7am - let's go to the jungle. But today it was Deng who was late. Last night he went to the disco with his girls. Gee, did he stink from alcohol. Also Lai seemed to have drunken a lot last night. Well, it was Friday yesterday. We don't realize anymore what day it is.
Fetched the elephants, bathing, breakfast - then we were off to the first Elephant Camp in Bhang La 80 km north-east from here. The mahouts there had just their lunch break so we were just in time when we arrived with all our water melons. More than 10kg of water melons. Of course, not only for the mahouts but also for the elephants. In this camp there live about 30 elephants which are either sick, disabled or just old.
At about 1pm it got really interesting. They wanted to take out a foul tusk from one elephant. They put him on a drip and a few minutes later his muscles flagged, he showed his penis and fell asleep. With open eyes. Well, he even snoared. Now the doctors and students from Chiang Mai university could start. A few more injections and then they pulled the tusk with huge pliers. It took another few minutes and it was over. Yak, that stank! Disgusting! They cleaned the tusk, measured it, the wound was filled with mull and that was it.
Further to the next elephant. Here, they wanted to collect his sperm. Wow, how will they do this? Well, the elephant gets a whole arm and a fist in its anus and the person needs to move it until the elephant shows its penis and eventually ejaculates. This is pretty hard work and seems to require a certain technique. Every time the doctor had his arm in the elephant, the latter shows its penis and a student was allowed to continue the work.... But it didn't take long and the penis was gone again. Almost one hour the doctors and students worked on it just in order to in the end collect a few drops of sperm with a kind of drip-catcher. In any case this was all pretty interesting.
Later we prepared our food in the common kitchen and had dinner with the mahouts. There are not a lot of tourists coming here and thus we were more than welcome. It goes without saying that the whiskey also wasn't missing.
We spent the night in a tent which was nice for a change.
Saturday, February 28, 2004
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Elephant Conservation Center
Again I (Nicole) woke up at 4am. Same as yesterday. Ever so often I could hear the baby elephant. I turned from one side to the other but didn't manage to fall asleep again. But I was too tired to read. I was so happy when eventually at 6.45am I could get up.
After our ride from the jungle to the swimming pool and full with rice we drove with Lai, Jan and Deng on two motor-bikes to the forest in order to cut bamboo. With Jan as a mahout I (Nicole) never was lazy, he always got me to do things immediately. Same here and surprisingly it didn't take me long until I had chopped my first bamboo stem. If one knows how to do it, it even is fun. A few bamboos later we saw this little tarn. In no time Jan and Lai jumped up and looked for frogs in that dirty water. They found a lot which they smashed on a rock in order to kill them. We'll have them later for lunch or dinner.
We drove back to the camp with five bamboo stems. Ramona and I had to carry these heavy things on our shoulders to the baby elephant's place. Here the Head of Teacher (HoT) was already waiting for us. He immediately started to cut the bamboo. Always in the middle. Very easy but not for us with our big knife. Ramona and I tried our best, brave as we are. How proud we were when it eventually worked relatively good. We wanted to plait a bamboo basket with these thin bamboo stripes. OK, quickly one more cut in half. Ouch! I (Nicole) had almost halved my left thumb as well. Deng immediately jumped up to help. He pressed my wound in order to stop the bleeding. I was hot and cold ... but it wasn't really that bad. Deng poured some yellow desinfection stuff (usually for elephants) on my thumb and surprisingly this didn't burn at all.
The HoT then showed us how to start plaiting a basket. 6 bamboo stripes and another 6. Just one over the other. Add a second one on each side and plait around the corner. It wasn't that easy at all without using my thumb but I tried my best.
After lunch we continued to tinker. But I easily lost my patience. I never liked doing handicrafts. I had tried 5 times to put a new stripe over the old one and continue with the new one and 5 times I lost the new one. I just didn't manage to hold it without my thumb. In the end 4 different people worked on my basket and Ramona finished it for me.
Today we were quite late to take the elephants to the jungle and we had to pass a lot of elephants. Thus a long way for us. Jan joined me on Wandee, Deng sat behind Ramona on Pang Khod. Then Ramona had this brilliant idea to get a massage from Deng. Fantastic, and I'll have one from Jan. This was really good, riding elephants like this is even more fun.
After dinner we had a bottle of whiskey and watched several elephant videos - mating, accidents, separation from mother and baby elephant ... gee, there were really some bad things in it.
After our ride from the jungle to the swimming pool and full with rice we drove with Lai, Jan and Deng on two motor-bikes to the forest in order to cut bamboo. With Jan as a mahout I (Nicole) never was lazy, he always got me to do things immediately. Same here and surprisingly it didn't take me long until I had chopped my first bamboo stem. If one knows how to do it, it even is fun. A few bamboos later we saw this little tarn. In no time Jan and Lai jumped up and looked for frogs in that dirty water. They found a lot which they smashed on a rock in order to kill them. We'll have them later for lunch or dinner.
We drove back to the camp with five bamboo stems. Ramona and I had to carry these heavy things on our shoulders to the baby elephant's place. Here the Head of Teacher (HoT) was already waiting for us. He immediately started to cut the bamboo. Always in the middle. Very easy but not for us with our big knife. Ramona and I tried our best, brave as we are. How proud we were when it eventually worked relatively good. We wanted to plait a bamboo basket with these thin bamboo stripes. OK, quickly one more cut in half. Ouch! I (Nicole) had almost halved my left thumb as well. Deng immediately jumped up to help. He pressed my wound in order to stop the bleeding. I was hot and cold ... but it wasn't really that bad. Deng poured some yellow desinfection stuff (usually for elephants) on my thumb and surprisingly this didn't burn at all.
The HoT then showed us how to start plaiting a basket. 6 bamboo stripes and another 6. Just one over the other. Add a second one on each side and plait around the corner. It wasn't that easy at all without using my thumb but I tried my best.
After lunch we continued to tinker. But I easily lost my patience. I never liked doing handicrafts. I had tried 5 times to put a new stripe over the old one and continue with the new one and 5 times I lost the new one. I just didn't manage to hold it without my thumb. In the end 4 different people worked on my basket and Ramona finished it for me.
Today we were quite late to take the elephants to the jungle and we had to pass a lot of elephants. Thus a long way for us. Jan joined me on Wandee, Deng sat behind Ramona on Pang Khod. Then Ramona had this brilliant idea to get a massage from Deng. Fantastic, and I'll have one from Jan. This was really good, riding elephants like this is even more fun.
After dinner we had a bottle of whiskey and watched several elephant videos - mating, accidents, separation from mother and baby elephant ... gee, there were really some bad things in it.
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Elephant Conservation Center
As usually at 7am we went to the jungle. Today not in our pretty mahout suit but in the good green trousers and a T-shirt. Deng walked behind me (Ramona) and Khod which made her really nervous. She walked very anxiously and always turned around. In addition to that we passed some dogs and last but not least a caterpillar. This was it with Khod. She started to ran, stopped at an edge. Oh no, please don't go further. Khod didn't listen and went straight through a thorn bush field. Horror! This was adrenaline pure. I tried to lean back as far as possible in order not to get all the thorns in my face. I had already seen my skin frazzled. Eventually we got to the other side. Khod still was in such a hysteria that she wouldn't listen to my orders, not even to me hitting her with the hook. The others shouted some recommendations but this is all easier said than done. Finally I got Khod to stop. Jan could sneak up to Khod and took the chain. I was relieved. My heart beat as loud that one could hear it in whole Thailand. But I was proud as well! I didn't fall off!
Bathing was ok for me (Nicole) and after that I took Wandee to her stable we were off to 'gin kaao'. We then went to the Rescue-Team.
The elephant is the biggest endotherm in the world. Elephants have a big brain and thus a bigger memory than any other animal in the world. Because of this the elephant is also exposed to several moods. During the musth period an elephant can get wild, dangerous and violent. The musth period can happen several times a hear and usually takes 3 to 4 months. Before the elephant gets into the musth period it changes its mood and behavious. When it is in musth, it doesn't listen to its mahout anymore and especially male elephants get aggressive.
