Adventures in Chiangmai, Thailand

After two weeks at the temple in Fang, I took a minibus on Sunday back to Chiangmai, which consisted of a three hour journey and two military checkpoint stops. 

I stayed in a capsule hostel on the edge of the city that cost $4 USD per night. It had great reviews on Hostelworld but I wasn't a huge fan. Especially when two French dudes stumbled in after midnight and woke up pretty much everyone in the dorm. 

After at least a dozen different Mirandala (Miranda + mandala) sketches, I was finally satisfied enough with a design to have it permanently etched into my skin. It's more of an abstract lotus to represent this incredible journey during which I feel like I've started blossoming and it's located approximately where my heart chakra would be. 

I went to the Master Tattoo shop and a cool dude named Aan took just over two hours to transfer the design in the traditional Thai style, using a piece of bamboo dipped in ink instead of a mechanical needle. It feels like exactly what it is, someone slowly and methodically stabbing you with a sharp stick. The pain was comparable to a modern tat and particularly hurt around the spine area and when he did the dots and the thicker lines. I'm super happy with how it turned out but it wasn't the cheap Thai prices you get accustomed to for everything else. It cost me 5,000 baht or about $140 USD, but with my limited knowledge of American ink, I think it still cost me less than it would have in the States. It you want to make bank in Thailand, be a tattoo artist. 

That night I saw my first Muay Thai fight, which is basically Thai kick-boxing. The ring was a proper underground venue that had bars on all sides and smelled like cigarettes, sweat and tiger balm. I paid 600 baht for my VIP ringside ticket and happened to sit next to three Chinese guys. 

There were 5 warm up fights, a main mens fight and a ladies' title fight between a Thai and a Canadian. The guys were all Thai, progressing from the lowest weight classes that barely broke 100 lbs up to about my weight. Yes, I was a bit shocked that I weigh more than I think all but two of the fighters but Thai people tend to be smaller and some of the first few kids couldn't have been over 18. 

There was an intermission of sorts where two guys choreographically battled it out with swords, presumably because they both showed up wearing the same outfit: blue boxer briefs and a red bandana. I instantly thought of a Liu Kang vs. Liu Kang Mortal Kombat fight, sans the levitating bicycle kicks, and actually yelled "Finish Him!" at one point. After that was a comedic Blind Boxing match where three small guys and one fat guy walked around the ring punching each other while blindfolded. 

It was a late night because almost all of the fights lasted 4 or 5 rounds and there was only like one knock out. The Canadian "Cocoapuff" ended up winning the belt in the Ladies title fight and I rode in a tuk-tuk back to my "crap-sule" just after midnight. It's a bit out of character and my first live fight but I have to admit I really enjoyed it. 

Midweek I transferred to new accommodation in the heart of the city, which turned out to be one of my most favorites throughout my whole trip. I was searching for yoga in Chiangmai and came across a 3 day package that included a morning and an evening group practice, my own little private bungalow and a daily green smoothie and bottle of local Kombucha. Only moments after arriving at Bluebird Eco Village, I was smitten and impulsively extended my stay to 5 days, encompassing all the time I had left in Chiangmai. (More on this in the next post about staying and eating sustainably in Chiangmai.) 

Despite loving the location I was in, I got a bad case of the Traveler Blues (not to be confused with the harmonica-loving 90's band of the reverse name). I guess if you travel alone long enough, you are bound to get lonely. I tried everything to shake it. Checked social media, still not happy. Morning yoga class, still not happy. Meditation in my room, still not happy. Reading my book, still not happy - although admittedly it's a book about the Pol Pot regime so I wasn't really expecting that to cheer me up. Ate healthy food, still not happy. Ate not-healthy food, still not happy. Took a walk outside and visited some local museums, still not happy. Took a nap, still not happy. I finally snapped out of it when I met some really interesting people that later checked in to the village. 

The Blues are the worst part but the best part of travel is meeting people that are way more interesting and inspiring than you are. I first met a chick from Canada who stared traveling the same time I did around June, except she is on a hiatus/sabbatical because unlike most of 'Merica, employers in our Northern Neighbor Nation actually believe people should have periods of enjoyable breaks from their jobs. Anyways, she brought her own bike and cycled/camped across Europe for three months before flying to Southeast Asia and peddling across Vietnam and Cambodia. She also came to some of the yoga classes. 

Then I met a super cool, super talented kid from Colorado that was on a bit of a break as well... from dancing in Taylor Swift's 1989 World Tour. Wait, what? Yep. Wow. They all get a few days off between China and Australia so instead of going home, he decided to stay in the area. I'd already been in Chiangmai a few days and have extensive tour guide experience from my days working at the Admissions Office during University so I volunteered to show him around.

We ate dinner at one of my favorite Veg joints nearby then strolled around the main streets of the city. Then we headed back to the Muay Thai venue, because everyone just needs to experience this while in Thailand. I'm making it mandatory. There were a lot more KO's this time and the 'lady fights' were far better and more entertaining than the mens'. Again there was a Canadian chick, who I suspect may also work as a lumberjack back home based on her size and strength, but she lost on points to her smaller yet faster and more agile Thai opponent. 

The next day we rented scooters and ventured out of the city towards Mae Rim to find some more "nature-y stuff." My scooter was much more bad-ass than the old beat up ones I had in Bali, and resembled a scooter version of the Bumblebee autobot, which I half-expected to transform at any moment. (But it didn't.) 

