From Bangkok To Chiang Mai

Cooking class in Chiang Mai

Ernest the elephant after our trek

I want this baby monkey!

Aruna in our bamboo lodging

Hot springs

Last Saturday Zach and I were joined in Bangkok by our very good friend from Ottawa, Aruna, who is in transit to India for 2 months travel. We spent Sunday afternoon touring the Royal Palace before catching a night train to Chiang Mai in the north. We had a celebration on the train in honour of Aruna's arrival. We hadn't seen her for over 6 months! In Chiang Mai we set off for an adventurous two day trek into the jungle of one of Thailand's national parks called Ob Luang. The trek took us to waterfalls, hot springs, local villages, elephants, and bamboo rafting. After only 10 minutes hiking in the national park the group encountered its first taste of Thai wildlife- a vibrant green snake, as the locals call it, or a venemous viper as we know it. I nearly died of fright ( for those of you who know my phobia of snakes this doesn't come as a surprise!). But I carried on for the remainding 5 hours of the hike. I'm glad I did, or I might have missed meeting one of the cutest little monkeys I have ever seen. The first village we stopped in for a water break had a resident 2 month old baby monkey who had been rescued after his mom was killed in a dog fight. This little guy was enough to break even the toughest of hearts and was incredibly human like. We were allowed to hold him, which has been one of the highlights of my trip so far. I didn't want to let him go!! But the trek continued, and we had more adventure ahead of us. Our lodging for the night was a bamboo house on stilts in another village in the park. We were so exhausted after our trek, alot of which was uphill or walking precariously down muddy paths in the rain, that we zonked out almost immediately after supper. The next morning we awoke to elephants drinking water from the river that were suited up to take us for a 1.5 hour trek. Zach volunteered to ride on top of our elephant's head bareback for the trip- a decision he soon vocally regretted. Aruna bravely traded places with him and proved that she is the true elephant whisperer. Ernest, our elephant, was a little grumpy, but he brought us to our next destination in one piece and with lots of laughs. The day ended with a 2 hour trip down the river on a bamboo raft crafted together by our guides. It was a welcome break from the hiking we did the day before. So much fun!

Our last day with Aruna was spent learning the secrets behind some of Thailands tastiest dishes in a day-long cooking class. We began our morning with a trip to the local market before continuing to the open air kitchen where we made curries, soups, salads and deserts. I can't wait to put my new skill-sets to the test in Ottawa!