There are different reasons for the musth period as i.e. the change of hormones, the separation from a mother and a baby elephant or the elephant's character is just naughty - as with us humans. Another reason can be heat and stress as i.e. hard work in the heat, not enough water and food or the change of mahout. Because of the strong bond between mahout and elephant, the latter can get really stressed when he gets a new mahout.
If an owner or a mahout recognizes that his/her elephant is in musth he/she needs to inform local authorities which will then take care of further steps. In addition to that he/she also needs to observe the elephant and decide whether he/she will need the help of the Thai Conservation Center.
If the Rescue Team is called, within a short period of time everything is prepared and the team drives to the mahout/owner - together with a veterinarian. The team then needs a written statement from the owner or mahout that it is allowed to catch the elephant. Only then the team can start its work: find the place where the elephant hides, close off the area so the elephant can't flee; when the elephant is in a good position, the shooter of the Rescue-Teams shoots a calmative. This will only start to work after 30 minutes. The vet will check in which state the elephant is after it has been shot. Only then the elephant is taken to a better place and chained.
Ramona and I were allowed to watch how to prepare the guns. After a few shots in the air we all went outside - with a gun in our hands. In the meantime, Lai had ridden Pang Khod through the forest and now we had to find the elephant according to the traces. This was really not easy on all these dry leaves and sometimes even the pros had difficulties to find them. In the end we found the piece of cloth which presented the elephant for us. Ramona and I now were to shoot with 3 different guns on this cloth. This was really fun and we were quite disappointed when we had to stop.
After lunch we originally were supposed to do some exercises but because of the caterpillar close to the camp we took the elephants straight to the jungle. Jan and Lai then surprised us with a mosquito gun. In no time they had carved it from bamboo and we learned how to do it. We then shot at each other with wet newspaper ... I can tell you I got lots of bruises from that. But it was great fun!
Bathing was ok for me (Nicole) and after that I took Wandee to her stable we were off to 'gin kaao'. We then went to the Rescue-Team.
The elephant is the biggest endotherm in the world. Elephants have a big brain and thus a bigger memory than any other animal in the world. Because of this the elephant is also exposed to several moods. During the musth period an elephant can get wild, dangerous and violent. The musth period can happen several times a hear and usually takes 3 to 4 months. Before the elephant gets into the musth period it changes its mood and behavious. When it is in musth, it doesn't listen to its mahout anymore and especially male elephants get aggressive.
There are different reasons for the musth period as i.e. the change of hormones, the separation from a mother and a baby elephant or the elephant's character is just naughty - as with us humans. Another reason can be heat and stress as i.e. hard work in the heat, not enough water and food or the change of mahout. Because of the strong bond between mahout and elephant, the latter can get really stressed when he gets a new mahout.
If an owner or a mahout recognizes that his/her elephant is in musth he/she needs to inform local authorities which will then take care of further steps. In addition to that he/she also needs to observe the elephant and decide whether he/she will need the help of the Thai Conservation Center.
If the Rescue Team is called, within a short period of time everything is prepared and the team drives to the mahout/owner - together with a veterinarian. The team then needs a written statement from the owner or mahout that it is allowed to catch the elephant. Only then the team can start its work: find the place where the elephant hides, close off the area so the elephant can't flee; when the elephant is in a good position, the shooter of the Rescue-Teams shoots a calmative. This will only start to work after 30 minutes. The vet will check in which state the elephant is after it has been shot. Only then the elephant is taken to a better place and chained.
Ramona and I were allowed to watch how to prepare the guns. After a few shots in the air we all went outside - with a gun in our hands. In the meantime, Lai had ridden Pang Khod through the forest and now we had to find the elephant according to the traces. This was really not easy on all these dry leaves and sometimes even the pros had difficulties to find them. In the end we found the piece of cloth which presented the elephant for us. Ramona and I now were to shoot with 3 different guns on this cloth. This was really fun and we were quite disappointed when we had to stop.
After lunch we originally were supposed to do some exercises but because of the caterpillar close to the camp we took the elephants straight to the jungle. Jan and Lai then surprised us with a mosquito gun. In no time they had carved it from bamboo and we learned how to do it. We then shot at each other with wet newspaper ... I can tell you I got lots of bruises from that. But it was great fun!
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Elephant Conservation Center
We fetched our elephants at 7am and went bathing. Today it went really good for me (Nicole). Whether it was because I rolled up my trousers for the first time? :)
After breakfast Jan showed us how to make a ring out of an elephant's tale hair. Ramona and I made desperate efforts with a band but we just wouldn't manage to do it. Jan always made fun of us and asked us to redo. It cannot be that difficult to find the right whole ...
Then the elephants were prepared to go logging. They wanted to show us how the elephants pull the logs. Wandee previously was a working elephant, Pang Khod doesn't know this at all and will thus be pretty scared of the log which she needs to pull behind her. Lai sat on Pang Khod and she ran extremely fast downhill, always being scared the log would fall into her hind legs. Wow, how fast even Pang Khod can run. But if you cannot control the elephant in this speed ... It was totally different with Wandee. She knew the principle and compared to Pang Khod she only trotted downhill. This was really interesting to watch and both Ramona and I were lucky not having to sit on Pang Khod while logging.
After a small break we were shown how to put on the wooden seats on the elephant and how to tie them up. But where shall we take the strengths to pull the hard ropes as fast so the seats wouldn't fall off? And how should we walk on the elephants back in order to tie everything really tight? Luckily, Jan and Lai again were really helpful. Phew!
In the afternoon we learned how to chop banana trees. Hard work again and using our knife was still very difficult for us. Everything just looks so easy with the mahouts.
We spent the evening in the centre as we were invited to the snake party. Jan had caught a snake yesterday which was cooked today. Mmmh, this was delicious! Not the skin though, just the meat ... really good! Completed with a lot of whiskey - a fantastic evening.
After breakfast Jan showed us how to make a ring out of an elephant's tale hair. Ramona and I made desperate efforts with a band but we just wouldn't manage to do it. Jan always made fun of us and asked us to redo. It cannot be that difficult to find the right whole ...
Then the elephants were prepared to go logging. They wanted to show us how the elephants pull the logs. Wandee previously was a working elephant, Pang Khod doesn't know this at all and will thus be pretty scared of the log which she needs to pull behind her. Lai sat on Pang Khod and she ran extremely fast downhill, always being scared the log would fall into her hind legs. Wow, how fast even Pang Khod can run. But if you cannot control the elephant in this speed ... It was totally different with Wandee. She knew the principle and compared to Pang Khod she only trotted downhill. This was really interesting to watch and both Ramona and I were lucky not having to sit on Pang Khod while logging.
After a small break we were shown how to put on the wooden seats on the elephant and how to tie them up. But where shall we take the strengths to pull the hard ropes as fast so the seats wouldn't fall off? And how should we walk on the elephants back in order to tie everything really tight? Luckily, Jan and Lai again were really helpful. Phew!
In the afternoon we learned how to chop banana trees. Hard work again and using our knife was still very difficult for us. Everything just looks so easy with the mahouts.
We spent the evening in the centre as we were invited to the snake party. Jan had caught a snake yesterday which was cooked today. Mmmh, this was delicious! Not the skin though, just the meat ... really good! Completed with a lot of whiskey - a fantastic evening.
Friday, February 20, 2004
Elephant Conservation Center
Today it's going to be a relaxing day. As usually it started with a walk to the jungle to fetch our elephants and take them bathing. I (Nicole) still have problems bathing Wandee. Every time I say Map long (Lay down), she takes her head under water. I didn't fall off but of course I again was soaking wet. This can get really frustrating - especially knowing that she is really quiet with Jan.
After breakfast the Head of Teacher showed us how to make a noose in a very thick rope, later how to fasten two of these thick ropes with knots. Not just an easy knot. No, first you have to loosen the rope a bit on each side and then fasten the two ends with knots.
We then learned how to sharpen our Mahout knife before making a slingshot. We had to carve a slingshot with our knife. Gee, be careful. If you slip, your finger is gone. But Jan and Lai were again really helpful with the difficult parts.
After lunch we were up to weave a harness for Wandee. This is really hard work as the rope is much harder than wool and we soon had the first blisters on our hands.
