Good Times at Tiger Kingdom, Orchid Farm, and Cobra Show!

This morning at 9:00am, our taxi driver picked us up from our hostel to drive us to Tiger Kingdom at Mae-Rim, Chiang Mai (pre-arranged taxi cost us 500 baht for the day)! Tiger Kingdom breeds the endangered Indo-Chinese species of tigers, where guests at the park are allowed to pet the tigers that are between 3 months to 2 years (tigers older than 2 years are too dangerous). Prices for petting tigers vary depending on their age and size (smallest, small, medium, and large). Generally, about 10- 15 minutes is given in each enclosure with the tigers. NOTE: They no longer allow guests to play with new born tigers, what a bummer! We were only allowed to take photos of them for a far. Deals for petting more than one age group of tigers were offered. We decided to take advantage of the group deal and see the smallest (4 - 8 months), medium (9 - 12 months), and large tigers (1 - 2 years) for 1,200 baht per person. Playing with the smallest tigers was my favourite, even though all but one was sleeping. They're so precious and adorable!

Although there`s controversy over the issue of drugging (sedating) the tigers, Tiger Kingdom claims that they do not do that (which is one of the main reasons why we picked this tiger zoo over the others). Even though most of the tigers that we pet were asleep, I didn't get the impression that the tigers were harmed or drugged in any way (tigers usually sleep during the morning/day, which is when we visited them and possibly the explanation for their tiredness). The staff there were all very friendly and seemed to have built a strong bond with the animals (I witnessed a staff member calling out to a tiger, which walked right up to him to rub his head on his face to say hi, aw!).

From my observation, Tiger Kingdom offers a decent living environment for the tigers. Although a bit small, the cages seemed very clean and well kept for the big cats. And from watching the tigers, I noticed that they were very calm, tame and non-aggressive. The reason why these tigers are comfortable with humans is because they are trained to act that way around people, since birth. Overall, our day visit to the kingdom was very exciting and fun! I wish we visited the tigers later in the evening though, because most of the tigers were asleep. Still, it was a very memorable and enjoyable experience!

                                         Yum, fresh Tiger kill for lunch.

By the time we left Tiger Kingdom, it was around 1:00pm. We still had some time to kill before catching our overnight train to Bangkok at 5:00pm, so we decided to stop by the orchid garden, which was about 5 minutes away, located in Mae-Rim. Entrance fee at the garden was 100 baht per person, which included an orchid flower pin/boutineer per guest (which I thought was a cute touch), along with access to the entire garden. It was a great opportunity for Steven to practice his photography skills, haha. The garden featured rows and rows of orchids and other various plants around the land. It was a very beautiful and relaxing place, as we were surrounded by hundreds of fully bloomed flowers. We were hoping to see some monkey orchids at the farm, but no luck! I didn't really have high hopes though, because monkey orchids are a rare find!

At 2:00pm, we decided to head over to watch the King Cobra show which was also about 5 minutes drive away! The fee for the snake show was 200 baht per person, which also included access to the snake farm and the opportunity to take a picture with a snake!

The show was a lot of fun (at the same time very scary) to watch! The commentary for the show was excellent (the lady spoke in English and she was very funny)! The snake handlers were extremely brave, as one drop of cobra venom will kill you in about an hours time! At one point, a cobra escaped out of the stage and slithered toward the audience!! Luckily, the snake handlers caught the snake just in time (although, I think that was all part of the act to scare us!) The show lasted for about 45 minutes, where four different types of snakes were presented to us. Two different sized cobras were shown first, where the handlers interacted with them by kissing, throwing, and dancing with the snakes, Ahh! It was such a thrill to watch them perform, as I felt so nervous and scared at the same time! The two other snakes that they showed us were not poisonous (water snake and the 'jumping' snake). Again, the snake handlers perform dangerous tasks including: playing with the snakes, poking them, and putting their heads in their mouths! At the end of the show, a demonstration as to how snake venom is collected is shown using a clear jar. I highly recommend watching the King Cobra show in Mae-Rim, Chiang Mai. It's certainly worth your time! We had an excellent day there!

By 3:45pm, we left the snake farm to head back to our hostel to pick up our bags, and finally, head to the train station for our long, overnight journey back to Bangkok!

Posted by Rebecca

Elephant Sanctuary and Night Bazaar in Chiang Mai!

