Nick's friends, P'tho and Thip, taking an "elephanttrek."
From Nick: "I bought myself a nice touristy elephant riding hat (for 80 baht!) and climbed on board. The elephant ride was pretty long, but much much much smoother than the drive through Cambodia last week. You would think we'd just ride around a big circle, but no, they actually dropped us off out in the jungle where some of the hill tribe villages are.
There are six different hill tribes in Northern Thailand - don't ask me to name them all, but we visited the Akha and Lisu peoples. The Lisu were pretty quiet, just stared at us from their huts, but the old women of the Akha tribe were very entertaining."
The Emerald Buddha
"The legend is that the Emerald Buddha was once encapsuled in a huge concrete structure. One day during a heavy monsoon, a bolt of lightning struck the concrete, breaking it apart to reveal the Emerald Buddha. This took place in Chiang Rai, and a temple was built there for the Emerald Buddha, where it remained for hundreds of years. Then, when Bangkok was made the Capitol of Thailand, the Emerald Buddha was moved into the grand palace there. ...the original temple in Chiang Rai is still there, with a replica in place of the Emerald Buddha. Since they let us take photos inside that temple (which is rare) we got this shot...its not the real Emerald Buddha, but it looks just like him."
Women from the Akha Tribe
"Here is a photo of the old women of the Akha hill tribe. (That goofy looking guy was our tour guide)." Nick is in the foreground with the black shirt.
Nick and Kornkamol feeding the Hungry Elephant
"We got to feed the elephants before /after /during the ride. They eat 100 kilos of fruit every day."
Mekong River
"Sometimes the maps call it Mekong, sometimes Mekok, sometime Mae Kong...you get the picture.This is the view from our hotel suite."
