The Big Trip - Part 2

Here we are at the airport for another ride on a "big white airplane." Although, AirAsia was really a "big red airplane."

We had another smooth flight with Ian. This was about as smooth as it can get. He fell asleep before we took off and woke up as we were descending into Chiang Mai. This city is in northern Thailand and was a completely different experience. Phuket was beach and relaxation while this was tuk tuk riding and shopping. 

We spent almost every night strolling through the night bazar - a collection of vendors of stuff and food. Tony loved the bargaining that was involved. We also took part in a fish spa. Ian was fascinated by the fish, but didn't partake in the activity. Tony and I did and it was an experience I can't even explain. The fish go absolutely nuts eating dead skin off the feet (yuck). It's so strange that I'd highly recommend trying it. Once.

Tuk tuks are 3-wheeled motorbikes taxis. Ian loved riding in the tuk tuk. If we got in a regular taxi, he'd cry, "Nooooo. Ian go in tuk tuk." 

Speaking of "no." Wow, did we hear that word a lot. 

Example:

Me: Ian, it's light outside.

Ian: No! It's not! It's light outside. 

He's often quite contradictory with himself which really cracked us up. 

Because of all the lovely "no's" we heard, Dave gave Ian the nickname Dr. No. 

Dave: Are you Dr. No?

Ian: Noooo! No Dr. No. 

or 

Dave: Is Dr. No back?

Ian: Nooooo! No Dr. No's back.

Here we are in the tuk tuk:

We had a great trip with a guide (Ann) to an elephant camp. On the way there, we stopped at a local market. Ann took us through and explained what all the different foods are. This is a table full of various insects. Some large, some small, but all bugs. Tony got some silk worms and crickets. 

Ian, boy who only eats white rice, gave a cricket a try!!!

And then promptly spit it out.

The elephant camp was so interesting. Many of these elephants were living on the streets begging with their mahouts (elephant owner) or were part of the logging industry. Thai law changed and logging with elephants is now illegal. This put the elephants and their mahouts out of work. Elephant camps were set up to create homes and jobs. The camp is definitely a tourist experience - the elephants play soccer, paint pictures, play harmonica, but even with that it was such a unique experience for us.

Visitors could buy bundles of sugar cane and bananas to feed the elephants. Ian would hold out a sugar cane stick but as soon as the trunk came near him he'd drop it and hide. He was fascinated, but preferred to be fascinated at a distance. 

Here he is... not wanting to touch the elephant at all.

Part of the day included an elephant ride. We had a bit of a rough start. Ian was super nervous as soon as the big guy started moving. One of the first things we did was walk down a hill into a river. Ian: "No water! No water!" After we got through the river, though, he got more comfortable and ended up really enjoying the ride. 

Whenever we passed other tourists on elephants, they all smiled and waved to Ian. Many of them took pictures of him. I was stopped by some Japanese girls who wanted their picture taken with him. The little guy has no idea....

Ian missed the next adventure due to a nap, but I don't think we would have been able to take him into these tiger enclosures anyway. We showed him pictures and he really enjoyed that. "Mommy pet the tiger."

He never did tire of the tuk tuks.

The next day I had a really terrific time with Ian while the guys took a cooking class. We spent the day at the Chiang Mai Zoo. For some reason I didn't have high expectations. Boy was I wrong! This was a great zoo. Very well kept. The animals seemed healthy and happy. They were more active than I ever see animals at home. The biggest Thai vs. US difference I saw was safety standards. I guess the Thai regulations expect people to have common sense. For example, don't put your hand in a hippo's mouth - even though it is RIGHT THERE! You'd never see this in the States!!

What does Ian look like here?

A flamingo!

We some some rare animals at the zoo. Pandas!

One of Ian's favorite parts of the zoo was a ride on the cheesy train around the park. Below us was a herd of deer, but then random giant figures were placed in the woods. We saw things I'd expect such as elephants and rhinos, but also strange things like King Kong and dinosaurs. Ian didn't get that it was cheesy. He just loved the ride on the train.

For our last day in Chiang Mai, we called up Ann again to see if he would take us to Doi Inthanon National Park. This turned out to be our favorite part of the trip. It was simply breathtaking. Real. Simple.

Here is Ann with Ian:

Ian wouldn't get close to real elephants, but statue form was a big hit.

There is something about being above the clouds...

Nap time:

These "bricks" are carved out of mud:

Check out this crazy ladder made out of bamboo: 

We hiked through the rain forest and ended up in a little village with a coffee shop. Dirt floor, no walls, and a roof made of leaves. The coffee beans were picked from the forest we had just walked through, roasted here, and ground by hand. Here is the coffee man, making our coffee.

Again, here Ian is... the object of Thai women's affection. 

And here he is, wanting nothing to do with said affection. This was his typical response by the end of the trip. No eye contact.

This brings us to the end of our journey. We celebrated Thanksgiving at the Bangkok airport. Nothing says Happy Thanksgiving like spring rolls and pad thai. 

Ian kept himself entertained after dinner with Lightening McQueen and Mater.

Amazingly, the rest of the journey was as smooth as the beginning. Ian slept about 6 hours on the long flight. The rest of the time, he was reading, playing with trucks, or watching Dora or Blues Clues.

We couldn't have had a better Thanksgiving vacation. We are all ready to go back. Today.