After reading great reviews of Ran Tong's Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai from tripadvisor, I suggested to Steven that we should definitely check this place out! When deciding which elephant camp to visit, I was very particular on picking a place free from animal harm! More specifically, I was only interested in camps which offer elephant rides on their bare backs, rather than the uncomfortable and tight strapped chairs that can harm to spine of the elephants as well as cause pregnant elephants to suffer miscarriages. Above all, I didn't want to pick a place where making money was the camp's primary concern (versus the care of elephants). There are many elephant camps available in Chaing Mai that offer guests the opportunity to ride elephants for a much cheaper price (I saw some for as low as 1,500 baht), however I decided to go with Ran Tong's training full-day (8:30am - 4:00pm) camp experience at 2,400 baht per person. Why? Because Ran Tong's elephant camp's mission is to save the elephants! They offer one-day, two-day, and three-day training camp services and volunteer programs that teach you how to take care of elephants, understand their behaviour and intelligence, as well as experience life with them in their natural habitat. I don't think the other elephant riding camps are as comprehensive as Ran Tong's full-day experience, in my opinion. Included in the full-day package is: transportation to and from the camp, a training course which teaches you the basic commands for controlling the elephant, lunch, a ride through the forest with the elephants, bathing and hanging out with elephants by the waterfall, as well as a CD full of pictures from the day!

Our journey began at 8:30am, when a driver from Ran Tong picked us up from our hostel. Along the way, we picked up more guests before heading to the camp! The drive Ran Tong was about 1.5 hours (one-way), which included two stop overs at the market to pick up fresh bananas for the elephants as well as soymilk and snacks for the baby elephants! Our ride, was simply a pick-up truck with seating/benches placed in the trunk for us to sit in! We were pretty packed back there with 10 of us squished in the trunk! 

On our way to the camp, we passed by some rice fields which were pretty cool. Some of the fields were yellowing (I assume from the extreme heat and sun). Once we arrived, we petted and fed some of the elephants soymilk and bananas. The baby elephant at the camp was adorable and very friendly! Pregnant Asian elephants require a very long care process because the duration of pregnancy lasts approximately 2 years (having only one elephant born at a time). We were lucky to arrive at a time when the camp had a baby elephant on site! The elephant trainers were able to get the baby elephant to perform cool tricks such as, saying hello by bowing down and kissing our cheeks with their trunks!

The view from the camp was spectacular and beautiful! Up on the hill where the camp was situated, was a view that overlooked Chiang Mai. You could tell that the area was very secluded for the elephants because there were a lot of trees and forestry surrounding areas. Once we were finished meeting with some of the elephants, we were given clothes to change into (provided by Ran Tong) because we were going to get muddy and wet! I thought it was cool that they offered a change of clothes. The clothes were very raggedy, which I thought added a nice touch to the experience, haha! I was ready and felt geared up to enjoy a day with the elephants!

Once we were settled in with our clothes, we met up once again with the elephants to learn some of the elephant commands (spoken in Thai). Each of us were given time on an elephant to practice the commands that we learned (right, left, lay down, forward, back, stop)! Riding on the elephant for the first time was a little bit scary as the elephant rises up pretty high when it's fully standing. At times, you feel as though you're going to fall, but after awhile, you get used to it and feel more comfortable riding! 

 

We were each paired up with one elephant, so Steven and I shared an elephant for the two of us! For our first journey around the camp, Steven sat in front, while I sat in the back (which I found was much more comfortable!). It was such a fun experience riding the elephants! The elephant that we rode was very obedient and listened to all the commands that we gave. It was such a relaxing and exciting adventure! Although, I'm sure Steven didn't find it as relaxing as me because he sat in the front (going down hill must have been scary for him, haha!). Our first ride on the elephants lasted about 10 minutes before we headed back for lunch! 

For lunch, the camp provided us with rice with vegetables, chicken tom yum soup, a bowl of exotic rambutan fruit, and sesame jelly dessert. It was a very satisfying meal. At the same time, we were in plain sight of the elephants, so we were able to enjoy our lunch while observing the elephants! After lunch, we rested for a bit and had some extra time to pet some of the elephants again.

Shortly after, we were instructed to help prepare lunch for the elephants. At first, we were asked to place medication tablets inside the bananas for the elephants. We watched as the trainers gave the medicated bananas to the elephants, only to find them picking out the pills from the bananas and spitting it out, haha! According the the camp, the tablets were for the wild rescued elephants to help them stay healthy! After that, we headed over to a large wooden food crusher which uses a peddle that is stepped on to crush food in a large bowl. Long sticks were used to help mix the food in the bowl and help the food crusher mush up the food better. The ingredients that we used to create elephant food mix included tamarine paste, bananas, and some sea salt. Once the mixture was at a good consistency, we formed balls out of the food and let it sit out in the sun to dry out for a bit before feeding the elephants. 