We followed signs up winding, mountain roads to the Tard Mork waterfall. All green everything! And the mountain air was so fresh and so clean (clean).The scenery was amazing and we hiked far off the beaten path near the falls. Despite the ominous high grass with mystery burial mounds and hidden holes, a handful of thorns and two leech attacks, I still had a blast. 

As we were riding back down the mountain towards the main road, we came upon rather festive occasion with loud, live music happening in the shadow of a large temple. We cautiously pulled in on our scooters and the group of questionably-sober, middle-aged Thai people beckoned for us to join them. They immediately offered us chairs and poured us some rum drinks, which we watered down because we still had a ways to go on our scooters. This was so much fun and my friend ended up in a dance battle with a little, old yet very spry Thai guy in a baggy blue suit. Another Thai guy that was missing most of his teeth was very seriously and intently explaining something to me in Thai, and I kept telling him I didn't understand but he would just nod and keep telling me and pointing in the opposite direction. I finally asked one of the ladies at the table to translate and it turns out he was trying to direct me to the bathrooms. 

It was all a bit surreal - like we totally crashed this Thai party and everyone loved it and now everyone has a great story to share with all their friends and family. You're welcome (lol). They took a ton of pictures of and with us before we graciously made our exit. We stopped at a simple, roadside cafe for dinner and I forgot to ask if the veggies were spicy so of course they burned my face off when I tried to eat them. We rode the rest of the way back to the eco-village in the dark and even through a brief rain shower that bordered on refreshing. 

Conveniently located next to the village was a temple which happened to host a "Monk Chat" on Saturday and Sunday evenings where they were clearly targeting tourists to come learn more about Thai culture and Buddhism. The two of us headed over and talked with a monk named Bin for probably close to an hour. It was really interesting and insightful and I think everyone left at least a little bit more enlightened. 

I spent the night packing up my laundry - my incredible, intoxicatingly fresh, machine-washed and dried clothes - the first proper wash they've received in 6 weeks - before falling asleep a little bit too late. I woke up early to return my rented scooter and then it was time for me to take a red Thai open cab to the airport. There's one of those crappy parts of traveling again - having to say bittersweet goodbyes to awesome people (this includes the adorable owner of the village) that you meet. I definitely left part of myself in Thailand - beyond just the buckets of mid-day sweat and the bit of blood lost to the thorns and leeches.  I totally could have hung around there for another day or two. Le sigh.

I Heart Street Art | Chiangmai, Thailand

Found quite the collection of Street Art in Chiangmai, Thailand so far. There are also some galleries and lots of tattoo shops so I'd consider this a pretty creative city.

I guess I like street art so much because it challenges the traditional idea of art being hidden away in a gallery or museum and/or only accessible to a privileged few. It's often a healthy dose of civil disobedience and it's up to the artists themselves and the public to deem what is art, not just a few critics or curators. As long as it's not outright offensive, and especially if it has a good message behind it that can provoke thought and conversation, I like that street art is free and always available to the masses.

Many times, I prefer it to the 'modern art' (ex. a straight up piece of rope nailed to the wall) or rather homogenous antique paintings that I've seen in legit museums. Don't get me wrong, museums and galleries are cool too but you expect to see art when you go there. I like turning a corner and unexpectedly seeing a mural like "Oh hai! Here's a little eye candy for you. You're welcome." If I find a few murals here and there, it becomes like a little urban treasure hunt and I always try to find more! 

Thailand Temple Time: Part II

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

The border mountains with Burma

Thailand is the cleanest Asian country I’ve visited. (Well not counting Singapore which is almost sterile since everything is concrete or indoors.) In the past few countries, there is rubbish everywhere and people tend to put it in piles and burn it from time to time. Bleh - the smell of burning plastic is the worst. But not Thailand - they even have recycling! And I didn’t believe this at first but there are also people that make a living by going through the bright blue garbage bins and taking out anything that is recyclable as well.

Recycling makes me happy! 

I was surprised  that the traffic here is pretty much a parade of pick-up trucks. While waiting at a bus stop one day, I counted and there is literally about one sedan for every 20 trucks. Then at the other extreme lots of people buzz by on motorbikes as well. Maybe it’s just Fang but I just expected mostly motorbikes with some small cars mixed in and even tuk-tuks.

image source: thaizer.com

There are pictures of the royal family everywhere. On calendars in shops and restaurants, framed in the middle of street medians, on giant billboards. But most of them are not current and show especially the king in his much younger days. Not that I would have any reason to, but I’ve been told on multiple occasions not to insult the king as Thai people are very patriotic and hold their king in high regard.

THE TEMPLE TOUR

I thoroughly enjoyed the little temple tour that was arranged for us on Sunday. Oui, a Thai lay person that runs a canteen at the nearby school and helps out around the temple, drove us around in a truck to three very different temples north of Fang. The first was a traditional Chinese Buddhist temple which is not out of place since there’s a pretty significant population of them in Northern Thailand. It featured the traditional style architecture with the sloping roofs, lots of red and gold, paper lanterns and dragons draped over everything. There was also a ginormous Budai statue, or the Laughing/Fat Buddha that most people recognize in the West because they are always in Chinese restaurants and nail salons. Budai was a Chinese monk who was so well liked and admired that the Chinese consider him a Matrea or Future Buddha. Not the same at all as the original calm, cross-legged, meditating Buddha that lived in India 2500 years ago.