Today the elephants were taken to the jungle early and thus our working day was over.
After breakfast the Head of Teacher showed us how to make a noose in a very thick rope, later how to fasten two of these thick ropes with knots. Not just an easy knot. No, first you have to loosen the rope a bit on each side and then fasten the two ends with knots.
We then learned how to sharpen our Mahout knife before making a slingshot. We had to carve a slingshot with our knife. Gee, be careful. If you slip, your finger is gone. But Jan and Lai were again really helpful with the difficult parts.
After lunch we were up to weave a harness for Wandee. This is really hard work as the rope is much harder than wool and we soon had the first blisters on our hands.
Today the elephants were taken to the jungle early and thus our working day was over.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Elephant Conservation Center
Today we already met at 6.30am. Well, we were supposed to meet then but we had to wait for Jan and Lai. Whether they had drunk to much? At 6.50 am they showed up and we could go and fetch the elephants. The loosing of the chain from the tree, the elephant laying down and cleaning it from dust, the putting on of the chain as well as the getting on the elephant gets better and better every day.
On our way to the swimming pool again some motor-bikes, cars and trucks passed us and Wandee got really scared. She always gets really nervous which I (Nicole) realized when bathing her. I again wasn't fast enough and thus half in the water. Poor Jan, he again had to join me in the stinky water to help bathing Wandee. But he just laughed about it and kept on making fun of me.
We took Wandee to her stable and went for breakfast. I actually have decided to eat like the Thais. Rice - for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Only gradually though I get used to it.
We then went to the elephant's hospital which is led by the Thai government and thus free for every mahout or owner of an elephant. On Wednesdays, all elephants in the Conservation Center are checked. Every elephant gets measured (height, length, foot circumference); one takes the elephant's temperature while putting the whole arm in its anus in order to get a big bunch of dung and then putting the clinical thermometer in the dung. The average temperature is 37 degrees Celsius.
In addition to that we saw how they take care of mine victims. One elephant got its whole foot frazzled when he walked on a mine. Every second day he needs to stand about half an hour in a purple dilution (desinfection). After that he gets yellow stuff injected in the wound and a huge bandage which is held with adhesive tape usually used for parcels.
There was also a team of doctors from Chiang Mai. They had a xray machine with them. One of the elephants had a swollen foot and as nobody knew yet what the reason for that is they wanted to take xrays. Same as with the three years old paralysed elephant whose birthday it is today. He got a huge basket of fruits and vegetables from its English owner. After having eaten everything they had to take him out of the elephant's wheelchair which was specially built for him. Thus they needed strong men. The elephant was not strong enough on its hind legs to stand on them. They put some clothes on the floor and losened the harness. Like this they could pull the elephant out of its wheelchair and lay on the clothes. This took quite a long time and also taking the xrays wasn't easy as the elephant didn't want to be still. Several people held on it and pulled and pushed until eventually they managed to take the picture.
It was interesting to learn that the doctor had in fact studied animal health for 6 years, but only about dogs, cats, ... His knowledge about elephants he learned from learning by doing.
After lunch we had a look at the pregnant elephant. An elephant is pregnant between 18 to 22 months and one can hardly tell when she is due. We of course hope that she will be due when we are still here. One can also hardly see when an elephant is pregnant. Only her breasts are bigger but not the whole body.
Then Wandee and Pang Khod got checked and after that we took them to the jungle. Jan wanted to take Wandee today deep into the jungle and I had to get up before and walk in front of Wandee. First Jan, then me - followed by Wandee. I called her ever so often and she followed without hesitation. But all of a sudden she got faster and faster. When she was almost behind me I told her to stop but she wouldn't listen. Also the second command wasn't of any use and instead of listening to me I got kicked by her fore foot. I fell backwards right into a bamboo bush and was appalled. As I fell on my back I couldn't even pull my hook. But because of my scream Wandee got probably scared as well as she stopped immediately. Jan got there straight away and really hit Wandee. Jan was really surprised as Wandee has never done something like this before. He apologized several times, he was really worried. But I was ok. From now on I wasn't allowed anymore to walk in front of Wandee. Jan was always between Wandee and me.
After dinner we went soon to our rooms. We wrote some of our diaries and switched the lights off pretty soon.
On our way to the swimming pool again some motor-bikes, cars and trucks passed us and Wandee got really scared. She always gets really nervous which I (Nicole) realized when bathing her. I again wasn't fast enough and thus half in the water. Poor Jan, he again had to join me in the stinky water to help bathing Wandee. But he just laughed about it and kept on making fun of me.
We took Wandee to her stable and went for breakfast. I actually have decided to eat like the Thais. Rice - for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Only gradually though I get used to it.
We then went to the elephant's hospital which is led by the Thai government and thus free for every mahout or owner of an elephant. On Wednesdays, all elephants in the Conservation Center are checked. Every elephant gets measured (height, length, foot circumference); one takes the elephant's temperature while putting the whole arm in its anus in order to get a big bunch of dung and then putting the clinical thermometer in the dung. The average temperature is 37 degrees Celsius.
In addition to that we saw how they take care of mine victims. One elephant got its whole foot frazzled when he walked on a mine. Every second day he needs to stand about half an hour in a purple dilution (desinfection). After that he gets yellow stuff injected in the wound and a huge bandage which is held with adhesive tape usually used for parcels.
There was also a team of doctors from Chiang Mai. They had a xray machine with them. One of the elephants had a swollen foot and as nobody knew yet what the reason for that is they wanted to take xrays. Same as with the three years old paralysed elephant whose birthday it is today. He got a huge basket of fruits and vegetables from its English owner. After having eaten everything they had to take him out of the elephant's wheelchair which was specially built for him. Thus they needed strong men. The elephant was not strong enough on its hind legs to stand on them. They put some clothes on the floor and losened the harness. Like this they could pull the elephant out of its wheelchair and lay on the clothes. This took quite a long time and also taking the xrays wasn't easy as the elephant didn't want to be still. Several people held on it and pulled and pushed until eventually they managed to take the picture.
It was interesting to learn that the doctor had in fact studied animal health for 6 years, but only about dogs, cats, ... His knowledge about elephants he learned from learning by doing.
After lunch we had a look at the pregnant elephant. An elephant is pregnant between 18 to 22 months and one can hardly tell when she is due. We of course hope that she will be due when we are still here. One can also hardly see when an elephant is pregnant. Only her breasts are bigger but not the whole body.
Then Wandee and Pang Khod got checked and after that we took them to the jungle. Jan wanted to take Wandee today deep into the jungle and I had to get up before and walk in front of Wandee. First Jan, then me - followed by Wandee. I called her ever so often and she followed without hesitation. But all of a sudden she got faster and faster. When she was almost behind me I told her to stop but she wouldn't listen. Also the second command wasn't of any use and instead of listening to me I got kicked by her fore foot. I fell backwards right into a bamboo bush and was appalled. As I fell on my back I couldn't even pull my hook. But because of my scream Wandee got probably scared as well as she stopped immediately. Jan got there straight away and really hit Wandee. Jan was really surprised as Wandee has never done something like this before. He apologized several times, he was really worried. But I was ok. From now on I wasn't allowed anymore to walk in front of Wandee. Jan was always between Wandee and me.
After dinner we went soon to our rooms. We wrote some of our diaries and switched the lights off pretty soon.
Monday, February 16, 2004
Elephant Conservation Center
At 7am we met up with Jan, Lai and Deng. We went to the jungle to fetch our elephants. Jan and Lai were in a really good mood and to us it didn't matter at all that we had to walk so far so early in the morning.
In the jungle Jan called for Wandee and I (Nicole) tried as good as possible to imitate Jan so Wandee gets used to my voice as well. When she got to us, she had to lay down and with our hook we rapped on her head and back in order to clean her from all the dust. Jan threw the chain on her neck and I could get on. Gee, were my muscles sore! How will I be able to continue?
