Phuket, Thailand - Part 2

Elephants

Why would you not want to ride one when in Southeast Asia?  I just can't imagine!  Our first evening in Thailand, Sarah and I booked a great little 4-in-1 Elephant Trekking Tour with the hotel concierge.  Just like the fish spa in Malaysia, riding an elephant was the one thing I just had to do in Thailand. 

So we did.

The first thing I noticed on the tour was how green everything was!  Staying on the beach has its perks with the water and all, but it lacked the same intensity of foliage that we saw in Kuala Lumpur.  Going a little further inland in Thailand, we found it!

First stop on the tour, riding an Asian Elephant through the mountain jungle.  Quiet, peaceful, and oh so bumpy! Note: I was actually trying to hold the camera still

We rode through the jungle and up to some beautiful overlooks.  We could even see the famous Big Buddah.  Thank goodness for awesome zoom on my camera!



We have some awesome looking hair, right? Haha



The most gorgeous overlook!

Big Buddah's head

Big Buddah on top of the mountain.  Do you realize how big it is?

Me with the elephant we rode and the elephant trainer

The second stop of the tour was a baby elephant show.  They did some fun things like paint, play harmonicas, kick soccer balls, and I even got to feed them (unfortunately no pics from that because I was obviously busy feeding...)

Third stop was a rubber demonstration.  Rubber trees grow mostly in Southeast Asia, so companies, like Latex, produce most of their rubber here.  They showed us how they cut the trees and collect the rubber, much like sap.  Then they soak it and press it and stretch it.  Then it is sent to the factory for further processing.

The last stop was a food demonstration.  

We saw many different things.  Coconuts and their many uses: coconut water, shredded coconut, coconut milk, and coconut oil. 

Rice: fields, plowing with water buffaloes (which included a ride), and separating the rice

Curry: how they make it, the ingredients, and a delicious taste of the fresh curry

Our tour guide topped it off with Thai coconut pancakes.  These were delicious!  I've already tried to replicate them back at home.  I'm not sure if it was the recipe, the elevation, or simply the cook, but it'll take a while to really master them.  They were just so good. I still crave them!

Well that concludes Thailand!  There are many more stories, but too much to post to the blog.  Just ask me about it sometime.

xoxo

Rachel