Thailand 2009: Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai

By Mithun Divakaran
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Jan 01, 2010
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Chiang Mai, Thailand, Travel

Date: Dec 15th, 2009

After I checked in, I really didn’t have much time to sleep as it was already past 6am and my tour van would pick me up by 8am. So I went downstairs for breakfast with my laptop in tow.

The lobby of Rux Thai Guesthouse, where they have a restaurant

The breakfast isn’t included in the room fare but my pancakes with ant-tipped honey and coffee cost me 100 baht (Rs. 130, including tip). The van picked me up at 8am and went around collecting all the other tourists from nearby hotels.

I’m not usually the ‘package tour’ kinda guy because the ‘sights’ sometimes offered really don’t interest me and they often include places where you are expected to spend money (souvenir shops, handicraft shops, casinos etc.). But whatever, our first stop was the Maesa Elephant Camp, 20kms from Chiang Mai city.

You can read about the place on their website but we were there for a slew of activities, first of which was the elephant show. Basically, the elephants perform a variety show for us. From greeting us, kicking around footballs, lugging around wood, to painting (which you can buy) and other things that are intended to entice a chuckle from the audience. Amusing, if you are a kid — or one whose easily amused.

I know, I know — they’re elephants and it’s not easy to train any animal to do things like that but you can get a drift how the show is by the several videos visitors have put up on YouTube.

When I started shooting, the autofocus just froze on the camera (“Oh crap” moment #3). This put me off-mood immediately. Mostly because I had my friend, Jyothy Karat‘s 70-200 f2.8 lens mounted on and I thought it was the lens’ fault. It was upsetting because me and Jyothy’s lenses are like a bad omen. I’ve always had bad luck with them. Anyway, I switched off the camera and after a while, it was fine. I did manage to take a few photos of the show but I accidentally deleted them upon return. The only photo I have is this:

An elephant at the Maesa elephant camp — Seriously, this is all I have from the show

So instead, you can check out photos from the camp other people took!

By 11am, it was over and we moved on to our next activity — an ox cart ride! Yup, an Indian flew to a different country to take an ox ride! Needless to say, the back-breaking ride was a complete waste of time for me. Even the woman from Montreal who sat next to me found it terribly annoying.

Ox cart ride at Maesa Elephant Camp — It was hot, sunny and very bumpy

Some paddy field near Maesa elephant camp — The ride lasted nearly 10 minutes near some village

When we finally got off the ride, it was at some village where stalls were set up with items on sale by the villagers there. I walked with the lady from Montreal, Christine her name was, through the stall as we waited for our next activity.

Which was another ride but fortunately, this was on elephant. Me & Christine got into ours and felt this was way better. Weirdly, as we talked more, me and Christine shared common interests. She, like me, was travelling alone, has her own blog (it’s in French) and is recording a lot of footage from her travels to put up online one day.

The fairly long elephant ride was actually enjoyable. Especially when it went into the river. I’ll post the HD video of it later.

Elephant ride at the Maesa Elephant Camp — The ride takes you all round the camp and follows a nice path

By 12:30pm we were back to where we started the ox ride. I insisted on tipping the mahout since Christine paid for the bamboo shoots the elephant was fed (you’ll see it in the upcoming video).

We then had lunch at the camp restaurant. It was a buffet lunch consisting of food that tasted more like the Indo-Chinese food you get here. Mediocre except for the fried chicken.

Taiwanese girl, Maesa elephant camp — An adorable Taiwanese girl who was part of our tour group

After the mediocre lunch, next up on the itinerary was bamboo rafting on the river surrounding the camp.

Bamboo rafting at Maesa elephant camp — Yes, we were all given traditional farmer hats and no, we couldn’t keep them

It started off well… until we got stuck near some shallow rocks.

Our bamboo raft stuck — Our bamboo raft got stuck …

Bamboo rafting at Maesa — … but nothing that a bump from another raft couldn’t fix…

Bamboo raft stuck at Maesa elephant camp — … and we were soon back on our way

The ride was smooth and quite relaxing…

The views when taking the bamboo raft in Maesa elephant camp — The view from the bamboo raft

… but after half-an-hour or so, it got quite boring and with the hot sun, me & Christine were kinda itching for it to get over so we could get back to our air-conditioned van.

(I have HD videos of the rafting and I will put them up later… once I figure out how to edit video properly)

We eventually did get back to our van. Next stop, a village inhabited by the people of the Kayan tribe (Wikipedia link). The ‘long-neck’ tribe gained mainstream attention after National Geographic did a documentary on them (or at least, that’s how I got to know of their existence). Originally from Myanmar, fearing the military conflicts in Burma, a lot of Kayans fled to neighbouring Thailand where many of them sought refuge — as tourist attractions.

