My favorite part of the trek was the elephant ride.  The elephants we rode on seemed very well treated and fed… but it’s always hard to tell.  Elephants are no longer really being used in day-to-day manual labor like they were before.  As keeping an elephant is very expensive, the best hope for these amazing creatures in Thailand is (responsible) tourism. Some pictures… Feeding “Mae” some sugar cane: Headshot:

Rough trek schedule: Day 1 (Jan 2nd) Get picked up in covered truck and head up to mountains. Walk through Mao & Karen villages. Hike to waterfall. Hike through jungle & fields to Karen village. Stay the night in Karen village. Day 2 (Jan 3rd) Hike to another Karen village. Hike to another waterfall. Go on elephant ride. Trip on bamboo raft. Karen villages are one of several northern Thai hill tribes.  They also happen to share my name 🙂

Got up at 6:30am this morning… gotta love jetlag.  But it did make for a beautiful stroll the city.  Morning light, fresh fruit and banana pancakes at the market. About to head out on a 2 day trek through the jungles & hill villages.  Bamboo rafts & elephant rides included.  🙂

Last night was probably the best time to be in Bangkok…  Khaoson was quite The Scene.  A sample:       Things were much calmer the next morning. Evidence that Khaoson is aimed at Westerners?  Check out the starbucks sign.  (No, I didn’t get coffee.  And yes, this picture is sideways.)     In Chiang Mai now after a short flight…