Elephant foreheads are squishy!

We have gone on our first tour here it Thailand. It was supposed to include a hike through the forest to a hilltribe village, a swim under a waterfall, a ride on an elephant and rafting down a river. I say 'supposed to' because the area where the tour takes place received an unusually heavy rainfall over the last few days (even for monsoon season). During our hour long drive beside a river, our guide pointed out several spots where there had been houses the previous day, washed away by the high river. We saw backhoes working to move earth from mudslides away from the road and red cross bundles of food, drinking water and medicine ready for distribution.

Our first stop was an uphill hike, our guide seemed very fit and easily ascended in the humid heat. He actually said it was nice to have a cool day like this one. I laughed until I realized that he was serious, even though there was perspiration leaking from my every pore. The village we ended at was home to over one hundred people of Burmese descent who live simply and survive by working the land. Year ago, they planted and harvested opium poppies, but now plant crops such as rice, corn and fruit to sell. The rice flowers were blooming while we were there and the scent was subtle but fragrant. The people seemed unbothered by all the tourists visiting them, although they did have a number of textiles available for purchase...

The next stop was lunch consisting of soup, rice, an omlette, two stir-fry dishes and fruit to finish. This was also when we learned that our bamboo rafts had been washed away during the night and we wouldn't be going down the river that day. I have to admit I was a bit relieved because the river did look a bit daunting. The swim at the falls turned into a visit because of the increased water, and considering swimming there would have been like considering a quick dip at Niagra falls. (Well, maybe not quite, but we were all soaked just from the spray from the falling water.)

Our highlight of the day came next with the visit to the elephants. Steve and I rode high on our elephant while the trainer sat on the animal's head to lead him. It was much higher than I expected, and after my tumble from a horse earlier this year, it made me a little nervous to be sitting up there. The best part was when we got off and were able to give our elephant a bunch of bananas. Their trunks are so amazing how they can manouver to search, grab and move food to their mouths so easily despite being so large!