled with bananas, sugar cane and tamarind seeds to feed them. This was a very unique experience, because you actually have to put your hand in the mouth of the elephant to get the food in. I could feel Pangwon’s tongue and slobber while feeding her. At first, this was quite nasty, but after a while, it was pretty neat. Her little baby was also wanting food, so he would bump with his head and put his trunk up into my basket to try to find something… it was so cute!

Next, we got instructions on how to see if the elephants are healthy. Checking their skin for dirt to indicate that they slept lying down, checking to ensure that they’re sweating from their toes (the only place they sweat oddly enough) and finally, checking their poop! This wasn’t something I opted to do, but the guides explained that going through the poop and seeing that the digestive tracts are working well is a very important part of monitoring the health of an elephant.

After checking their health, we cleaned our elephants and gave them a bath in the river. We had little scrub brushes to clean their skin and we used buckets to splash water over them. My elephant would let me know if I wasn’t doing it right by spraying water over herself with her trunk. This was a pretty neat thing to do because it was when I actually started to interact with Pangwon. Her baby was nearby splashing around in the water… young elephants LOVE water and they’re always playing in it. The only negative thing about washing the elephants in the river was that every so often, I would see a chunk of poo and I had the unsettling realization of what I was standing in.

After cleaning our elephants, it was time to ride them. We were shown how to properly get onto an elephant and we were allowed to choose which method (out of 3) that we wanted to use. I opted to stand up on Pangwon’s trunk, which she then raised and I hopped onto her neck. This method requires you to swing yourself around then (because you’re facing backwards) so that was a bit scary, but I succeeded in doing it!

Riding Pangwon was an incredible experience. I was sitting so high from the ground and had nothing to hold on to except the small mounds on her head. Her skin was very rough and she had coarse hair covering her. At first, I was a little nervous as I got used to the sway of her body as she walked, but after a while I because used to her rhythm and it was ok. When riding an elephant, it’s best to keep your legs and knees up with your feet behind their ears. After a while, my hips became a bit sore, but I just stretched out my legs and they were ok again.

We rode the elephants for a good half hour along a trail that eventually led to a beautiful waterfall. Once there, there was a beautiful lunch waiting for us. After I got off of Pangwon, I walked down a steep gravel hill and I lost my footing and fell. I scraped up my arm and leg and later discovered that I broke my camera. I was pretty bummed that my camera is broken, but at least Jessie still has one.

Putting aside my little fall, Jessie and I went with the rest of our group to a beautiful buffet spread in a grass hut. There were assortments of sticky rice all wrapped in banana leaves, Thai pastries, fruit and fried chicken (it was so good!). We ate till our heart’s content… it was all so delicious. The food was spread out on banana leaves and all of the wrappings were natural as well, so once we were done eating, all of the food and leaves were wrapped up and we fed it to our elephants. So neat!

The last big thing on the tour was swimming with our elephants. Jessie and I got into our swim suits and went into the water (trying to forget about the ‘gifts’ the elephants were dropping). The baby elephants were jumping around and swimming so happily. It was so cute.

When we reached my elephant Pangwon, Jessie and I climbed on top of her and took some photos. We had to be careful to stay away from the babies, because they move so quickly and are so strong and heavy, they could do some serious damage (at 4 months old and 400 lbs, they’re a force to be reckoned with). It was a really rewarding experience to be able to soak in the water with these beautiful animals. They’re so peaceful and gentle.



After our swim, we were lead back to the camp on another 30 minute ride. This time, we went up and down a pretty steep mountain. I was scared to fall off of Pangwon, so I was clenching really hard with my legs. By the time I got off of her, my legs were so sore I could barely walk. By that time, I had had enough of elephants. It had been a great experience, but I was ready to walk with my own feet now.

We said goodbye to our guides and were driven back to our hotel. We got back around 4:30pm and were tired, stinky and dirty. Jessie and I both showered and went for a nap… what an awesome experience!!

Mar 23- Tiger Kingdom

Today Jessie and I went out in search of a quick breakfast and a cab to Tiger Kingdom. We found a juice stand on our road and ordered a watermelon smoothie. While we were waiting for the drink to me made, I told the owner that we were heading to Tiger Kingdom for the day. Immediately, she perked up and offered to take us there for the low price of 100bhat (we were told that cabs charge 300-500, so this was a steal). We agreed and soon we were on the road to Tiger Kingdom.

Along the way, we were told that Tiger Kingdom offers free food and T-shirts to tour guides and taxi drivers—this explained why the woman was so willing to be our ‘tour guide’ for such a cheap price. It worked worked out well because it was pleasing for everyone.

When Jessie and I arrived, we made our way to the package selection area. This is where you can choose how many tigers you want to interact with and what ages you’d like. We decided to go with the young 3-6 month old ones and the full grown 18month old tigers. Other choices included the newborns (which were SO cute) and year old tigers. We also opted to get a photographer to come with us and take pictures. I had researched online and many people recommended this because you actually get more time with the tigers and you can take home some great photos of the experience.



Our first stop was to the 18 month old tigers, who actually weight about 400lbs! Our photographer and a trainer came in with Jessie and I and we were introduced to our first tiger. He surprisingly was very calm and unfazed by our presence. Jessie and I took turns posing and petting this huge cat and soaking up the magic of being with something so beautiful. We did this with about 3 tigers in this section. Throughout the whole experience, the trainers were always beside us watching the tiger for any signs of aggression.

Because the tigers are not drugged and still have their teeth and claws, the trainers do have to watch out. However these tigers have been hand raised since birth so they’re used to human interaction. When I asked the trainer he said that they’ve never had any attacks on customers, but that they’re still very careful because tigers are aggressive by nature.

After spending time with the big tigers, we moved along to the small ones. Although they were bigger than we anticipated, they were still very cute and soft. They were much more active than the larger tigers (who just slept). The little ones were playful and friendly. Jessie and I really enjoyed these ones because they would play with each other and forget you were even there. At one point, two little ones were playing on a log toy and were chasing each other. Jessie and I were sitting in front of them and one tiger just fell on top of me. I was so shocked by how heavy he was, considering that he was only 4 months old.

We had a blast interacting with them and taking photos. The photographer also seemed to be having a fun time. He knew that Jessie and I were sisters, but he made jokes about us taking our ‘honeymoon’ photos. All in all it was a good day.

After visiting with the tigers, we had a small lunch at the restaurant, went and got ice cream and then Jessie went off to draw, while I wandered around the area. Jessie’s sketchbook attracted lots of attention from the staff who all wanted to see her drawings—it was a nice opportunity for her to show off her work.

During my walk around, I found some of the larger tigers in cages near the back. These cages weren’t nearly as large as the habitats the young tigers have. The tigers were barely able to pace back and forth in them. I was shocked at the little amount of space given to these large animals and asked one of the staff about it. He told me that after a tiger is about 2 years old, he will become very aggressive and needs to be separated from other tigers (and people). For this reason, they are kept in smaller, separate cages. I asked why they were so small and I learned that they really don’t have the space to give each animal a large habitat. He defended this by saying that they have a large habitat where they switch the animals throughout the day, so that each one has a chance to run around.

I couldn’t help but feel slightly saddened for these beautiful tigers. Although it’s not the worst life possible, they definitely aren’t able to run free. When I first got to Tiger Kingdom, I was overwhelmed by it and thought that it was spectacular. Seeing the older tigers in the back shadowed my earlier appreciation. Overall, it’s a neat place and I definitely enjoyed my time there. The staff really seem to care about the tigers which is good, but I can’t help but feel bad for the older tigers. I guess, in the end, it’s a business and they just want to make money.