Ramona and I rode to the Swimming Pool of the elephants, a nearby river. Here they get bathed every morning. We watched our mahouts doing it but tomorrow it'll be our turn. Wow, that looks pretty difficult to keep the balance on the elephant's back. There is still a lot to come. After the bathing we rode the elephants to the camp where they got something to drink. They drink 100L on average and one needs to tell them to drink - when they only have a little bit of time - as otherwise they would just spray the water on them in order to cool down! Wandee though doesn't always drink when one tells her and one always needs to expect to get cooled down as well.
We then took her to her stable and I was allowed to take off the chain. In addition to that I also had to put away the elephant's dung. With a shovel and a wheelbarrow. And if the dung doesn't get on the shovel one just takes one's foot to help. Good that I'm wearing my sandals. :)
After breakfast (Gin kaao - eat rice in Thai) we again did exercises. Today we had to get the elephant to lay down (Map long) and to put its head down, to practically knee (Tak long). Well, and we had to get up like this as well. But still every muscle hurt so much. How should I get onto Wandee's head? Actually it's the same as to leapfrog - but as high? And without a spring board, more or less from standing?! When I looked at Ramona it always looked so easy but I never managed it. It probably is just because of my muscles.
We then went to the Elephanten Centre where we watched the elephant show for tourists. Here they show how to get on and off, how elephants log, how to draw pictures with colourful brushes or how to make music. What caught our attention was that the elephants never walk on another elephant's dung. Even while walking backwards.
During lunch break we had our first Thai lesson with Deng. At least as difficult as Chinese - also five different tone levels which we often couldn't even differentiate. Thus, one word may have different meanings depending on which ton level you pronounce it. Well, this is going to be hard work as well!
Back in our Camp we again did some exercises. Map long, Tak long, Sok (walk backwards). Over and over again. It goes without saying that my muscles didn't get better. In contrary. Once I didn't jump high enough on Wandee's head and Wandee lifted her head. But I wasn't quick enough and just slipped. I was hanging on Wandees left ear, didn't know how to move. Jan tried to push me up again but this didn't work either. I then decided to let go not knowing that Jan was still standing underneath me. The poor guy! My hook went through his T-Shirt and which now has two holes. Luckily I didn't hurt him!
Around 2.30pm it was time to take the elephants to the junge. I still didn't feel very secure, I probably haven't found the right seating position yet. In any case it was still bouncing a lot and sometimes I had to hold her head or her ears in order to keep my balance.
After a shower we had dinner at 5.30pm. We got there a bit earlier though. Big mistake! Some mahouts were already there and enjoying the Thai whiskey. And as it is impolite to refuse ... It's good though that we had just learned the word 'nid noi' (a little bit)... :)
We again learned some Thai after dinner and we then went off to our rooms. It looks as if we will have a lot of early nights here.
In the jungle Jan called for Wandee and I (Nicole) tried as good as possible to imitate Jan so Wandee gets used to my voice as well. When she got to us, she had to lay down and with our hook we rapped on her head and back in order to clean her from all the dust. Jan threw the chain on her neck and I could get on. Gee, were my muscles sore! How will I be able to continue?
Ramona and I rode to the Swimming Pool of the elephants, a nearby river. Here they get bathed every morning. We watched our mahouts doing it but tomorrow it'll be our turn. Wow, that looks pretty difficult to keep the balance on the elephant's back. There is still a lot to come. After the bathing we rode the elephants to the camp where they got something to drink. They drink 100L on average and one needs to tell them to drink - when they only have a little bit of time - as otherwise they would just spray the water on them in order to cool down! Wandee though doesn't always drink when one tells her and one always needs to expect to get cooled down as well.
We then took her to her stable and I was allowed to take off the chain. In addition to that I also had to put away the elephant's dung. With a shovel and a wheelbarrow. And if the dung doesn't get on the shovel one just takes one's foot to help. Good that I'm wearing my sandals. :)
After breakfast (Gin kaao - eat rice in Thai) we again did exercises. Today we had to get the elephant to lay down (Map long) and to put its head down, to practically knee (Tak long). Well, and we had to get up like this as well. But still every muscle hurt so much. How should I get onto Wandee's head? Actually it's the same as to leapfrog - but as high? And without a spring board, more or less from standing?! When I looked at Ramona it always looked so easy but I never managed it. It probably is just because of my muscles.
We then went to the Elephanten Centre where we watched the elephant show for tourists. Here they show how to get on and off, how elephants log, how to draw pictures with colourful brushes or how to make music. What caught our attention was that the elephants never walk on another elephant's dung. Even while walking backwards.
During lunch break we had our first Thai lesson with Deng. At least as difficult as Chinese - also five different tone levels which we often couldn't even differentiate. Thus, one word may have different meanings depending on which ton level you pronounce it. Well, this is going to be hard work as well!
Back in our Camp we again did some exercises. Map long, Tak long, Sok (walk backwards). Over and over again. It goes without saying that my muscles didn't get better. In contrary. Once I didn't jump high enough on Wandee's head and Wandee lifted her head. But I wasn't quick enough and just slipped. I was hanging on Wandees left ear, didn't know how to move. Jan tried to push me up again but this didn't work either. I then decided to let go not knowing that Jan was still standing underneath me. The poor guy! My hook went through his T-Shirt and which now has two holes. Luckily I didn't hurt him!
Around 2.30pm it was time to take the elephants to the junge. I still didn't feel very secure, I probably haven't found the right seating position yet. In any case it was still bouncing a lot and sometimes I had to hold her head or her ears in order to keep my balance.
After a shower we had dinner at 5.30pm. We got there a bit earlier though. Big mistake! Some mahouts were already there and enjoying the Thai whiskey. And as it is impolite to refuse ... It's good though that we had just learned the word 'nid noi' (a little bit)... :)
We again learned some Thai after dinner and we then went off to our rooms. It looks as if we will have a lot of early nights here.
Saturday, February 14, 2004
Chiang Mai - Myanmar
Well, today we got up very early - why? To go to the Internet-Cafe. It's actually our last day here ... no, to be honest - we were picked up at 7am in order to drive to the "Golden Triangle". Here, one can see to three countries from one point: Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.
First thought we drove to a Hot Spa. Well, as if we had known it we didn't take our swimming suits. As in this Hot Spa one cannot go for a swim. Here, they boil eggs which are then sold to the many tourists who come here.
Our next step were two zwei Hill Tribe Villages. This was just ... I (Nicole) don't know how to describe it. Firstly, we didn't feel so well to walk around and look at these people, secondly their aim was just to sell their handicraft to the tourists and thirdly we weren't the only tourists there - every few minutes another minibus full of tourists arrives.
The Golden Triangle - we could have done a boat trip with a speed boat but we didn't want to - wasn't anything special either. Let's just move on to the border ... which was our real goal: We have to go to Myanmar, in order to come back to Thailand and get another 30 days visa. This was done in a couple of minutes and now we can say that we've been to Myanmar.
Conclusion: We should have taken a local bus, get our stamp and take a local bus back. But well, there must be days like these as well.
Tomorrow though we'll finally go to the elephants. :))
First thought we drove to a Hot Spa. Well, as if we had known it we didn't take our swimming suits. As in this Hot Spa one cannot go for a swim. Here, they boil eggs which are then sold to the many tourists who come here.
Our next step were two zwei Hill Tribe Villages. This was just ... I (Nicole) don't know how to describe it. Firstly, we didn't feel so well to walk around and look at these people, secondly their aim was just to sell their handicraft to the tourists and thirdly we weren't the only tourists there - every few minutes another minibus full of tourists arrives.
The Golden Triangle - we could have done a boat trip with a speed boat but we didn't want to - wasn't anything special either. Let's just move on to the border ... which was our real goal: We have to go to Myanmar, in order to come back to Thailand and get another 30 days visa. This was done in a couple of minutes and now we can say that we've been to Myanmar.
Conclusion: We should have taken a local bus, get our stamp and take a local bus back. But well, there must be days like these as well.
Tomorrow though we'll finally go to the elephants. :))
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Chiang Mai
I know it's getting a bit boring now but again we spent the day online - translating reports. Whether you believe it or not we both have square eyes by now ...
