Our time in Chiang Mai began with a Thai cooking class. We don’t
mean to brag, but we are all basically experts at cooking Pad Thai and Green
Curry Chicken now. The class did an amazing job of walking us through what
ingredients we needed and what steps to take to ensure that our stomachs were
full and there were smiles on our faces. In the words of trip member (TM for short)
Isabel, “I had no idea I was that good at cooking!” Added TM Ethan, “Hi Mom – can’t
wait to cook this for you at home.” That’s a direct quote.
From there, we moved to our final service project, as we
were tasked with teaching English as a Second Language to a diverse group of
learners at a local school. We worked directly with students in grade one
through six, creating lesson plans centered around playing games, singing
songs, and making English so much fun to learn. We even got to eat lunch with
and go to recess with the students! TM Hannah said it best when she said, “I
will never forget how big their smiles were.” I don’t think any of us will. At the
conclusion of our final day of service, the entire school came outside for a
goodbye ceremony, and it’s pretty safe to say that there was not a dry eye
among any of us.
After service, it was time for us to enjoy the fruits of our
labor, relax and have fun! We started our true vacation time with a trip to
Eagle Trek for some zip lining. Within one of the province’s oldest forests
lies a zip line built in the forest canopy. We zipped from tree to tree, not
only getting the adrenaline pumping but getting a great view of the forest, up
close and personal. We were taken high into the canopy using a system of
stations, tree houses, cables and sky bridges for over 5km, 15 zip lines, 2 sky
bridges and 2 rappels! The longest zip line was 800 meters, giving everyone on
the trip an adrenaline rush that we will remember forever.
Following a night of bartering and spending probably too much
money at the Night Market and viewing our first ever Muay Thai fight (more on
that later), we woke up and departed for our final temple viewing of the trip
at Wat Doi Suthep. This is Chiang Mai’s most famous and revered temple. We were
taken aback by the history of the place, as it was built near the end of the 14th
century and is known as a major pilgrimage destination during the important
Buddhist holidays. Some of us were even blessed by one of the monks there, and
we were able to witness local college students making the 10km trek up the hill
to see the temple. It was clear how revered this temple is to the Buddhist
people.
That afternoon, we were able to spend our time at one of
Chiang Mai’s most famous Muay Thai (kickboxing) camps learning hands-on about
this martial art which is also Thailand’s national sport. Learning from
professional athletes who had competed (and won) all over Asia, we were able to
learn the most popular sport in the country by stretching, learning the moves
and sparring. We were getting pretty good at it, or so we thought – until we
saw the demonstration by our trainers. Let’s just say that none of us are quite
ready to become professional Muay Thai fighters just yet.
Our entire time in Chiang Mai was incredible, but we truly
saved the best for last with our trip to Patara Elephant Farm. In truth, this
part of the trip probably deserves an entire blog post on its own, but I’ll try
to do my best to describe an experience that was truly beyond words. To give
you an idea…”This was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done.” – TM Skylar.
Agreed. There were three main parts to the day with the elephants. First, we
learned about the elephants and the farm, which included a presentation focused
on elephant welfare and conservation. We learned about elephant farm management
and Patara’s breeding program, including how to tell if an elephant is happy
and healthy, how to approach the elephants, and daily health care for these
amazing animals. Next, we met our elephants. Yes, that’s right, we each were
given the opportunity to meet and interact with our own personal elephant for
the day. We fed them, and practiced using commands to ride and control them, in
preparation for part three: a trek with the elephants and fun activities such
as elephant riding through the jungle, bathing and brushing, commanding the
elephant to do things, etc. It cannot be overstated how cool this entire day
was. It was truly beyond words.
Chiang Mai exceeded even the loftiest expectations of our
group, and we were so sad to say goodbye. With that being said, we are so
excited to be on the beautiful beaches of Krabi and can’t wait to tell you all
about it in the next blog post!
ลาก่อน,
T2
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