Budai 

Chinese temple

The second stop was an immaculate meditation retreat (open to Thai only) with a golden pagoda that you could see shining amongst the green mountains from far away. As we were driving up the last incline to the entrance, the left and right sides of the road were lined with adorable, lotus-shaped huts that house the resident nuns and guests. The circular temple was gorgeous inside and out and had a series of paintings of the Buddha’s life and legends on the inner walls and a lotus mural carved and painted all along the outer walls. In the center of the temple was a delicate looking glass structure that made me feel like I was looking at a scale model of the Emerald City from Oz. Strategically placed throughout the property was a collection of statues of Buddha, devas and nagas like an outdoor art gallery.

Golden pagoda

Mini Emerald City? 

After this we stopped at a local restaurant for lunch and I had pad see ew - the closest thing they served to pad thai. It was basically big, flat noodles with veggies. I was craving a salty snack while they prepared my food so I perused the racks of potato chips that they had to offer - and even 90% of these were meat flavored! There was pork, shrimp, chickend and even cuttlefish flavored crackers or chips, along with like two regular potato flavors and one bag of Thai Cheetohs. I ended up skipping the junkfood appetizer.

Cuttlefish Crackers, anyone?

Our last stop was an impressive, seven level Forest Temple that was about as close to the Burma border as you can get. The mountains to the west form a natural border with Burma and Graham even pointed out a military base in a clearing atop one of the peaks. I was probably way too excited to see a cat which was pretty scraggly looking and was missing an eye, but still… kitty!

Forest Temple Meditation Trail

There was an amazing little meditation path the wound through the woods and ended at a giant concrete ‘boat’ overlooking the Me Kok river. The panoramic views of the landscape were incredible from this vantage point. As we walked along the path, Graham told us that some of the older monks can recall the days when wild tigers and elephants used to roam the area but of course they have long since disappeared. The trees would be gone too if it wasn’t protected temple land, and even then some loggers still try to force their way in sometimes.

Wat Thaton

This is also the location of Wat Thaton, an impressive, rainbow colored temple that houses a variety of Buddhist relics, so it’s kind of like a museum too. There are even ornamental baby Buddhas outside. We took a break here before heading home and I indulged in ice cream, thai iced milk tea and had a cup of traditional hot tea.

FRIDAY FEELS

So many feels today! I decided to have lunch at the canteen that Oui and his wife manage at the school. Yesterday he invited me there for lunch and said his wife would cook me something vegetarian but I wasn’t feeling great yesterday so I just had toast here instead. Today I walked over at a quarter past 11 and all the monks were heading to lunch as well. Oui wasn’t there but his wife was and she was very cute and very pregnant. She offered me iced thai green tea which is very sweet and loaded with condensed milk. Then she cooked me a simple meal of some sort of greens and sprouts with sauce on a bed of rice. I covertly added my usual handful of peanuts for protein and flavor. (I always do this at alms breakfast as well.)

I sat by myself at the end of a picnic style wooden table. It was just like sitting in a cafeteria back home except the students were all boys with shaved heads, wearing bright orange uniforms. One monk cautiously walked past me and said hello. I responded “hello” enthusiastically and eventually he sat down at the table - as far away from me as possible on the other side, but still. He had pretty good English and I found out he was 18 and his name is Kon. After a few moments, another monk shyly approached, said hello and politely asked permission if he could sit across from me. “Yes, of course!” He was very eager to practice his English and was so honest that he admitted he was nervous to practice with me and that he needs to work on his confidence. I assured him that his English was very good. His name is Long and he is 17. He practices a lot because he wants to study English at University and I don’t blame him. It will definitely open up a lot more opportunities for him. The two boys were in the same class and they have been monks for 5 years.

By this time, it was time for them to go back to class so they excused themselves and I thanked them for talking with me. The temple gets plenty of guests but I doubt most of them interact with the monks so much. I really hope I gave those two kids some confidence after our little chat!

School for Monks

When I was finished with my meal, Oui’s wife offered to refill my tea and I asked her how much for lunch and she insisted it was free. I had a 100 baht note (about $3 USD) in my pocket and tried to hand it to her but she refused until I insisted she take it for the baby (in her tummy). She finally accepted it with a wide grin and I walked away with a smile, myself. It can be a bit intimidating being the totally obvious, odd person out but all the Thai people I’ve met so far are so nice so it really hasn’t been bad at all.

Another English-speaking monk actually added me on Facebook last week which I thought was a bit strange at first but then I thought they are just people that want to make connections like everyone else. I'm pretty sure he's going to University soon and may not even be a monk after that. Who knows? 

Longtail, our resident roadblock

As of today everyone else is gone, even the coordinator, Graham (but he has a good excuse: he’s getting married.) So it’s just me and Longtail, our resident temple dog who I sometimes prefer to call Roadblock because she is always laying across one of the top stairs so that we have to step over her completely. She rarely moves - I think because the other dogs tend to bully her but she’s got it made and gets her own food and water and far more attention than all the others.

I'll be leaving on a mini bus to Changmai city on Sunday but I'm super thankful for this incredible, unique and inspiring experience. 

Thailand Temple Time: Part I

So I've been at a Buddhist temple/meditation retreat in Northern Thailand for about a week now and it's been mostly a great experience so far. First things first, we were given the history of [Theravada] Buddhism in a nutshell. Buddha is not a god nor did he ever claim to be nor is he worshipped as one. He was just a dude that after tons of meditation and introspection had a significant aha! moment and became enlightened (or awakened) in India during the 6th Century BC (about 2500 years ago; a bit after Judaism but before Christianity and Islam.) There are three parts comprising the Triple Gem: the Buddha (teacher) the Dharma (teachings) and the Sangha (the community). I think of it more as a philosophy, which basically says don't be a jerk and that you take full responsibility for your actions and your future. 