Following lunch, we took the elephants for a ride to the waterfall! It was bathing time with the elephants! This time, Steven and I picked a different elephant for our journey and I decided to sit in the front. Our elephant was less obedient than the other because he always stopped for food on the side of the road and slowed down the line of elephants! It was all fun though, because I secretly let him eat the leaves on the trees! 

Bathing the elephants was a lot of fun! It was exciting to play with them while they enjoyed the cool water and blew water out of their trunks! There were about 5 or 6 elephants with us in the water as we scrubbed and poured water on them! It was a remarkable experience! The baby elephant also joined us for bathing! After bathing them for a while, we all had the opportunity to take some photos with an elephant before riding the elephants back to the main camp area and head back to the hotel.

Our day at Ran Tong made me realize how amazing and intelligent elephants really are! It was such a great experience to get the opportunity to spend time with such wonderful creatures! While you're riding an elephant, you really feel as though you build a connection with them. And unlike the other excursions you may book in Thailand, we didn't feel rushed or forced to tip the staff at Ran Tong (which I thought was very nice). The people at the camp seemed very genuine about their work and seemed like they cared a lot for the elephants. Before we left, the staff thanked us for helping them prepare the food for the elephants and for bathing them! It was such a wonderful gesture for them to seem so appreciative of the time we spent taking care of the elephants!

At around 4:30pm, we arrived back at So Hostel to shower and get ready for some shopping and dinner at the Night Bazaar! The Night Bazaar is a night market situated in the east end of Chiang Mai (only 5-minute walking distance from our hostel) and open every day of the year! The entire night market spans across 1km of land, filled with vendors of delicious warm foods, snacks, drinks, souvenir gifts, clothes, and massage services! It was outside, and decorated beautifully with lanterns and lights hanging above the shops. It was shoppers paradise! We ended up bargaining quite a bit and as a result, bought most of our gifts from the Night Bazaar! At the end of the night, our crew enjoyed a relaxing full body massage (Only 150 baht per person)!

Posted by Rebecca

Exploring beautiful Phang Nga Bay

I was pretty excited to explore Phang Nga bay as it was one of the top things I wanted to see while in Thailand. I learned about it after watching someone's trip to Thailand on YouTube where they were on a kayak approaching a lime stone formation and leaned back and went underneath the rock! After some darkness, it opened up to this oasis of nature in the middle of this mountain of limestone as it appeared from outside. With the sun shining down and the vivid greenery surrounding, I knew I had to visit this beautiful nature spot.

We hadn't booked our excursion ahead of time until the day before when we arrived in Phuket. I had wanted to do a self-kayaking tour, as the majority of the tours had a guide do all the paddling, which didn't seem that fun and Richard and I wanted to do some kayaking. I emailed a couple of companies the day before that had good reviews on Trip Advisor for self-kayaking, or the only companies that offered it, and only Sea Canoe replied to me. However, it so happens that the US Navy and their air craft carrier was in Phuket and had fully booked their self-kayaking tour. Nice, thanks US Navy.

Anyway, we had booked a tour through a tour company that our taxi dropped us off to. Or apparently where all the taxis drop tourist off as there seems to be some sort of arrangement with the Aldaman company. We got picked up from our hotel in this van along with other people from nearby hotels and had a 45 minute drive up north to the Ao Por pier which was below Phang Nga bay. We then boarded our boat for the day and there were "only" 39 people participating in today's excursion as the boat was pretty empty, which we preferred. It was unfortunate that the weather was cloudy today which didn't bring out the vivid colours of the islands.

The first island we visited was Panak Island which we had to kayak through a small cave opening. Our guide was a young guy named Nang, who was great as he took us around to some areas outside the island that others didnt go to. With my GoPro and GoPole ready, and Rebecca wearing the headlamp, I was excited to record our first cave entrance to the lagoon in the middle. After seeing how tight and the extruding (stalagmite?) rock from above, it is clear why they have guides paddling for you as the majority would have difficulty getting through. With so many people, and other tour groups there at the same time, it would be a huge traffic jam inside the cave. In the dark. Nonetheless, it would be more fun to kayak yourself through this darkness and just come to the end of the cave which opens up to this beautiful peaceful lagoon (or it would be more beautiful if it was sunny out). You would have never have thought there would be such a nice place in the middle of these gigantic limestone rock formations. Nature always amazes us.