A Karen girl with her child in Chiang Mai outskirts — A Kayan girl with her child

Karen girl handicraft, Chiang Mai — Most of them make a living off of handicrafts

Young Karen girl selling handicrafts — But you tend to wonder if they were actually happy being there

Again, just like the Tiger Temple at Kanchanburi, the settlement of the Kayan tribe in North Thailand by the Thai government has also drawn controversy. Accusations have been made against these ‘human zoos’ because the ‘village’ actually looked like a bunch of huts/stalls manned by a young girl selling all sorts of souvenirs. Some items made by them, others surely mass-produced. There was even an entrance fee (which I didn’t have to pay).

Kayan village, Chiang Mai — Christine pumped a few hundred Thai baht into the village economy out of sympathy

Freedom aside, I just hope the income the ‘long-neck’ people earn from tourists really do end up in their pockets and not in the hands of the Thai tourism department.

After I took a few videos (which by now, you know you won’t see for a while) we left the ‘village’. I thought the tour was over as I really wanted to get back to Chiang Mai city — but there was one more stop.

At some orchid farm. Not really interested in knowing much about the place while the talk was being given by our guide, I simple walked around and played with the 50mm lens.

A goldfish in Chiang Mai Orchid farm — They had a small aquarium at the farm

Orange flower at Mae Sa Orchid farm, Chiang Mai — I love how these slightly out-of-focus shots turned out

Mae Sa orchid farm flowers — Left: f2, 1/250, ISO100; Right: f2.8, 1/400, ISO100 — both taken using 50mm

Mae Sa Orchid Farm, Chiang Mai — Taken exactly at 4:00pm (I checked the camera info)

Orchid farm, Chiang Mai — Yes, her again

Dog in a sweater at Orchid farm, Chiang Mai — I don’t know why this dog was given a sweater in Chiang Mai’s heat

After this, we were finally done. The tour van dropped us back at our respective hotels and Christine and I exchanged business cards so we’d keep in touch with each others escapades.

Other posts in this series:

Getting ready for my trip

The day I left for Thailand

Day 1 – Suvarnabhumi, Pantip Plaza, Fotofile & MBK

Day 2 – Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua) in Kanchanaburi

Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai

Day 3 (Part 2) – Chiang Mai Night Market

Day 4 – Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai… and back in town

Day 5 – Leaving Chiang Mai for Phuket

Day 5 (Part 2) – One night in Phuket

Day 6 – Leaving Phuket for Ao Nang by bus (via Phang Nga)

Day 7 – Touring Koh Phi Phi (Maya Bay, Monkey Island & Bamboo Island)

Day 7 (Part 2) – Exploring Railay, Krabi

Day 8 – Flying from Phuket to Bangkok

Day 8 (Part 2) – Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

Day 9 – MBK, Siam Paragon… and ‘little Arabia’?

Day 10 – Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and finally leaving Thailand

Figures, lessons learned, and things I couldn’t do

The bus I took to Chiang Mai from Mo Chit, Bangkok

Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Date: Dec 14th, 2009

The bus ride from Kanchanaburi back to Bangkok took much longer because of evening traffic. Also, this bus wasn’t going to the Southern Bus terminal. Instead, it was headed for the Eastern Bus Terminal, also known as Ekamai. Once I got there by around 5pm, I was approached by many bike taxis (mostly mopeds) asking me where I wanted to go. The buses that go to Chiang Mai leave from Mo Chit Bus Terminal, the Northern Bus Terminal. I turned down the bike taxis because the rates they were charging were close to what the taxis were charging. Also, with luggage, it wasn’t the safest option in Bangkok city.

Instead, I took a van taxi. Basically mini-buses that leave once full of passengers. A bit of a time waster if you are among the first ones in but at 35 baht, an economical choice. Once we left, it took an hour to get to Mo Chit. Bangkok traffic is pretty bad — but I’ll write about that in detail later.

Once I got to Mo Chit, I asked around as to where the buses to Chiang Mai were. I was directed to the platform where several private buses were stationed and I got a ticket for a double-decker A/C bus with a toilet. It cost 605 baht (Rs. 846) and the distance to cover was approximately 750kms. The bus was… nice!

Now I’ve travelled by private long-distance buses in (South) India a lot. I often take the bus when going home to Kerala. I don’t know of any bus service that offers this level of service for around Rs. 800, that too for distance of over 700kms. But that was not all.