Previously unbeknownst to me, my arrival happened to coincide with Paravana Day, or the end of the monks' three month Rains Retreat (vaguely comparable to Christian Lent) where they study and meditate more intensively and don't leave the temple during Thailand's rainy season. There was early morning (5 AM) chanting as well as evening (6 PM) chanting and the lay community came for two days to make larger than usual alms (donations) of food and money. I was told that the leftover food that the monks don't eat gets donated to the poor and refugees. The local Thai people were so nice and shared food and drink and even their alms with us so that we would have something to give the monks (even though we did buy our own food alms as well.) 

Collecting alms

All that the monks own is a bright orange robe or two, shoes (generally flip flops) an alms bowl and a few of them had smartphones, all of which get donated by the community. They ranged vastly in age from like 8 to 80 years old. Here, being a monk is not a lifetime commitment and you can be ordained or disrobe at will and most Thai Buddhist men join the monastic order at some point in their lives, if even just for a short time. We even have a guy in our retreat group from England who was ordained and will wear the robes and do the morning alms rounds for just three or four weeks. 

When I arrived in my room, I immediately flopped down on the bed only to discover that it was pretty much a wooden plank with literally a half-inch thick “mattress” pad and hodgepodge pink linens draped over it. At least the pillow is nice and plump. The rest of the room is simple and sparsely furnished with a small desk, a plastic blue chair, a blue striped rug and two waist - high shelving units. The one opposite my bed supports an oscillating fan which functions as my only defense against the Thai heat and humidity seeping through the open and thankfully screened window during midday. It's nice and cool in the mornings and evenings, though. I also have my own modest toilet and shower in a small bathroom across the hall from my bedroom. 

Temple Etiquette

All white everything. As retreaters, we have to wear a loose-fitting, conservative white top and white pants all day, every day (except when sleeping of course). I have two sets; the set I used for meditation during my yoga training in India and I bought a second set I bought at a local market here. It's got the comfort level of scrubs and drastically decreases the time and effort needed to get ready in the morning. 

Hands off. We are not allowed to touch the monks - no handshakes or high-fives or hugs or anything like that. 

No shoes. Shoes off before entering any structure whether its a temple or living quarters or meditation area. I prefer being barefoot anyways! 

Podiatric posture. When in a Sala (large temple/sanctuary) or Vihara (small temple) you always sit on your heels or with your legs to the side or cross-legged. Never show the soles of your feet to a Buddha image or to anyone else as it's considered offensive here. 

The Buddha inside the Sala

The Eight Precepts

A common practice when doing this kind of retreat is to adopt the eight precepts, which I am doing during my stay. (Note: the first five are what lay people are supposed to follow all the time and the last three are taken on as extra effort.) These are:
1. Refrain from killing/harming any other beings
2. Refrain from stealing
3. Refrain from sexual misconduct (celibacy when on temple grounds) 
4. Refrain from false (lying) or harsh (cursing) speech
5. Refrain from the use of intoxicants (booze, drugs, anything that significantly alters your state of mind)
6. Eat only two meals between sunrise and noon (however you can drink tea and other beverages in the evening) 
7. Refrain from bodily decoration/enhancement (jewelry, makeup, perfume, etc) and entertainment (music, dancing, YouTube, etc)
8. Refrain from extravagant comforts (beds, chairs, etc.) AND I am using all of my willpower to also refrain from Thai massages, even though there is a place less than 300m away. Also, see previous paragraph about sleeping on a plank of wood.

The first five are pretty universal common sense. The last three are designed to remove distractions so you can better focus your mind without having to think about dinner, your appearance and lethargy, respectively. 

The only problem I have here is the blatant contradiction to precept number one. One other girl and I are vegetarian and they literally have to go out of their way to feed us. 99% of alms food and food in general here is loaded with meat; pork, chicken, fish, beef, mystery meat, everything. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD RISK STARVATION AT A BUDDHIST TEMPLE. 

I understand the whole principle behind the monks eating and being thankful for whatever food is offered to them but then the lay people are supposed to follow the 'no harm' precept as well so I'm sure they justify it as they are usually not directly slaughtering their own livestock but someone down the line is killing the animal to satisfy the overwhelming demand for dead flesh here. I guess I had my own preconceptions of what the priorities of Buddhism are but still it's pretty black and white IMO. 

The first few dinner-less days were challenging but not as bad as I expected. This place could really use a fresh juice and smoothie bar, especially after noon. Drool. 

On the way to the meditation retreat

Schedule

5:00: Wake up & morning yoga (just me - most mornings)
7:30: Breakfast with some of the monks
8-9:00: Mindful chores (sweeping, cleaning, tidying up)
9-10:30: Study, reading, discussion and/or chanting practice
10:30 - 11:30: Group Meditation
11:30: Lunch
12:00-14:00: Free time/Rest/Individual Practice/Reading
14:00-15:00: Group Meditation
15-16:00: Q&A, Discussion
16-18:00: Free time/Rest/Individual Practice/Reading
18:00: Evening chanting at temple
19:00: Free time and eventually sleep

I feel like the evening chanting is somewhere between a psalm and the pledge of allegiance. You're not praying or asking for any blessings. Most of it is in the Pali language, which is similar to the Sanskrit chanting from India, so I already had a decent idea of the pronunciations. Our books have English translations for most of it but there is a bit in Thai where I have no idea what I'm saying so I could be promising to give them my first born (but probably not, lol). There is also a 15 minute meditation included towards the end. There are also several prostrations (bowing) involved which is done out of respect and admiration, not worship. I wasn't a fan at first but now I don't mind it so much. Actually doesn't seem too far off from the Sunday morning church services I attended growing up. 

