Elephants & A Palace

I stayed in Bangkok for a few days after the tour to sightsee and relax. But I had signed up for an elephant ride in Khao Yai, another national park but north of the city. We spent the day looking at sights on the way there like a local market, waterfall, and a really unnecessary ox cart ride.

Haew Narok waterfall.

Our elephant, Pampom, was the smallest of the bunch. We got to ride on her head and “steer” her by pushing one’s feet behind her ears. The elephant in front of us kept stopping to get snacks of leaves during the trek, but ours was pretty well behaved. It was a pretty awesome experience.

Tromping through the water.

This guy was so hungry the whole trip.

My turn on the elephant.

Another highlight was the Grand Palace, where the King used to hang out. A temple is still there that does (I think) daily services. Upon arriving, we almost got duped by a local trying to convince tourists the palace was closed for a special ceremony and that we should take a tour of the Lucky Buddha elsewhere. Finally I confirmed it was a sham when he suggested I take this cheap tuktuk ride to get there. Having a tour guide for most of China and Thailand spoiled me, but I also think scams like that don’t happen in Korea or Japan.

In any case the palace was magnificent and gaudy at the same time. They had some cool statues and paintings. We walked to the nearby Reclining Buddha, a gigantic indoor statue with a Mother-of-Pearl inlay on his huge feet. At the end of the day we took a water ferry back to the hotel which was cheaper and faster than a taxi ride.

At the entrance.

Some friendly demons.

Shiny gold thing were everywhere.

Birdmen?

The Reclining Buddha.

Check out those feet!

Thailand was the most tourist-centric country I visited, but the countryside was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the gifts were cheap (even if you did have to haggle them down to a reasonable price).