Elephants and Gibbons

Friday I got a call from the office saying that due to the 3 grenade explosions the night before the office would be closed. Fine with me! I got online, booked a room for $20, gabbed my "emergency beach bag" packed with everything i need for a beach getaway and I headed out of town. The guide book said the bus ride would take 2.5 hours. Over 4 hours later after stopping at what felt like every intersection along the way, we finally arrived. I dropped my bags at the hotel and headed to the beach to people watching. I love the sound of the water washing ashore. That evening I took a nice long walk and found a street vendor selling one of my favorite dishes, spicy green papaya salad.

Saturday I woke up to the noises of construction outside my window and breakfast dishes on the floor below me. After breakfast I decided to ask about the elephant trekking I had read about in the guide book. It sounded fun so I signed up and decided I was going to need an extra day in Pattaya so I extended my reservation another night. The bus came by to pick me up about 10:00. I wasn’t entirely sure what all this half day adventure would entail but it sounded exciting. Say the word elephant and i'm pretty much there!

Upon arrival we were explained that the first hour would be elephant trekking and we were encouraged to buy bananas for our elephant. Then we would go walking through the jungle and learn more about the jungle and Thai traditions. Perfect! I got my own elephant while the others shared with their partners. I removed my flip flops and felt the elephant’s skin under my feet. I asked the elephant driver the name of my elephant...i don’t remember what he told me but he then asked me if I spoke Thai (since i had asked in Thai). I told him a little bit and then he started spouting off in Thai...i told him I didn’t understand. From that point he and the other drivers mocked me playfully and we had a good time as they tested my knowledge. If they had just asked me where the book is I could have clearly told them that the book is between the table and the chair...not very helpful conversation while riding elephants in the jungle! The elephants walked through the water, through a bit of jungle and through some fields. It was a great way to spend a morning. My elephant would swing his trunk over his head when he wanted a banana. I was happy to indulge him and we were both disappointed when the goods ran out.

Next began the foot trek into the jungle. Despite my bug spray the mosquitos found my sweet blood. The guide was trying to tell us about wild boar and the rolling seed but we were all slapping away the mosquitos. Seeing our discomfort he quickly moved us on. He taught us about the different plants found along our way and their medicinal purposes or uses in Thai foods. Lemongrass is good at relieving gas, jackfuit is helpful for nursing mothers in producing sufficient milk, Siam weed can stop bleeding, and there were others. As we stood around listening someone looked up and spotted a gibbon (monkey like creature) in the tree. Our guide explained that there are 3 gibbons that live in that jungle area, a male, a female and their 5 month old baby. It was the mother and baby we saw. It was fun to watch her swinging and jumping from tree to tree as the baby hung on instinctively. What a beautiful sight!

We continued on to a traditional style stilt wood home where we learned about the process of obtaining the silk from the cocoons, making thread out of it and then weaving it into beautiful fabric. Now I understand why Thai silk is so expensive! As the tour guide spoke the rain began to fall. We stayed under cover until it lightened up then we walked towards the boat. As the boat pulled away slowly from the dock we could see that our gibbon friend had followed us and was spying on us from the tree tops. During our slow boat ride across the small lake food pellets were thrown into the water and large catfish and bass swam to the surface to gobble it up. At one point they were all flapping around and splashed me good with water! A black swan followed us across the lake eating the pellets the fish had left behind.

At the other end of the lake we were given ponchos as the rain had continued to fall, and we walked to where the ox carts were waiting for us. We took an ox cart ride back through the fields and back to our starting point where enjoyed lunch and entertainment. Entertainment consisted of performances of traditional music and dance. One dance by a woman followed by a fighting dance by 2 men using swords. They recruited me into their performance and showed me how to swing the sword back and forth...cling, cling, clash clash. It was fun to watch and participate.

Then it was back to the beach. The water was about as warm as the weather so it was just barely refreshing. It was good enough for me. I let the late afternoon sun dry me off and then watched as the big red sun sunk into the ocean. I went for a walk to enjoy the evening. Indian men tried to steer me into their shops to have a dress made or into their restaurants but it was seafood I was after tonight! I spotted a nice Thai/Italian restaurant that wasn’t too busy, nice music and away from the high energy beach crowd. Browsing the menuI found just what I was after! Seafood in coconut soup (yum!) and seafood cooked in Thai herbs. The price of each was about $5 so I assumed the 2 combined would make a nice size meal. And I added a coconut smoothie to the order to wash it all down. I was quite surprised when they brought out the soup and plate! Both were very large servings! There was no way I was going to be able to eat it all. I felt sad thinking that so much seafood would go to waste but I was determined to eat as much as I could. I started with the soup. HEAVEN! It was perfect. My taste buds were h-a-p-p-y! Shrimp, clams, fish, squid, crab and more, all in one delightful bowl, swimming in coconut milk. Heaven indeed!! Quite full I took a look at the 2nd dish and wondered how I was going to even begin. I decided I would just eat the seafood and leave all the other stuff behind. I didn’t get through it all before I gave up. Good thing I had a nice long walk ahead of me to help it all digest. I walked along the water’s edge in my bare feet as the moon peeked through the clouds lighting the evening.

I took advantage of the free breakfast the next morning and headed to the beach one last time. I sat on the sand watching children playing together in the water and families and friends gathering. The old woman sitting behind me sat in a meditative posture with her eyes closed and hands cupped on her lap. It was wonderful, except for the vendors walking by every 30 seconds selling sunglasses, ice cream, seafood, fruit, henna tattoos, wraps, fried foods...even the children were walking by with bags filled with rolls of toilet paper they were selling...interesting.

Too soon, it was time to find my way back to reality. This was much easier knowing that I’d be back to the beach (a different one) next weekend for a 3 day weekend and that really, the beach is close enough for me to enjoy any time! Big smile! I pack my bags, check out of the hotel and find a ride to the bus station. And, to my utter delight the trip back was a quick 90 minutes. Hmm, i need to learn the bus system better to make sure I alway take the fast one!