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Chiang Mai
As we were so good in typing the reports yesterday we were allowed to sleep a bit longer today. At 10am we went to the Internet Cafe in order to type the last reports. Unfortunately, after that we have to do all the translations. Thus, it again was a late evening.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Chiang Mai
I (Nicole) got up at 7.30am as I wanted to be at the post office at 8am in order to get the one and only Windows XP-Computer. It's the fastest for me to download my pictures and put them on my Jukebox.
Ramona was in the Internet-Cafe just opposite of our hostel and the whole day we spent typing reports. We had to do almost two months.
Only about 9pm we stopped typing. We think we had definitely deserved a menu at McD.
Ramona was in the Internet-Cafe just opposite of our hostel and the whole day we spent typing reports. We had to do almost two months.
Only about 9pm we stopped typing. We think we had definitely deserved a menu at McD.
Monday, February 09, 2004
Chiang Mai
Already at 8.10am we were at the Immigration Office. What? We are supposed to be dressed properly? Is one dressed properly when wearing shorts and a T-Shirt and walking in sandals? We'll find out.
The Immigration Office only opens at 8.30am. The officer though only wanted to give us 10 extra days. But this is not long enough! He didn't even want to listen to our problem. We need 30 days. Well, in that case you'll have to leave the country and get another 30 days. Great!
On our way back to the Banana Guesthouse we discussed whether we should join the trekking tour or not. We went for a no. They do the tour with four people anyway so we don't have to have a bad conscience.
We packed our diaries and went to the Triple N-Restaurant in order to have breakfast. Delicious. We spent the whole day writing our diaries and planning our last months of travelling. But we won't tell you yet as we'll probably change it anyway. It's gonna be a surprise! :)
The Immigration Office only opens at 8.30am. The officer though only wanted to give us 10 extra days. But this is not long enough! He didn't even want to listen to our problem. We need 30 days. Well, in that case you'll have to leave the country and get another 30 days. Great!
On our way back to the Banana Guesthouse we discussed whether we should join the trekking tour or not. We went for a no. They do the tour with four people anyway so we don't have to have a bad conscience.
We packed our diaries and went to the Triple N-Restaurant in order to have breakfast. Delicious. We spent the whole day writing our diaries and planning our last months of travelling. But we won't tell you yet as we'll probably change it anyway. It's gonna be a surprise! :)
Sunday, February 08, 2004
Kanchanaburi - Chiang Mai
I (Ramona) got up at 8am and sat down next to the window. During the day the sleeping bunks are changed to normal seats. Nicole joined me a bit later and punctually at 9am we got breakfast served. What a Service! 40 minutes later we arrived in Lampang.
We took a bus direction Chiang Mai and got off at the Elephant Conservation Centre. We could leave our backpacks with the controller. We had expected a shuttle to take us the last 2 km to the camp. That's what was said in the Lonely Planet. But when we asked the controller he only laughed. What was so funny? Thus, we started walking. However, we hadn't walked a hundred meter when the gardener came with a jeep and took us to the Centre. Aren't we lucky?
The Elephant Conservation Centre was established to conserve and protect Thai elephants and to distribute knowledge to interested people. In 1969, the Young Elephant Training Center was founded to teach elephants how to log. In 1992, the school was moved to Lampang. Today, the Centre is a hospital, school for elephant doctors and a learning centre for locals and tourists. Now, that the demand for working elephants has declined, many elephants are no longer needed and are often left uncared for or even forced to work in crual and unnatural conditions. This of course led to bad injuries. Some of these animals are now taken care of in the hospital of the centre. Two of these injured elephants are mine victims. They walked on a mine while working and thus their foot was frazzled. Without this Centre one couldn't have helped them.
We looked at everything and were impressed. There is even a paper factory. So that the Centre can survive, some years ago the owner thought about the following: How can the elephants themselves contribute to support the centre? They could produce paper. Of course, not the elephants. But from their dung. It took the owner six years to find out the procedure of how to produce paper. He founded a small paper factory in which today one can buy lovely postcards, envelopes and even telephone registers. If it continues to go well, the articles should be exported world-wide. Impressing, isn't it?
In the paper factory we met a British girl. She works her and explained the paper production to us. She also told us that she was travelling with her boy-friend before she got here. After a one month training course with elephants they had been asked to work as volunteers. Well, they live and work there for 2 years now. This was really interesting. A training course with elephants - she has to tell us some more details. One will be taught to be a mahout and one learns everything about the elephants. Fantastic. And one can still do this today? Of course. You probably know already what we had to do? Right! We booked a 20 days course, starting 15 February. That's so exciting. At the beginning we also thought that it is quite expensive. But it's a life-time experience and in addition to that the money is for a good thing.
As we will see the rest of the Centre during the 20 day course we could now leave for Chiang Mai. We took our backpacks and jumped on the next bus.
In Chiang Mai we went to the Banana Guesthouse which had been recommended by Al. We had only just arrived when we were asked whether we would like to join for a three day trekking tour. It really sounded good but we first have to check our visa situation. Now, we'll stay 20 more days than we had expected to.
It gradually got darker and thus we strolled around. Went to the night bazar, a street with uncountable shops and stalls where you can bargain to the top of your bent.
We took a bus direction Chiang Mai and got off at the Elephant Conservation Centre. We could leave our backpacks with the controller. We had expected a shuttle to take us the last 2 km to the camp. That's what was said in the Lonely Planet. But when we asked the controller he only laughed. What was so funny? Thus, we started walking. However, we hadn't walked a hundred meter when the gardener came with a jeep and took us to the Centre. Aren't we lucky?
The Elephant Conservation Centre was established to conserve and protect Thai elephants and to distribute knowledge to interested people. In 1969, the Young Elephant Training Center was founded to teach elephants how to log. In 1992, the school was moved to Lampang. Today, the Centre is a hospital, school for elephant doctors and a learning centre for locals and tourists. Now, that the demand for working elephants has declined, many elephants are no longer needed and are often left uncared for or even forced to work in crual and unnatural conditions. This of course led to bad injuries. Some of these animals are now taken care of in the hospital of the centre. Two of these injured elephants are mine victims. They walked on a mine while working and thus their foot was frazzled. Without this Centre one couldn't have helped them.
We looked at everything and were impressed. There is even a paper factory. So that the Centre can survive, some years ago the owner thought about the following: How can the elephants themselves contribute to support the centre? They could produce paper. Of course, not the elephants. But from their dung. It took the owner six years to find out the procedure of how to produce paper. He founded a small paper factory in which today one can buy lovely postcards, envelopes and even telephone registers. If it continues to go well, the articles should be exported world-wide. Impressing, isn't it?
In the paper factory we met a British girl. She works her and explained the paper production to us. She also told us that she was travelling with her boy-friend before she got here. After a one month training course with elephants they had been asked to work as volunteers. Well, they live and work there for 2 years now. This was really interesting. A training course with elephants - she has to tell us some more details. One will be taught to be a mahout and one learns everything about the elephants. Fantastic. And one can still do this today? Of course. You probably know already what we had to do? Right! We booked a 20 days course, starting 15 February. That's so exciting. At the beginning we also thought that it is quite expensive. But it's a life-time experience and in addition to that the money is for a good thing.
As we will see the rest of the Centre during the 20 day course we could now leave for Chiang Mai. We took our backpacks and jumped on the next bus.
In Chiang Mai we went to the Banana Guesthouse which had been recommended by Al. We had only just arrived when we were asked whether we would like to join for a three day trekking tour. It really sounded good but we first have to check our visa situation. Now, we'll stay 20 more days than we had expected to.
It gradually got darker and thus we strolled around. Went to the night bazar, a street with uncountable shops and stalls where you can bargain to the top of your bent.
Saturday, February 07, 2004
Kanchanaburi - Chiang Mai
I (Nicole) couldn't sleep anymore and got up at 7.15am. I went for a walk and tried later to download my pictures in an Internet Cafe. Without success.
I met Ramona at 10am for breakfast. We changed our plan and skipped some stuff from our original plan because we wanted to go diving as soon as possible. Only the Elephant Conservation Centre and Chiang Mai to go trekking was still on.
