Our Arrival in Khemmarat

Finally, on Monday, November 5, we got up early to meet Mr. Phong for a taxi ride to Chiang Mai Airport and a 7:20 flight to Ubon Ratchathani.  We had three big suitcases (hey, we're in Thailand for a year) plus carry-on and, although we had sent a box of books ahead and we had paid extra for the maximum checked baggage allowance, we were still 12 kilos overweight.  Mary had brought a good-size cloth bag so we set to work moving stuff out of one suitcase into the cloth bag, which we carried on.  Finally we were permitted to check in.  The flight arrived early and the bags came through with no problem.  Lauthong was waiting with a big van to drive us to Khemmarat.  We got to Khemmarat around 10:30 and drove to the apartment building that our teacher-coordinator Wachinee had arranged for us.  Wachinee left school to meet us to help us through the logistics of renting an apartment.  These are some of the pictures that Wachinee had sent us in advance.

 

Mary had studied the pictures and decided that we were likely to need two of these efficiency apartments if we were going to have a place to sleep and a place to work.  So we asked about that and they did have a second apartment available two doors from the one they were offering -- both on the second floor.  The rent was very reasonable (about $100/month), so we rented both and asked them to take the bed out of the second unit.  We went to lunch in "downtown" Khemmarat with Wachinee and then wandered around town.  We found a furniture warehouse with a dining room table and 6 chairs so we bought that and asked them to deliver it to the second apartment.  We also found some other stores where we could get supplies and food, and the market where we bought apples and bananas.  We spent the next day cleaning and buying the basics for living here.  Here is Mary showing off dishes and silverware in the"bedroom" apartment that first afternoon and some external views:

 



The picture below is the view from the balcony in front of our apartments.  The pavilion-like building in the field is a restaurant.  The cook there (the only employee as far as we have been able to determine) is a very nice guy.  We go there often and discuss what he has available and he'll  put together a meal we're sure to like.


On our first full day, we did a bit of exploring.  Near the Mekong River and close to downtown, we discovered a temple and a very impressive statue of the Buddha.

 

 

Then we walked to the river.  It reminds us of the Mississippi, along which Mary grew up in Iowa.  It's wide and muddy and appears to be swift-flowing.  We watched folks crossing from Laos on the other side of the river, to Thailand, apparently to buy food and supplies. 

 

 

There are some peaceful views from our apartment building:

 

Across the street is a rice field and this is rice-harvest time.

 

 

We have TV here but all the channels are in Thai and we think it will be quite awhile before we will be able understand them, so we asked to have the TVs removed to free up the space.  We also have WiFi although it is not totally reliable.  It was working on Election Night (actually, we are 12 hours ahead of EST here in Thailand, so polls started closing in the US at 7 am Thai time on Wednesday).  We didn't go to school that day and George was able to watch the election returns straight through without falling asleep -- a first!

 

The weather is warm (or hot) most of the year in Thailand, especially in the northeast section called Isaan, where we are.  Most homes and buildings are pretty integrated with the out-of-doors.  Many residents in this apartment building keep their doors open during the day and have a fan going to keep them fairly cool.  Here is a picture George took this morning from our "office" apartment of the dining room table we bought and the beautiful view outside.

 

 

All in all, life is good in Khemmarat, especially over the past few days since "winter" weather (temps topping out in the 80s to mid-90s) seems to be arriving.



Elephant Nature Park -- A Magical Place

On Saturday, November 3, we went to the Elephant Nature Park, which is about an hour and a half north of Chiang Mai on the Maetang River.  The Park was founded by Sangduen “Lek” Chailert, who has been honored with many awards, such as “Hero of the Planet” by National Geographic and “Asia’s Heroes” by Time Magazine for her selfless and courageous rescue, education, community building and reforestation efforts in Thailand. She and her team rescue Asian elephants, (water) buffalo, and dogs, and liberate them in the Park.  They call it "elephant heaven," and that seemed so apt.  There were 33 elephants at the Park the day we were there, including 4 males, one of whom was only a week old.

We were picked up at Vdara and driven to the Park in a van.  On the way, we were shown a video about the Park and its work.  Our first stop at the Park was the "elephant kitchen," which was filled that day with pumpkins and small watermelons.

Then we were led down to the river to feed some elephants.

We gradually got more comfortable

and came to appreciate what magnificent creatures elephants are.

Mary observed that one has a sense of being on the Serengeti with elephants and water buffalo roaming over a vast landscape with a backdrop of mountains.  

George couldn't resist snapping pictures every time some elephants wandered by and is having a very difficult time now deciding which few of so many to post here.

We learned a lot about elephant behavior at the Park, including that, when they sense danger, they crowd together and surround the youngest to protect them.  As we were looking out over the Park, we heard an elephant trumpet and saw a group collect around Hope, a 4-year-old male.  Ironically, we kept being warned to be careful around Hope, that he was a "naughty boy" and would (playfully) pull spectators off the elevated areas where guests stand.  Now he was being protected.

 

The episode ended with no harm to anyone and then it was time for the elephants to eat again.  They headed to where we spectators were standing ready to feed them.

In some ways, the Park is the opposite of a zoo -- the people are constrained in where they can go (we were told to stay behind the red line -- and further back than that when Hope was around), while the animals roam free.

The elephants were rescued from such work as logging and begging on city streets, but they still help out:



Mary did a lot of elephant feeding.

While we waited for our turn at the river, we watched a video about elephant abuse, which continues to this day.  It was sad to watch, but the mood was lightened when one of the rescued dogs that was hanging around the room where we were watching the video saw a dog on the video and tried to play with it.  He kept trying each time the dog appeared and George finally got a shot of it.

Then it was our turn to bathe the elephants in the river.



Mary wrote in her journal, "At several points, the elephant made eye-to-eye contact with me and I felt that I was communing with her on a very deep emotional level."  

We learned that, when they finish bathing, elephants roll in the mud since it helps them stay cool and protects their skin from the sun.

We saw an elephant scratching an itch on a convenient post -- and we saw a baby buffalo.

Almost time to head back, but time for one last feeding.

On the way out, we stopped by the area where the 1-week-old baby elephant, his mother, and his mahout are housed.  A mahout has traditionally meant someone who trains and rides an elephant, usually for life.  Many mahouts are involved in elephant abuse, but not those at the Park -- they are the elephants' companions and caretakers.

Sign posted the week before we went to the Park.  The gestation period for elephants is 22 months!

While we were there, Navann was rough-housing with his mahout.  Sri Prae was keeping a close eye and, when Navann fell during the playing, Mom came over to get a better look and decided everything was OK. 

We realized that Lek, the Park's founder, was there phtographing the new baby just like us.

Then the baby decided he was hungry.





Now it was time to go, so we walked past some of the rescued dogs -- not a bad life!

 

And George had to post one last photo of an elephant. 

The Elephant Nature Park is a very special place!  As we drove back to Chiang Mai, we noticed how beautiful the location is -- a tropical rain forest in steep mountainous terrain.  We're pretty far away from the Park now, but we hope we can get back there before we leave Thailand.