The lagoon was full of trees and plants on the walls of rocks. There was another entrance to another section but the water level was not high enough to make it through due to rocks. Unfortunately, we weren't really kayaking along with Richard and Melissa, as we had gotten on a kayak a few people ahead of them.  We just did a quick circle of the lagoon, and Nang took some photos of Rebecca and I. We were in there for less than 10 minutes, which I was a bit disappointed in as you didn't really get the chance to soak in and admire the scenery.

The next island was Hong Island, the main lagoon. This entrance was trickier at the end of the cave as we had to fit through a triangle shape and had to use our hands to push off the rock. The lagoon looked pretty similar but we were able to kayak through to another section. I'll just let the pictures and video do it justice.

Still no sign of the private US Navy kayaking group. I guess Sea Canoe really go off the beaten path or they made a special route so we wouldn't see the Navy guys.

We had a buffet lunch on the boat, which was pretty decent for a tour lunch, as we headed to the famous James Bond island (Khao Phing Kan). It was where 'The Man with the Golden Gun' was filmed. Once we arrived, we had to take this super long tail taxi boat and could see there were many other tours already here which I thought was weird as we only saw couple of other boats at the previous spots. Once we landed, it was clear why. The place was full of Chinese tourist, who obviously wouldn't do the kayaking excursion but just visit the James Bond Island and take pictures on their cameras, cellphones and iPads. Anyway, the four of us set out to explore the island. Right at the entrance, there was this huge sliver piece of rock that had somehow broke from the mountain of limestone with the inner face being almost perfectly straight/flat and had fallen down. Imagine seeing that piece fall, it would surely be amazing and scary. We explored some crevices and made our way to the James Bond beach which was packed. We had made our way only maybe half way on the path when we were told that our boat was leaving. We only had 30-40 minutes there, so we aren't sure where the stair path led to.

The last spot we were supposed to stop at was Naka or Lawa Island, but due to a high amount of jellyfish in those area, it was not safe to let us swim there. Which is unfortunate, as the picture of the beach on the brochure looks nice. So instead, they stopped at this random spot on a side of an island, with a tiny beach and let us swim. Richard and I were playing Jenga with a crew member and for the last game, the loser had to jump off the boat into the water in front of everybody. I wasn't aware of this rule until I Jenga'd lol. Luckily, this was nothing compared to the cliff jumping we did in Phi Phi so I wasn't scared

I just needed Richard to throw down a life jacket. I talked the crew member to jump in as well and he went first. After me, more people from the tour jumped, as well as Richard and Melissa. Rebecca was about to but couldn't do it, even though it was only maybe 3-4 m high :p.

After jumping, we were finally able to do some kayaking on our own. Although not inside a lagoon, exploring the outside will do. We got pretty far away from the boat compared to a few others who decided to kayak as well. At the end, we decided between to have a race back to the boat between Melissa vs. Rebecca. Rebecca proved herself as a kayaker as we got a big lead over Richard and Melissa. It was Mel's first time however. Half way through, they were exhausted and turned into a relay race with Richard and I taking over. We had a decent 10m lead or so but I wasn't able to paddle straight all the time and had to correct our path. Richard was catching up though so I paddled even harder and was pushing it all the way to the end and was able to maintain our lead for the Win! It was harder than I thought but it is probably because we were in inflated kayaks and it didn't cut through the water as well as the pointed plastic ones.

The boat ride back to the pier started off as quiet as the tour group didn't really mingle that much and were all just resting after the days activities. Music was playing with American top 40 tracks and Gangnam Style played like 5 times. Must still be popular in Thailand lol. One of the tour members started to liven up the atmosphere by doing a lip singing performance to Linkin Park and it just took off from there. He was pretty good at putting on a show even did some Eminem. From there, he started some break dancing and then the rest of the guys from the tour members started breaking as well. They weren't that great but could do some moves and were just having fun putting on a show. Wished I could breakdance but those couple of learning sessions I did at MacBreak a few years ago wouldn't be enough and I never followed through. Breakdancing is one of those arts that you can bring anywhere in the world and be able to share with other dancers around the world. Plus it looks so cool.