We went to the next travel agent and after a long discussion we decided to take a night train from Bangkok to Lampang. Now we only have to take the bus to Bangkok. But we pissed around, said good-bye to Michael a second time and got on a bus which only left at 4.20pm. We had just missed the one leaving at 3.50pm. But 4.20pm plus an additional two hours bus ride - that's easy to get our train at 7.40pm. But no! Today, the bus took 4 hours and we missed our train.
When we got off in Bangkok, it was raining cats and dogs. We ran underneath a roof and were addressed by a taxi driver. For B250 he would take us to the train station. Gee, that's expensive! Yes, but his company doesn't use meter and it's so much traffic so we'll at least need an hour to get there. OK, we don't have a choice anyway, do we? On our way though we realised straight away that he had lied to us. Traffic? Where are all the cars? It took him 20 minutes to take us to the station. Well, we put on our backpacks and I gave him B100 telling him that he can be happy with that. He looked at me as if I was talking in German. I explained to him that like this he gets more than a third of the agreed amount. And as it only took him a third of the time he had said ... he was speechless and stared at me with his mouth open. Well, he doesn't seem to know tourists like us.
At the station we went to the refund counter. We got tickets for the train at 10pm without any problems. Great. Quickly something to eat and then off we were to Lampang.
I met Ramona at 10am for breakfast. We changed our plan and skipped some stuff from our original plan because we wanted to go diving as soon as possible. Only the Elephant Conservation Centre and Chiang Mai to go trekking was still on.
We went to the next travel agent and after a long discussion we decided to take a night train from Bangkok to Lampang. Now we only have to take the bus to Bangkok. But we pissed around, said good-bye to Michael a second time and got on a bus which only left at 4.20pm. We had just missed the one leaving at 3.50pm. But 4.20pm plus an additional two hours bus ride - that's easy to get our train at 7.40pm. But no! Today, the bus took 4 hours and we missed our train.
When we got off in Bangkok, it was raining cats and dogs. We ran underneath a roof and were addressed by a taxi driver. For B250 he would take us to the train station. Gee, that's expensive! Yes, but his company doesn't use meter and it's so much traffic so we'll at least need an hour to get there. OK, we don't have a choice anyway, do we? On our way though we realised straight away that he had lied to us. Traffic? Where are all the cars? It took him 20 minutes to take us to the station. Well, we put on our backpacks and I gave him B100 telling him that he can be happy with that. He looked at me as if I was talking in German. I explained to him that like this he gets more than a third of the agreed amount. And as it only took him a third of the time he had said ... he was speechless and stared at me with his mouth open. Well, he doesn't seem to know tourists like us.
At the station we went to the refund counter. We got tickets for the train at 10pm without any problems. Great. Quickly something to eat and then off we were to Lampang.
Friday, February 06, 2004
Kanchanaburi
At 8am we started our tour. Lynn, our driver, took us to the Erawan waterfall. There are 7 steps, on each a little pool in which one can swim. The water was blue turquoise because of the high part of lime. We were surrounded by the jungle. A path of about 2km led to the top of the waterfall. To the seventh step. It was magnificent. A school class was here as well and they enjoyed swimming in the cool water.
At about noon we were back at the first step. We still had one hour until we had to be back. We sat down on a bamboo bunk in order to just watch the kids. All of a sudden there was a noise next to us and a little monkey looked at us curiously. Of course, it's lunch time. He probably thought that he could get something from all the tourists. Some kids had just unwrapped their food and the monkey ran towards them, jumped on a tree and was then hanging down from a perch, directly above the children. With its small fingers he longed for the food. But unfortunately its arms were not long enough. Then another monkey showed up. We took pictures like mad. But the monkeys didn't seem to like it because when we got closer to them they hissed at us and showed us their sharp teeth. OK, we got it and went off.
We had lunch in a small Thai Restaurant. Lunch was included in our tour and we could even chose a la carte.
As we still had some time before going to the Tiger Temple we drove to the Crest dam. Wow, there was this water supply dam out of this small creek.
From here we drove to the Tiger Temple Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yanasampanno. Everything has started four years ago. Villagers brought a tiger cub to the monks of the temple as its mother was hunted for making the stuffed tiger and subsequently delivered to the wicked people for commerce. The monks attended to the little cat and more and more tiger cubs have been brought to the Temple. Today, eight big tigers and three cubs live in the Temple. They even have a leopard. All have been brought to the Temple when they were still little and they are used to the monks. Many animals were unable to return to the forest due to the effect of the hunters' poisons on their nerves and/or muscles. Some of them have lost their wild instincts and it is rather difficult for them to recover. Despite the desire to set these tigers free, it's necessary to confine them, partly for the safety of other animals and human beings. Therefore the project "The New Home for Tigers' Project" has been founded. A 'valley-like home' has been created in which these tigers will be able to move more freely. This home will also be used for training newborn tiger cubs to be prompt for returning to the forest permanently.
The three cubs were taken out of the cage so that we could observe them more closely and even caress them. Two of the big ones had been led to the valley where they relaxed in the sun. We also were allowed to touch these. Of course, only one after the other. The other people waited out of harm's way. It was a weird feeling because the tigers were not chained. But as they are used to humans it wasn't a big problem. When they didn't like to be taken pictures of any longer they just got up and laid down in the shade of a rock.
About 5pm we were back in Jolly Frog. We again met Tommy and Michael who in the meantime have arrived in Kanchanaburi.
Wouldn't it be nice to end this day with a nice massage? We went to get a Thai massage. Not only the back is massaged but the whole body. They started with our feet. Of course, we have had a shower befor. This was really nice. The hour went far too quickly. Why not get another hour, it's only Euro2. But too much isn't good either.
We again had dinner in the Snooker restaurant and went online afterwards.
At about noon we were back at the first step. We still had one hour until we had to be back. We sat down on a bamboo bunk in order to just watch the kids. All of a sudden there was a noise next to us and a little monkey looked at us curiously. Of course, it's lunch time. He probably thought that he could get something from all the tourists. Some kids had just unwrapped their food and the monkey ran towards them, jumped on a tree and was then hanging down from a perch, directly above the children. With its small fingers he longed for the food. But unfortunately its arms were not long enough. Then another monkey showed up. We took pictures like mad. But the monkeys didn't seem to like it because when we got closer to them they hissed at us and showed us their sharp teeth. OK, we got it and went off.
We had lunch in a small Thai Restaurant. Lunch was included in our tour and we could even chose a la carte.
As we still had some time before going to the Tiger Temple we drove to the Crest dam. Wow, there was this water supply dam out of this small creek.
From here we drove to the Tiger Temple Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yanasampanno. Everything has started four years ago. Villagers brought a tiger cub to the monks of the temple as its mother was hunted for making the stuffed tiger and subsequently delivered to the wicked people for commerce. The monks attended to the little cat and more and more tiger cubs have been brought to the Temple. Today, eight big tigers and three cubs live in the Temple. They even have a leopard. All have been brought to the Temple when they were still little and they are used to the monks. Many animals were unable to return to the forest due to the effect of the hunters' poisons on their nerves and/or muscles. Some of them have lost their wild instincts and it is rather difficult for them to recover. Despite the desire to set these tigers free, it's necessary to confine them, partly for the safety of other animals and human beings. Therefore the project "The New Home for Tigers' Project" has been founded. A 'valley-like home' has been created in which these tigers will be able to move more freely. This home will also be used for training newborn tiger cubs to be prompt for returning to the forest permanently.
The three cubs were taken out of the cage so that we could observe them more closely and even caress them. Two of the big ones had been led to the valley where they relaxed in the sun. We also were allowed to touch these. Of course, only one after the other. The other people waited out of harm's way. It was a weird feeling because the tigers were not chained. But as they are used to humans it wasn't a big problem. When they didn't like to be taken pictures of any longer they just got up and laid down in the shade of a rock.
About 5pm we were back in Jolly Frog. We again met Tommy and Michael who in the meantime have arrived in Kanchanaburi.
Wouldn't it be nice to end this day with a nice massage? We went to get a Thai massage. Not only the back is massaged but the whole body. They started with our feet. Of course, we have had a shower befor. This was really nice. The hour went far too quickly. Why not get another hour, it's only Euro2. But too much isn't good either.