Week Three Wildlife in Thailand

For my last week at the sanctuary I switched over from elephants to work with the rest of the wildlife. These can be divided into a few sub-groups: two types of Bears, Primates, which include macaques, gibbons,  dusky langurs and one Capuchin, Nocturnals comprised of several slow lorises, a binturong and leopard cats and other wildlife consists of deer, otter, birds, reptiles and some other miscellaneous creatures. There is also a slew of domestic animals that have been collected over the years: at least a dozen dogs, a handful of cats, pigs and piglets, a horse and too many chickens. I got to work with or for all of these animals at one point or another during this week. 

The center cares for dozens of bears, most of whom were rescued from various places that thought it was a good idea to keep them as pets. You can literally buy bear cubs - and many other animals stolen from the wild - at some night markets throughout Thailand. They arrive unsocialized and malnourished as they were often fed soda, candy and junk food in small, cramped cages. 

Sun Bears and mostly black with a few tan markings and are known for their dragon-lady like long claws that I'm pretty sure they use mostly for digging because I've had to avoid several holes when cleaning their enclosures. They seem pretty small, until they stand up, and then they look pretty intimidating. We feed them a variety of fruit and often hide pieces in trees and tires and scatter it around their habitats to keep them stimulated. (Obviously the bears are locked in their dens when we do this.) We also sometimes stuff bamboo with pieces of corn and cucumber like a type of puzzle. Its really cute to watch because they usually sit down and play with it for a while before they finally pry it open; either by pulling out the piece of corn that acts like a cork or just breaking the piece of bamboo wide open. They're almost all adults but there is one mamma bear and a 12 week old cub that are heart-meltingly adorable. There are some really fluffy Asiatic Black Bears scattered amongst the bear habitats as well. 

Looks like a bear bong lol 

The primates are probably the biggest challenge because they are smart and they are cheeky. I learned this the hard way. Generally, we put their fruit and veggie salads in baskets and they reach through the fences to retrieve it. As I was feeding a macaque named Dollar, he swiftly reached through the fence and grabbed my teal blue sunglasses right off my head and promptly dismembered them. I also got a bit too close to one of the gibbon enclosures during feeding time and a hairy go-go-gadget arm came out of nowhere and grabbed my hair, jerking my head back pretty fast. I'm glad it was french-braided at the time, otherwise, he might have pulled some hair out completely. 

A gibbon, or as I prefer to call it, a Grabbin' 

There are several breeds of macaque, generally categorized by tail-type. There are long-tailed, stump-tailed and pig tailed and they abound all over Thailand. You'll see them lurking around temples and terrorizing villages. I guess I can't really blame them because people have taken over much of their habitat. The gibbons swing from tree to tree using their disproportionately long arms and make the most interesting and after while annoying howling sounds. The noises alternate between police siren and R2D2 and it always sounds like they are watching an intense soccer game where their team is really close to scoring a goal but the ball doesn't actually make it into the net. 

Many, many macaques 

I find the dusky langurs really creepy as their face markings kind of make them look like members of the Insane Clown Posse. They always come out of nowhere and clasp the cage at eye level with you, bearing their teeth and making little gurgly/clikcy sounds. A lot of them have chain link tunnels connected to their cages that are suspended high in the trees and they will try to poop or pee on you if the timing is right. 

Creepy, clown-faced little monkey!

The nocturals were some of my favorites. The slow lorises are so cute, which is why there is such a huge issue with them being kept as pets. Despite their large, innocent-looking eyes, their teeth are poisonous and therefore often get yanked out without anesthetic to prevent their toxic bites. They are also night-dwellers so the daylight hurts their eyes and they are never feed correctly when kept as pets. These poor creatures get tortured then locked away in tiny cages just so someone can occasionally take them out and use them for their own amusement. Which brings me to my next point: photo props. Wherever the tourists go, the animal handlers follow, hoping to make a quick buck by exploiting their heavily drugged and/or sedated animal for pictures. DO NOT ENCOURAGE THIS INDUSTRY. Don't take pictures with wild animals when approached and don't go to tiger temples or anywhere else that promises safe interaction with an animal that would naturally want to rip your face off. 

One last quick anecdote about the slow loris. I helped my team leader with nocturnals on my very first day of wildlife and somehow one of their cages got left open. He had the keys but it was dumping rain so I'm not sure how happened. I didn't find out until the next day, at which point I felt horrible, but luckily the same leader found the slow loris that afternoon in a nearby tree because as their name suggests, they don't move very fast. I was so relieved. And I do a pretty amazing slow loris voice, according to my roommates. :P 

Slow Loris

There are a few orange and green iguanas that reminded me of Miami. They never eat all their food and they love to have water sprinkled on them with the hose. There is one crocodile that gets fed one chicken per week by the Thai staff. There are a few birds of prey and a few non-native parrot species including a Macaw named Blue that will shout Hello (and sometimes expletives) at you as you pass by his enclosure. There is Bernie, the brain-damaged (dropped on his head by people as a fledgling) Cassowary that eats a lot of fruit and looks like a rather pre-historic creature. He looks like a cross between a colorful ostrich and a velociraptor and has the capacity to kill you but doesn't really realize it. The otters are freakin adorable and sound like living squeaky toys but their enclosure always smells a bit like dead fish because thats what they eat. 

