Chiang Mai - Maesa elephant camp II

At one points the elephants busted out some paints and painted some pictures. There seemed to be an affinity for plants and flowers painted. Perhaps the elephants were hungry?

Chiang Mai - Maesa elephant camp I

While in Chiang Mai we visited an elephant camp. It was on a mountainside next to a stream - very idyllic setting! We watched the elephants bathe, and perform various feats of skill and strength. They had a list of all the elephants and their riders - some elephants were less than a year old, some were over 50.

Chiang Mai - around town

These pictures help illustrate a bit about what Chiang Mai is all about:

-Chiang Mai is a city of tradition, culture, and crafts (check out the old wood houses! one had a tree growing out of its roof, and one had an old style balcony roof made from leaves)

-Chiang Mai is a city of temples and religion (the snake statue is from a temple - and it's being eaten from below by another snake - no wonder it looks pissed)

-Chiang Mai is a lush town - flowers and fruit trees were everywhere

-Chiang Mai has elephants (more on that later)

Chiang Mai - the town

We went to Chiang Mai (in northern Thailand) with the in-laws. It's the second biggest city in Thailand, but feels quaint and manageable. Here are a few pictures from the hotel room (can you see the rainbow?), and some pictures of the moat surrounding the old city section of the downtown. The last picture is of the river that runs through town. It seems most great or old cities were built either on rivers, or on swamps, or both. Chiang Mai is a river town.

The in-laws come to Bangkok

My mother- and father-in-law came to town in June and stayed for a few weeks. Here's them hopping about Bangkok. Good times!

Noodle shop

At the local mall. I wonder what raw materials are used in such noodles.

At the movies again

1000 baht is about $30 USD. It's a pricey movie, but when you pay half that in the States, you don't get a dry bed. Imagine how much fun you could have in a dry bed with some corn cheese.