We again had dinner in the Snooker restaurant and went online afterwards.
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Sangkhlaburi - Kanchanaburi
I (Nicole) was woken up by Tommy at 8am and we enjoyed the morning idyll with the view on the lake. Ramona was still asleep and Michael likes to sleep long anyway. As we only wanted to meet up for lunch anyway we didn't need to rush. Thus, we packed our backpacks at 11am, checked out and went off for Songkaria.
Tommy wanted to take us here as the cook is well known and one can eat fantastic Thai food here. In addition to that, the 'tables' are small bamboo huts in a river. Really quiet and peaceful. Also, there are mostly Thai here and therefore the restaurant is a real secret. The food was in fact really good.
Back in the hostel Ramona and I had to hurry up. A quick good-bye and again we were on the little motorbike back to the bus station. We just made it in time. 2.30pm we left and we arrived in Kanchanaburi at 6pm.
This time we checked in at Jolly Frog, another recommendation of Tommy. We immediately left again in order to book a tour to the Erawan Waterfall and to the Tiger Temple. This was really easy.
We had dinner in the restaurant Snooker, where we stayed for the rest of the evening to watch DVD on a big screen.
Tommy wanted to take us here as the cook is well known and one can eat fantastic Thai food here. In addition to that, the 'tables' are small bamboo huts in a river. Really quiet and peaceful. Also, there are mostly Thai here and therefore the restaurant is a real secret. The food was in fact really good.
Back in the hostel Ramona and I had to hurry up. A quick good-bye and again we were on the little motorbike back to the bus station. We just made it in time. 2.30pm we left and we arrived in Kanchanaburi at 6pm.
This time we checked in at Jolly Frog, another recommendation of Tommy. We immediately left again in order to book a tour to the Erawan Waterfall and to the Tiger Temple. This was really easy.
We had dinner in the restaurant Snooker, where we stayed for the rest of the evening to watch DVD on a big screen.
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Sangkhlaburi
At 9.45am we had breakfast. We also had to change rooms today and took our luggage with us. The cheapest room wasn't ready yet so we just put everything next to reception. After breakfast we wanted to go to the Three Pagoda Pass. We walked to the bus station and the next bus is leaving in 20 minutes. That's good. The ride only took 45 minutes. That was really quick today. We walked down the main road towards the three pagodas. Well, you know, nice pagodas and these pagodas are not two different things. It's just the border to Myanmar. A small market where you can buy teak wood and jewels. But nothing spectacular apart of that.
Now we wanted to see the Sawan Badan Cave about 2km from here. Our hostel owner had even drawn us a map but somehow it didn't match the scenery. A motorbike stopped and offered his help. He took us to the temple where also the cave was. Of course, he wanted money from us. No probs, as this looked much further than 2km we were glad he took us. We would have been on our way for ages - in the heat without water.
The cave wasn't too big but we saw hundreds of bats sleeping on the ceiling. There were also a few strange looking stalagtites. One even looked like a mummy.
Back in Sangkhlaburi we relaxed a bit while having a sandwich in the hotel restaurant. It was unbearably hot. I (Ramona) couldn't cope any longer. I felt funny and got a headache. Is this a sunstroke? I had a shower and laid down for a bit. Nicole went to the market and got her little bag sewed.
In the evening we walked over the longest wooden bridge in Thailand and enjoyed the cool breeze. Later in the restaurant we met Tommy and Michael again and got to know an elderly teacher from Germany who travels around the world during his holidays. He reminded Nicole and me very much of our religion teachers.
Now we wanted to see the Sawan Badan Cave about 2km from here. Our hostel owner had even drawn us a map but somehow it didn't match the scenery. A motorbike stopped and offered his help. He took us to the temple where also the cave was. Of course, he wanted money from us. No probs, as this looked much further than 2km we were glad he took us. We would have been on our way for ages - in the heat without water.
The cave wasn't too big but we saw hundreds of bats sleeping on the ceiling. There were also a few strange looking stalagtites. One even looked like a mummy.
Back in Sangkhlaburi we relaxed a bit while having a sandwich in the hotel restaurant. It was unbearably hot. I (Ramona) couldn't cope any longer. I felt funny and got a headache. Is this a sunstroke? I had a shower and laid down for a bit. Nicole went to the market and got her little bag sewed.
In the evening we walked over the longest wooden bridge in Thailand and enjoyed the cool breeze. Later in the restaurant we met Tommy and Michael again and got to know an elderly teacher from Germany who travels around the world during his holidays. He reminded Nicole and me very much of our religion teachers.
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Kanchanaburi - Sangkhlaburi
Already at 8.40am we sat in the bus to the Hellfire Pass. We wanted to have a look at the railway which was built by the Japanese during WW2. 415km long, through the jungle and mountains from Bampong in Thailand to Thanbyuzayat in Burma.
At 11am we got of at the Hellfire Pass, left our big backpacks at the reception desk and started to explore.
To build the railway the Japanese assembled a multi-national workforce of approximately 250,000 Asian labourers and over 60,000 Australian, British, Dutch and American prisoners of war (POWs). Work on the line began in southern Burma in October 1942 while at the same time construction started in Thailand. On 16 October 1943, the two ends of the Burma-Thailand railway were joined at Konkoita in Thailand.
Little modern equipment was made available for railway work. Earth and rock were broken by shovels, picks and chunkels (hoes), and carried away in baskets or sacks. Embankments of stone and earth were heaped up by human endeavour. Cuttings were driven through rock by hand; metal taps and sledgehammers being used to drill holes for explosives. Most of the bridges along the railway were timber trestle bridges made from timber cut in the surrounding jungle.
From April 1943, the work pace increased greatly as the Japanese strove to meet a proposed August deadline for completion. This was the notorious 'Speedo' period. POWs and Asian labourers worked punishing hours well into the night. At Konyu Cutting the flickering bonfire light on the emaciated workers gave the place its name - Hellfire Pass. The 'Speedo', coinciding with the wet season and outbreaks of cholera, claimed thousands of lives.
Of the 60,000 Allied POWs who worked on the railway, 12,399 (20%) died. Between 70,000 and 90,000 civilian labourers are also believed to have died. The reasons for this appalling death toll were lack of proper food, totally inadequate medical facilities and, at times, the brutal treatment from guards and railway supervisors.
Rice, with a little dried vegetable and dried fish, was the POW's basic food. Starvation led to a range of diseases. Weakened POWs living in appalling conditions commonly fell ill to malaria, dysentery, cholera and tropical ulcers.
Between December 1943 and August 1945 some 220,000 tons of military supplies were carried over the railway. Today, 130 kilometers of the line remains in use, from Non Pladuk to Namtok.
We walked part of the railway (about 8km). It was very hot and we were the only humans there. The landscape was magnificent but the image of people working in this heat - that's just insane!
When we got back we just were in time for the last bus to Sangkhlaburi. Isn't this perfect time management? The road from here to Sangkhlaburi and above all the last 25km is said to be the most beautiful road in Thailand. Serpentines, a steady up- and downhill, forest or lake around us. Really nice!
We stayed overnight in a hostel which is led by Armin, an Austrian, for more than 11 years. Here, we also met the two Germans Michael and Tommy with whom we spent the evening.
At 11am we got of at the Hellfire Pass, left our big backpacks at the reception desk and started to explore.
To build the railway the Japanese assembled a multi-national workforce of approximately 250,000 Asian labourers and over 60,000 Australian, British, Dutch and American prisoners of war (POWs). Work on the line began in southern Burma in October 1942 while at the same time construction started in Thailand. On 16 October 1943, the two ends of the Burma-Thailand railway were joined at Konkoita in Thailand.
Little modern equipment was made available for railway work. Earth and rock were broken by shovels, picks and chunkels (hoes), and carried away in baskets or sacks. Embankments of stone and earth were heaped up by human endeavour. Cuttings were driven through rock by hand; metal taps and sledgehammers being used to drill holes for explosives. Most of the bridges along the railway were timber trestle bridges made from timber cut in the surrounding jungle.