The pigs and chickens and deer can be a nuisance but are useful as the scavengers of the sanctuary because they eat all the leftovers from our dinner and scraps from food prep for the other animals and whatever the monkeys drop or intentionally toss out of their baskets. 

If you've ever worked in the food service industry, volunteering for wildlife is a breeze. Its literally like working in a restaurant for wildlife: you prepare food, serve food and wash dishes. There is also a fair amount of pool and enclosure cleaning to keep everyone happy and healthy. When comparing it to the elephants work, it's more tedious and there is more to do, both because less people volunteer with wildlife and because there are so many more animals that require smaller meals. Working with elephants is like a series of sprints with lots of breaks whereas working with the rest of the wildlife is more like a daily marathon. 

I also took on another special project utilizing my occupational skills. Apparently there was a falling out with a former designer and she sabotaged a nearly 40-page document detailing everything e new volunteer needs and wants to know. All the fonts were converted to outlines, rendering them inevitable, and the pictures were all unlinked, making the document useless for printing. I helped teach their assistant In-Design (the whole teach a man to fish vs give a man a fish principle) and helped rebuild the file as well. I was really grateful for this extra experience because I enjoyed getting to know Tommy the UK Sanctuary manager and Edwin, the sanctuary's Dutch Founder. 

I was a bit sad to leave but I think three weeks was the perfect amount of time for me here. I would love to come back for another visit and encourage anyone else that loves animals to volunteer here! 

Furry bug, Limpy Gimp & Blister Girl

Week Two with Elephants in Phetchaburi, Thailand

This was my second week working with the elephants at Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand. It started Sunday with my first banana tree harvest. The whole elephant schedule kind of revolves around these trees. We harvest them, feed them to elephants then compost them. At least a dozen volunteers ride in the back of trucks and to various banana tree orchards in the area. We always have a couple mahouts with us who chop down the trees with machetes and we carry them to the truck. It helps that they always blast Thai techno music from the truck to keep us pumped up. 

The trunks are quite deceiving and its impossible to tell how dense or heavy it is until you hoist it up onto your shoulder. They're also usually quite juicy and tend to stain whatever you happen to be wearing so the veterans are dressed in shabby clothes covered in dark brown blemishes. The best adjectives to describe this activity are tedious, sweaty and dirty. Occupational hazards include mosquitos, fire ants, scorpions, thorns, hidden ankle traps (vines, holes and uneven ground) and stumbling over typhoon-aftermath-level debris. 

For some reason I started thinking about fashion catalogs/magazine spreads and how ridiculous they are. For example, in the last Anthropologie catalog that was sent unsolicited to me before I left the states, the first page showed a woman in an immaculate white dress painting a canvas in the middle of the woods. This dress must have been enchanted because somehow there wasn't a speck of dirt or a drop of paint on it. It's just ridiculous how much companies spend to make models draped in their apparel appear as if they are doing things that no one actually does in real life. I'd much rather see real people doing real things so I started snapping pictures and announced to everyone that I was taking pictures for The Harvest Collection Fall 2015 Catalog (see previous post for the series). At first I got strange looks and some resistance but after a while everyone really got into it. I assembled the pictures that night into a catalog and made up satirical text to go with the pictures. I described our grungy, filthy, peasant-like ensembles as "vintage, distressed, antique and exclusive." 

So just as my bruised and battered foot finally healed, my phone broke. The screen on my iPhone 5 had been a bit dodgy for a while; the LCD was a bit detached from the rest of the phone and horizontal lines had been flickering across my screen for at least a month. One morning I discovered that despite being charged all night, the screen on my phone was black. I tried to turn it on and a white apple appeared in the middle of the screen like it was about to boot but then the screen just went black again. I did this several times fueled by a blend panic and frustration, but the same thing always happened. I decided to take it to town and ask the Thai phone guy in the village that sold me my SIM card to take a look at it. After suspecting the battery or the LCD screen was the source of the problem he failed to fix it and then determined that it was some part of the motherboard called the IC power component. He said he was going to Bangkok over the weekend and would try to find this elusive replacement part so my fingers are crossed that when I go back to see him again in a few days, my phone will finally be fixed because I've been phone-less in a foreign country for over a week now. You really don't realize how much you take something for granted until it's gone. 

And now back to your regularly scheduled elephant programming… 

This week I moved from working in the center with the most docile elephants to working in the new lands with the ones that are hands-off. It amazing how much elephants are like people; they all have their own personalities and socialize in groups and have their own individual preferences when it comes to other elephants and people. Boon Chuey and Dao Rueng are like the Plastics (Mean Girls Reference) of New Lands because they bully poor Duen Phen by trying to steal her food and exclude her from the swimming hole because she doesn't wear pink on wednesdays. Khan Kluey is the only male elephant and I call him the Hellephant because he decimated most of the trees in his enclosure and you can't come within trunk's reach of his habitat because he will try to grab you so  he throws rocks (and sometimes tires) at us instead. His surrogate mom, Somboon, is much more chill and just wants to eat corn. Not the cucumbers or melon, though. Just corn. 

