After boarding the cruise ship, our first stop was a large island in Thailand called Ko Samui. It was delightful. Incredible beaches, fishing boats everywhere, jungle and elephants (okay, the elephants may not have been here originally...), charming and friendly people. From the first glimpses, I already loved Thailand!
Off the dock, I loved looking at all the colorful fishing boats and random island that would pop up in the ocean. There was also a lot of good people watching to be had.
Drove up some super steep mountains into the jungle and stopped at this ancient burial site. Well, maybe it wasn't a burial site. Maybe it's just somewhere they come after people die. Apparently I wasn't listening very well.
Anyway, there were a lot of really interesting statues down there amidst greenery and flowing waterfalls. It was quite peaceful. But also seemed like it was from an entirely different world. After trekking down the long flight of stairs, it felt like you had entered a different time period and for a moment or two, surrounded by ancient statues and sunlight filtering through the trees, it felt like time stood still.
Then it was off to the elephant park! There is something about Thailand that is very commercial/touristy, but in a very tacky way. I don't mean this as an insult, but rather a charming thing in a nostalgic, admiring of the way a culture handles their tourist attractions kind of way. If that makes sense to you, fantastic. If it doesn't, please ignore completely this entire paragraph.
{And apparently blogger has changed the order that pictures are uploaded in, so I apologize for the scattered photos}
After seeing many elephants in Africa, it was really neat to see Thai/Indian elephants and see how they are different. I love how hairy these ones are! You have to get up close to them to see all the fine little hairs, but it was really neat.
And I love love love all the locals everywhere. To me, people capture the heart of a place and culture and so I do love snapping shots of them. I hope they don't mind. When it's close up, I ask and then show them the photos, which they love. When it's far away, I put on my zoom lens.
After watching an elephant show {which was neat to see everything elephants can do and how man is able to tame and train animals, but at the same time makes me feel a bit bad for the elephants}, my mom and I boarded an elephant and went on a trek through the jungle.
Below is the elephant loading dock. It was a bit funny getting on because you have to step on the elephant which feels funny, but I guess he's pretty strong.
For whatever reason, I always pictured me riding an elephant on my own. Just me on the top of the elephant gallivanting through the jungle. So I was a bit afraid, because really, what do I know about elephant riding? Then I realized that the elephants have drivers {OBVIOUSLY, who would trust me to drive an elephant?!?}, and I was reassured.
Visited a local coconut farmer's house. Loved that it was just as is. And there were buffalos everywhere. Did you know that they have water buffalo fighting rings?
Then we stopped at a waterfall. Insert contented sigh. I LOVE waterfalls. Any water in fact. But there's something about tons of water flying off an edge into a large pool that is enchanting.
I was thankful for having my bathing suit on and made my way over large rocks to make it to the large pool where I captured the sight of this stunning waterfall. And my heart was at peace. What I loved about swimming here, was that it was all local people. And we chatted. I don't speak Thai, they dont' speak English, but we all had a great time.
What lovely, wonderful people. I loved when they didn't realize my camera was waterproof, because when water suddenly hit it, they were all so concerned. Once I "explained" that it was waterproof, all was well. The kids seemed intrigued by it and we enjoyed swimming around and getting pummeled underneath the waterfall.
Sigh. I could have spent all day there. Maybe next time.
And thus concludes the travel adventures for today.
Next stop: Bangkok, Thailand.
I have been able to connect with so many people on the way and I am reminded of how incredibly blessed I am. And how many incredible people there are in the world. And that I am priveleged to know a few along the way.