From April 1943, the work pace increased greatly as the Japanese strove to meet a proposed August deadline for completion. This was the notorious 'Speedo' period. POWs and Asian labourers worked punishing hours well into the night. At Konyu Cutting the flickering bonfire light on the emaciated workers gave the place its name - Hellfire Pass. The 'Speedo', coinciding with the wet season and outbreaks of cholera, claimed thousands of lives.
Of the 60,000 Allied POWs who worked on the railway, 12,399 (20%) died. Between 70,000 and 90,000 civilian labourers are also believed to have died. The reasons for this appalling death toll were lack of proper food, totally inadequate medical facilities and, at times, the brutal treatment from guards and railway supervisors.
Rice, with a little dried vegetable and dried fish, was the POW's basic food. Starvation led to a range of diseases. Weakened POWs living in appalling conditions commonly fell ill to malaria, dysentery, cholera and tropical ulcers.
Between December 1943 and August 1945 some 220,000 tons of military supplies were carried over the railway. Today, 130 kilometers of the line remains in use, from Non Pladuk to Namtok.
We walked part of the railway (about 8km). It was very hot and we were the only humans there. The landscape was magnificent but the image of people working in this heat - that's just insane!
When we got back we just were in time for the last bus to Sangkhlaburi. Isn't this perfect time management? The road from here to Sangkhlaburi and above all the last 25km is said to be the most beautiful road in Thailand. Serpentines, a steady up- and downhill, forest or lake around us. Really nice!
We stayed overnight in a hostel which is led by Armin, an Austrian, for more than 11 years. Here, we also met the two Germans Michael and Tommy with whom we spent the evening.
Monday, February 02, 2004
Bangkok - Kanchanaburi
We left Bangkok at 11am. Al took us to the bus station. He will stay a bit longer and then head for Laos. Nicole and I took the bus to Kanchanaburi. The ride took about 2 hours.
We arrived at 4pm and went straight to the TAT Office (Touristeninformation) in order to inform us about what to see and where to go and to get a map of the town. A few hundred meters further we checked in at Thai Seree Hotel. But it wasn't that easy to find. We were told in the TAT Office that it's only about 800m. But after one km or even more we still hadn't seen a sign. We asked again and apparently we had already passed it. That was true. No wonder though, all the signs are in Thai.
We left our luggage in the room and did some sight seeing. First to the JEATH War Museum. It's in a newly built bamboo hut which looks exactly as the ones in which the prisoners had to stay at that time. Amongst weapons and other tools we saw pictures and reports about the building of the railway from Thailand to Burma (today Myanmar) and of the Kwai bridge. The Japanese wanted to build this 415km long railway in the Second World War in order to have a faster transportation way to Myanmar. They assembled 60,000 prisoners of war (POWs) from Holland, England, Australia, America and Thailand who were supposed to work day and night, under the worst hygienic and sanitary conditions. In addition to that 200,000 workers from India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma and Thailand. Japanese engineers calculated that such a project would at least take five years. But the Japanese military forced the POWs to complete the railway in only 16 months. The price for that was high - almost half of the people died. That's where the name of the railway comes from: "Death Railway". In the end, the railway was only used for 21 months. Everything was quite moving and shocking.
When we got out of the museum we were asked by a boatsman whether we'd like to go to the Kwai Bridge. He would take us there. Oh that sounds nice, a cosy ride on the Kwai river. We took our seats and our cameras in order to take pictures of all the river houses. But all of a sudden we were pressed into our seats. It was a speed boat. We almost flew over the water. No chance to take any pictures. It only took 6 minutes for the 5 km.
The Kwai bridge has a single-track and is of iron. The first bridge though was of wood. But it collapsed a few times so that it got replaced by the iron bridge. On the bridge there were hundreds of tourists. Just like ants. And we were just in the middle of them. We walked over to the other side where we found one souvenir shop next to the other. In the middle of the whole was an elephant with her baby. It was so nice to watch them. Especially when it started to rain and the little one freaked out completely.
We walked back in the direction of our hotel and went through the touristy road. We were addressed by an English person who informed us about a newly opened restaurant. Well, we were easily persuaded as we were quite hungry. And when it comes to pizza we are already attracted anyway. The restaurant was part of a resort, very quiet next to a lake. Transportation to the restaurant and back was for free. Food was good as well.
We arrived at 4pm and went straight to the TAT Office (Touristeninformation) in order to inform us about what to see and where to go and to get a map of the town. A few hundred meters further we checked in at Thai Seree Hotel. But it wasn't that easy to find. We were told in the TAT Office that it's only about 800m. But after one km or even more we still hadn't seen a sign. We asked again and apparently we had already passed it. That was true. No wonder though, all the signs are in Thai.
We left our luggage in the room and did some sight seeing. First to the JEATH War Museum. It's in a newly built bamboo hut which looks exactly as the ones in which the prisoners had to stay at that time. Amongst weapons and other tools we saw pictures and reports about the building of the railway from Thailand to Burma (today Myanmar) and of the Kwai bridge. The Japanese wanted to build this 415km long railway in the Second World War in order to have a faster transportation way to Myanmar. They assembled 60,000 prisoners of war (POWs) from Holland, England, Australia, America and Thailand who were supposed to work day and night, under the worst hygienic and sanitary conditions. In addition to that 200,000 workers from India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma and Thailand. Japanese engineers calculated that such a project would at least take five years. But the Japanese military forced the POWs to complete the railway in only 16 months. The price for that was high - almost half of the people died. That's where the name of the railway comes from: "Death Railway". In the end, the railway was only used for 21 months. Everything was quite moving and shocking.
When we got out of the museum we were asked by a boatsman whether we'd like to go to the Kwai Bridge. He would take us there. Oh that sounds nice, a cosy ride on the Kwai river. We took our seats and our cameras in order to take pictures of all the river houses. But all of a sudden we were pressed into our seats. It was a speed boat. We almost flew over the water. No chance to take any pictures. It only took 6 minutes for the 5 km.
The Kwai bridge has a single-track and is of iron. The first bridge though was of wood. But it collapsed a few times so that it got replaced by the iron bridge. On the bridge there were hundreds of tourists. Just like ants. And we were just in the middle of them. We walked over to the other side where we found one souvenir shop next to the other. In the middle of the whole was an elephant with her baby. It was so nice to watch them. Especially when it started to rain and the little one freaked out completely.
We walked back in the direction of our hotel and went through the touristy road. We were addressed by an English person who informed us about a newly opened restaurant. Well, we were easily persuaded as we were quite hungry. And when it comes to pizza we are already attracted anyway. The restaurant was part of a resort, very quiet next to a lake. Transportation to the restaurant and back was for free. Food was good as well.
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Bangkok
As I (Nicole) hadn't been to the snake farm yet, I wanted to do it today. It was our last day today in Bangkok. Al wanted to join me for the snake farm. But before that we went to the Lumphini Park, the biggest and most popular park in Bangkok. The best time to stroll around here is at 7am. Yes, really, that early in the morning. Even on a Sunday!
Al and I only got there a bit after 7am. And still we saw a great picture. Hundreds of people did different kinds of sports: Tai Chi, dance, jogging, martial arts, ... just like in China. I was really surprised. In addition to that most of the groups wore the same T-Shirts so it all looked very colourful.
We also hired a rowing boat and rowed for half an hour on the small lake until we had to leave for the snakes.
This really was an experience. To touch a snake. And even have a python around your neck. A great feeling when it moves.
After that adventure we were a bit more relaxed and went shopping.
In the evening we had a great good-bye dinner. I tried guinea fowl which was just very delicious!
Al and I only got there a bit after 7am. And still we saw a great picture. Hundreds of people did different kinds of sports: Tai Chi, dance, jogging, martial arts, ... just like in China. I was really surprised. In addition to that most of the groups wore the same T-Shirts so it all looked very colourful.
We also hired a rowing boat and rowed for half an hour on the small lake until we had to leave for the snakes.
This really was an experience. To touch a snake. And even have a python around your neck. A great feeling when it moves.
After that adventure we were a bit more relaxed and went shopping.
In the evening we had a great good-bye dinner. I tried guinea fowl which was just very delicious!
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