Back at pier, we had arranged a direct drop off at the Phuket Airport which one of the tour members drove us in his truck. We got to the airport at 5, which was 3 hrs before our flight so we went to Burger King as they were craving Burgers and had free WiFi. We started to look for an elephant excursion we could do in Chiang Mai, last minute planning again which Rebecca was not pleased about. Fortunately, she was able to find a good elephant sanctuary where the elephants are treated well from someone's blog post. The sanctuary was called Ran Tong and she emailed them to inquire about doing the tour tomorrow. luckily, as it was still early evening, they replied right away to say that they can accommodate us tomorrow and we were able to get wifi at our gate, as there was another burger King there, to confirm our elephant excursion!

Our flight from Phuket to Chiang Mai was with AirAsia and Richard didn't say he was checking in any baggage when he booked online, so he had to pay an extra $60 to check in  their bags compared to like $20. However, their bags were tagged and sent down the conveyor and was told by the baggage check in to go pay at the AirAsia service booth. Seeing how their bags were already sent down then conveyor to be loaded, he thought he could get away with not going to pay at the booth. We get to the gate to board our plane and he gets caught as it was written on their boarding pass that money was owed for baggage, so he ended having to pay the fee anyway.

Our flight was only 2 hrs long but there was a lot of turbulence. We all passed out and I was woken up by our plane shaking as it landed in Chiang Mai. We arrived at our hostel, So Hostel, with no issues. The hostel is relatively new and has a modern design to it. This was our first hostel that we stayed at for our entire trip. It is also the first hostel experience for Rebecca, Richard and Melissa, who weren't really fond of the idea but I pushed for it as that is part of the backpacking experience. It’s also because she has this negative association of hostels as old, dirty places and you have to share a bathroom with randoms. she never really had to do that in 1st year University so it’s a new concept for her. However, So Hostel's rooms were pretty good and clean for a hostel; I’ve been in questionable hostels in Europe lol. Their bathrooms were okay except the shower stalls were a bit small and didnt seem to have hot water or a lot of water pressure.

The thing I learned to love from travelling in Europe was meeting new people from around the world. It was easiest to do when you stayed in Hostels as that is where all the young backpackers stay. Hotels aren't as open and don't have much atmosphere.  The best memories were meeting some good people, like Eugene whom I still stay in touch with a bit, and going out with the hostel.

Anyway, we had 6 beds to the 4 of us and since we arrived late and have an early morning tomorrow, no meeting anyone today. Oh well.

Posted by Steven

Snorkeling Adventure in Koh Tao

The day started off early for our snorkelling excursion. We had to be dropped off at the Pier where all the ferries also arrive. The tour was run by an older Australian man and cost 1545 baht for the entire day.

The tour comprised of 5 different areas around the island to stop for snorkelling, but our first stop at Shark Bay had to be skipped due to the rough waters coming in. I was disappointed.

The next stop was Aow Leuk Bay, and there were also a few other tours arriving at the same time. We excitingly jumped into the water, GoPro on my DIY GoPole in hand, and right away, there were abundant fish all around us! We had brought some bread with us to attract the fish right in front of us, and a flurry of them came to take quick nibbles at it.

There were big coral structures below us, with many different species of fish, including anemones and clown fish.

I was trying to turn my GoPro so that it faced me to get some footage of me swimming, but it turns out that the nut on the end of the mount can come out and it fell down to the floor. So note to others, be careful of the nut falling out when removing the screw (especially in water).

We stopped at a few other spots to snorkel. There were pretty much the same types of fish in all areas. I'm sure the variety of fish and coral is significantly better more out in the ocean and deeper down.

Our last stop was at the Nangyuan Island, considered to be most beautiful island, just west of where we were staying. We were given a couple of hours to explore. There is also a trail that leads to the top of the island mound but we decided to go snorkelling again in the bay.

When we returned to the main land, we had to go to our new accommodations, New Heaven Resort which was on Shark Bay. The resort was on a hillside so it had a nice eating/patio area at the top of the hill that overlooks the bay.

There was some mix up when we arrived, so we got upgraded to an ocean view bungalow for free! Not bad! All of the bungalows were down on the hill so there are a lot of stairs.

The bungalow was decently sized, with a king sized bed and mosquito net. There was also a balcony with chairs and tables that had a view out to the ocean. 

 
The best part was the outdoor washroom and shower as the view had no trees obstructing it. I’ve never had such a beautiful view while on the can haha!

Since we missed Shark Bay earlier in the day, and the tides had calmed down, We went snorkelling in search of the black tip reef shark. There was one other guy in the water and he briefly saw one but it was never to be seen again.

We had dinner at their restaurant that overlooks the bay and sat right along the railing. It was nice as you can see the lights of resorts on the other side of the bay.

 

Posted by Steven