Boon Chuey and Dao Rueng

We also discovered a pair of puppies in the bushes this week at New Lands. We strongly suspect that they were abandoned there intentionally by a local. They are both black and one has erect ears and a stumpy, docked tail while the other has floppy ears, a white patch on its chest and an intact tail. I named them Dingo and Domino, respectively, since at first we thought they were boys. But later we discovered they were actually girls and the mahouts started calling them Pancake and Cupcake. There are already over a dozen dogs roaming around the Center already so we couldn't transport them there so some of the volunteers pulled off all their ticks and gave them flea baths and even bought a bag of puppy food. Not sure how long they're going to be able to stay in New Lands so hopefully they'll end up at a local temple where they'll at least get fed by monks. 

Towards the end of the week, I got to work with the elephants in the Mid Lands enclosure. This is where the center is trying to form a small herd with Aunties Kaew Petch, La Ong Dao, Momma Pun and Baby Pin. Pin is the cutest little thing ever and acts just like a toddler; almost as much food ends up on the ground as in her mouth and she just wants to run around and play all day. Pai Lin, Nam Phon and See Puak are also here but I didn't work much with them. All together, there are now 15 rescued elephants throughout the refuge. 

The Happy Herd 

On my last day, I decided to taste the food I had been preparing for and feeding to the elephants for the past two weeks. I had a small bit of a banana ball and it tasted like unsweetened bran cereal mixed with sand and ripe banana. Not terrible. I also tried a slice of banana tree trunk which was crunchy and water, not unlike iceberg lettuce. I could totally see Dr. Oz touting is as the next weight loss miracle or trendy restaurants making an exotic salad out of it and charging like fifty bucks for it. 

I learned so much and thoroughly enjoyed my time working with these amazing animals. For my third and final week, I will be working with (translation: feeding and cleaning up poop) a vast variety of other rescued and currently rehabbing animals native to Thailand so stay tuned! 

Week One Wildlife Camp in Phetchaburi, Thailand

How to live and work in the jungle:

1. Just accept the fact that you will never be completely dry or completely clean. Its so hot and humid that you will sweat while standing still and even after you shower you will still attract dirt and dust. 
2. Resources are limited so you share everything; housing, bathrooms, meals, etc. I share my room with two other girls and the occasional gecko, cockroach or spider. We also have a dog and a cat that like to sleep on our porch and good luck filling up your plate if you're one of the last ones to arrive at meal time. 
3. Animals are everywhere. We awake to the howling of gibbons and the crowing of roosters. We fall asleep to the sounds of dogs barking and elephants trumpeting. The camp is packed full of pachyderms, primates, bears, various domestic animals but the encounters you will have most often (whether you want to or not) are with ants and mosquitos.  
4. Expect to work. A lot. This is not a holiday. The animals get fed before and more often than you do. Whole orchards of banana trees are harvested four times a week. Your day outlasts than the sun and there is only one day off per week. This is not a vacation. That being said, it's still a unique, worthwhile and rewarding experience. Just don't expect to just take a few elephant selfies and then lounge by a pool all day sipping cocktails. 
5. Your wardrobe should be all quick-dry everything. It takes at least two days to dry cotton clothes and you will definitely want to master your sink-washing skills. There are two extremes in volunteer attire: those that wear as little clothing as possible (i..e. tank top, shorts, flip flops) and those that go for maximum coverage (boots, trousers, long sleeve shirt, hat). The former are much more succeptible to and often complain about bug bites and sunburn so I practice/highly recommend the latter. 

Gibbon Islands 

I consider myself pretty fortunate when it comes to my accommodation here. Instead of the majority, traditional dorm-style housing, I was placed in one of three bungalows with a porch and a lovely view of the mountains, the lake and the gibbon islands therein. Within this jungle cabin are three beds a slightly subpar bathroom and three beds. My roommates are awesome. Alex is from Germany and Amy is from England. Technically we're all in our late 20's/early 30's but we feel like the geriatrics of the group. We all have our own ailments, assortment of medications and our room is perfumed with Tiger Balm every evening. We're probably the first ones to go to bed at night. We even have our own retired crime-fighter nicknames: Limpy Gimp, Fairy Bug and Blister Girl. 

Rhungtip, just a lil' old lady

I spent my first two days with elephants named Thong Dee and Rungthip before being promoted to team leader of the duo for the remained of the week. They are both 'retired' from the logging and tourist industry and are over 60 years old. Rungthip has arthritis in her front legs and Thong Dee has cataracts and is mostly blind, but she still enjoys her walk in the woods every day! I feed them and clean their enclosures multiple times per day. So what does an elephant eat? Several times a day, they are served banana balls, fruits, veggies and banana tree trunks. We make banana balls (see recipe below) 3-4 times per day for these two and cut up loads of fresh watermelon, pineapple and corn on the cob. The mahouts slice up banana tree trunks with a machete and the elephants break through all the outer layers and just eat the tender heart of the plant, kinda like artichokes. They make quite a mess of these, so that's mostly what we clean out of the enclosures in addition to poop of course. All of these leftover go straight to the compost piles strategically placed throughout the camp. 

(Thong Dee) Just out takin' my elephant for a walk. No big deal. 

