3/13: Thailand National Elephant Day

Today, 3/13, was our day to visit the Elephant Training Camps (http://www.thailandelephant.org/) in Lampang, Thailand. This was the primary reason we took the train ride from hell up to CM, as the northern Thai (and Burmese) are renowned for their ability to train elephants. The conservatory we visited is famous for outstanding treatment of these amazing, highly intelligent animals. Our itinerary was to include elephant games (they play soccer!), paintings, other dog and pony-type shows, along with some riding. After arriving at the camp, we found out that we hit the lotto! And by lotto, we mean that we were visiting the camps on 1 of only 2 days in the year where the elephants get off from work--Thailand National Elephant Day.

At first, we were disappointed to find that we would not be able to see any shows or ride the elephants. Then... we got the show of our lives! To commemorate the holiday, the elephants are paraded around in a brief ceremony, followed by a FEAST! Potatoes (their favorite), pineapples, watermelons, sugar cane, carrots, oranges, bananas, and a dousing of holy water. Wow! It was an amazing and truly memorable experience.






Note: We've got a few amazing elephant-related videos that we'll upload later.

We are about to leave for the airport. We are flying back into Bangkok for our connecting flight to Hanoi, Vietnam. In Hanoi, we will be visiting the following:
- Hanoi Hilton (the POW site where Sen. McCain was held for over 7 years... not the hotel)
- Old Quarter (which still has a few of the gates used to fortify the city against attackers)
- Bamboo market and Fish market