As the train was late arriving in Chiang Mai today, the schedule has now been changed a little and we will be doing the elephant orphanage today and visiting the temple this afternoon instead of tomorrow, leaving us with a free day tomorrow....what will we do?

After finally arriving 16 hours after we started off from Kanchanaburi we arrived in Chiang Mai and got transferred to our hotel, The People Place, and got showered and changed. Then a little behind our original schedule we took a mini bus out of town to the Elephant conservation centre, which was about 40\50 miles outside of Chiang Mai where we were staying. This was the main reason for us booking this trip as Christina really wanted to go here and see the elephants and also go for a ride on one.

When we got there we were just in time for their bathing time, where they all went off into the lake for a wash and then proceeded off to the showground to give a show. On the way to the showground they all walked trunk to tail while the lead elephant beat a drum in perfect time. It was quite surreal.

The show was not like a normal elephant show, it was very well done and the elephants were not made to do any stupid tricks or any unnaturally poses, like standing on their hind legs, as you see sometimes. I was quite surprised to see how well treated they were and as they were once working animals, they were not made to perform anything out of the ordinary for them apart from moving heavy loads, etc. They even got three of the younger elephants to paint pictures with their trunks (with some help from their trainer), which I agree is quite unusual but it didn't put any distress on the animal.

The paintings were so good, and we were really pleased to help the orphanage, that we "donated" 1,000 baht (£20) for one of the paintings. Christina picked one and will be taking it home.

After the show, we were allowed to buy some bananas for the elephants and feed them and I also gave them my coconut shell that I had left over from my coconut milk drink that I had earlier. They soon devoured that! Quite cleverly, the elephant bit the coconut and when that didn’t work he stood on it, ate one half and then kept his foot on the other half so that the other elephants wouldn’t steal it from him.

Next we went on a 30 minute elephant ride around the park, which started by walking through the lake and then off through some of the jungle and around in a big loop. By this time it was getting very hot and humid, it was just a good job that they took our photo at the beginning of the ride.

On the way back from the elephant orphanage we managed to stop over at the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep temple on the mountain overlooking Chiang Mai just in time for 6pm when the monks are called to prayer. Here, photography of the monks was permitted so I have a few pictures for you.

History lesson time.........

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep is a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. The temple is often referred to as "Doi Suthep" although this is actually the name of the mountain it is located on. The temple is located 15 km from the city of Chiang Mai and is a sacred site to many Thai people. From the temple impressive views of Chiang Mai can be seen and it remains a popular destination of foreign visitors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Phrathat_Doi_Suthep

Back into Chiang Mai after visiting the temple, we stopped at a seafood restaurant and for the first time this holiday, I ordered a fish dish! In the mean time, Sam ordered a starter called disco shrimp!

We were all very intrigued on what might turn up and none of us could have guessed what it would have been. I was basically a pot full of herbs, spices and chilli and of course some shrimps. The way this works is that it gets delivered to the table cold, you shake it to mix the spices and shrimp and then open the lid to eat them. This is where the disco part comes in, the shrimp are still alive and uncooked and start jumping for their lives, you grab one from the pot, table, or you plate where ever they land and quickly put it in your mouth and eat it whole and yes....ALIVE!

I had a few of course, just to try this dish, but as I am not a fish fan, let alone a raw shrimp fan, I can’t really recommend this dish to you!!! A lot of fun, but not really my idea of a starter, give me chicken wings any day!