A Day's Activities at Elephant Care Camp:

06:00: (or earlier) wake up

06:30: First Shift; Gather baskets full of food and disperse to different enclosures

07:00: Make and serve banana balls

07:30: Compost

08:00: People breakfast (make your own)

09:00: Second Shift; Second serving of banana balls, Cut and prepare fruit

09:30: Vet visits and/or showers 

10:30: Special Projects

12:00: People lunch (served) 

13:00: Third Shift; Go for a walk, probably another shower, compost

15:00: Fourth Shift; Final serving of banana balls, compost, enrichment, transfer to different enclosure for the night

18:00: People dinner (Served) then free time and/or evening trips away from camp ** Check whiteboard to see your location/duties for the following day

Elephant snacks

Banana Ball Recipe:

• Several bunches of bananas
• 1 bowl bran powder
• 3 bowls elephant pellets

1. Once peeled, mash bananas in a big metal bowl with your hands
2. Add one small bowl bran and mix by hand until the consistency of sticky dough
3. Gradually add three small bowls elephant pellets and hand mix
4. Roll into balls twice the size of your fist then feed to elephants

Volunteerspeak

There are several terms here that you learn on the job. 

Mahout: a Thai man that takes care of and directs the elephant and gets to play with a machete. Each elephant has one that they more or less listen to obediently. 

Enrichment: Basically hide and seek with snacks. We place pieces of fruit and veg strategically around their enclosures for physical and mental stimulation. 

Composting: Scooping up elephant poop and banana tree carcasses and transporting them to compost piles via wheelbarrow

Everything gets reused or recycled here. The pigs and dogs eat our leftover food scraps and all plastic, metal and paper gets recycled. Everything else organic gets composted. We also have lots of filtered drinking water available so that hopefully cuts down on the amount of plastic bottles. 

And I've yet to broach the subject to the carnivorous majority of volunteers here, but I find it hypocritical that everyone here is so gung ho about saving elephants and other wildlife, yet they complain that the meat dish at dinner is always the first to go. (There are usually three vegan/vegetarian dishes and one meat dish at every meal.) Why is the mass slaughter of cows, pigs and chickens ok (Thai people eat a hell of a lot of meat in light of being a Buddhist country) but killing and eating elephants or dogs is deplorable? (Well it is to us Westerners anyways.) I just don't see how you can consider yourself compassionate towards animals yet still consume their dead flesh on a daily basis... 

The Harvest Collection

Every other day a group of volunteers is rounded up to go harvest banana trees that we feed to the elephants. So how do you make harvesting banana trees fun? Turn it into a photoshoot! The fashion catalog is fake but the blood, sweat and tears is real! 

One Night in Bangkok

I landed in Bangkok in agony. My left foot was throbbing and I had trouble hobbling through the airport, even with the assistance of the moving sidewalks. I thought about what could possibly have caused this and remembered my foot getting boarded over my last day surfing in Bali. (I think the stress of the flights, altitude & air pressure changes made it worse.) 

I cleared customs, withdrew some baht from an ATM then loaded my bags into a trolley and went outside to wait my turn in the taxi queue. It was almost 10 PM by the time I reached my hostel in town. Bed Station was very similar to the pod hostel I stayed at in Seminyak. I was surprised to meet another American in my room, who also happened to be a graphic designer, who invited me out to a bar with his newfound friends but I declined as I felt decrepit and exhausted. 

I took a naproxin and had the crappiest, intermittent sleep before finally getting up and deciding to go to the hospital for an x-ray on the recommendation of my parents and their friend who is a nurse. There was a handful of hospitals in the area so if it was any other body part that was battered I would have walked but instead I took a taxi. 

Immediately upon arriving at Pyathai Hospital around 7:30 AM, I was seated in front of a check-in desk and welcomed by my very own English-speaking attendant. I described my general woes, gave her my travel insurance info and soon enough an orderly appeared with a posh and padded wheelchair for me. It was very comfortable - like the La-Z-Boy recliner of wheelchairs. I hate feeling helpless but I climbed into the chair anyways and fastened the little seatbelt and smiled awkwardly as I was wheeled through a sea of Thai people staring at me with a variety of facial expressions. I ended up in the Musculoskeletal Center and spoke briefly with a doctor before getting the x-ray. Then I waited for a bit and munched on dried mango and peanuts that I had brought for breakfast and comprehended almost none of the Thai morning show I was watching.

When I was summoned back to the doctor's office he gave me the good news first: my left foot wasn't broken. The diagnosis was severe contusions that left blood and fluids to settle throughout my sole, heel and ankle. He wrapped it and said it could take up to two weeks to heal. Dammit. This used to be my good foot! (My right ankle is a bit weaker and slightly deformed from where I tore all the ligaments in during a beachside basketball game when I was sixteen.) 

The doctor wrapped up my foot then sent me on my way. Right in the same waiting area was the cashier and a pharmacy. Brilliant! Back home in the States, there are so many extra steps: take Rx to pharmacy, wait a while, pick up Rx at their convenience. Makes so much more sense to have it at the hospital! I left with a copy of my x-ray on cd-rom, some Ibuprofin and some muscle relaxers. The total cost of my visit was around 2 hours and 3,500 baht or about $97 USD. 

I marveled about how fast and efficient the whole experience was and my orderly hailed a cab to take me back to my hostel. On the return trip, I happened to glance out the window at the right moment to see a faded yet familiar orange face grinning at me from across the road. I immediately recognized Atomik's signature tag and took a picture to be uploaded and hash tagged ASAP on Instagram. (Atomik is one of the awesome Miami-based street artists that I worked with on my last big project for Whole Foods Market.) Seeing that simple visual really brightened up my otherwise discouraging day. 

I had only a few minutes to pack and requested help with loading my bags into the car that would soon after whisk me away to my volunteer destination in Phetchubari. I really wish I had a bit more time in Bangkok and that I had seen more than the inside of one hostel and one hospital, but I'm thankful my injury wasn't more serious. (Still seriously painful though.)