They have bus attendants too, all dressed up in their uniforms akin to what you see in airliners. Each seat has a pillow and a blanket and when the bus left Mo Chit, the attendant gave the usual talk (using the on-board microphone) about how long the journey would take, about the service one can expect, etc. She spoke only in Thai but I got the gist of it. Either that or she was making fun of the only Indian on board and I didn’t get it. Soon after, she started serving us food.

Left: The bus 'stewardess' Right: The welcome snacks — Left: The bus ‘stewardess’ Right: The food

I wasn’t expecting dinner as part of the ticket fare. She handed us a box consisting of a deep-fried chicken leg, a sausage roll (not sure what meat but who cares, I eat it all) and a cupcake. Plus juice/cola/water. After that, she gave biscuits and other sweets. Since I was famished, I gobbled it all.

Feeling quite full, I thought to myself how good value this seemed compared to what I was used to back in India. In-flight bus entertainment was mostly Thai karaoke music videos followed by a high-octane Thai action movie — with sporadic audio. But who cares, I fell asleep.

I woke up at around 11pm when the bus had stopped… somewhere. We had, apparently stopped for what was actually dinner at some restaurant. The ticket includes a token which you hand over at the counter and it’s essentially a simple buffet of rice gruel, some steamed vegetables and boiled egg. The egg yolk was bright orange in colour and tasted very sour. I didn’t have much of the rice gruel either, I was already full. My only concern was that I had run out of credit on my mobile phone and because of that, I couldn’t inform my father and brothers where I was.

Fortunately, my father called me later and told him I would be able to re-charge only in the morning from Chiang Mai. I tried to sleep but by 5am, we had already arrived at Chiang Mai. (By the way, in the morning they also serve coffee or juice). I collected my luggage and took a Tuk Tuk (cost 100 baht/Rs. 130) to the tourist heavy Loi Kroh road which is where I decided to base myself. Loi Kroh has plenty of hotels and restaurants but I also chose it because it was close to the Night Market and a few temples I planned on seeing.

I first went to a Ramming Lodge which I found to be good on the internet but then the Tuk Tuk driver said it was expensive (it was over a 1000 baht a night, which I knew) and he told me he knew cheaper places. He took me to a hotel called Rux Thai Guesthouse, just a few metres off Loi Kroh road. It was only 490 baht (Rs. 680) per night and I could check out the next morning. Plus there was free WiFi.

I told the receptionist where all I planned to go in Chiang Mai and when I brought up Huay Pu Keng, he told me that to go there would mean an overnight stay. Instead, he offered me a packaged deal for 1300 baht (Rs. 1,800) which would take me around some places and includes a visit to a Kayan village.

So I thought, what the heck, and paid for it.

Other posts in this series:

Getting ready for my trip

The day I left for Thailand

Day 1 – Suvarnabhumi, Pantip Plaza, Fotofile & MBK

Day 2 – Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua) in Kanchanaburi

Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai

Day 3 (Part 2) – Chiang Mai Night Market

Day 4 – Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai… and back in town

Day 5 – Leaving Chiang Mai for Phuket

Day 5 (Part 2) – One night in Phuket

Day 6 – Leaving Phuket for Ao Nang by bus (via Phang Nga)

Day 7 – Touring Koh Phi Phi (Maya Bay, Monkey Island & Bamboo Island)

Day 7 (Part 2) – Exploring Railay, Krabi

Day 8 – Flying from Phuket to Bangkok

Day 8 (Part 2) – Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

Day 9 – MBK, Siam Paragon… and ‘little Arabia’?

Day 10 – Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and finally leaving Thailand

Figures, lessons learned, and things I couldn’t do

A monk with a tiger at the Tiger Temple, Kanchanaburi

Thailand 2009: Day 2 – Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua) in Kanchanaburi

Date: Dec 14th, 2009

The next day, I woke up by 7am. Went down to the reception area for breakfast, which was included in the hotel room fare. I checked out by 8:30am and took a metered taxi to the Southern Bus terminal which is where all the buses to South Thailand set out from.

Early morning traffic in Bangkok — Taken from inside the taxi on my Nokia E72

Taking the taxi to the Southern bus terminal — Heading to the Southern bus terminal

Elevated toll highways in Bangkok — Most of Bangkok city is covered by elevated toll highways

My plan was to take a day bus to Krabi where I planned to spend most of my time in Thailand.

The Southern Bus terminal, Bangkok — You need to go upstairs for the ticket counters

But it was not to be. When I inquired, from the Southern Bus terminal, apparently only evening buses were available. Or maybe the lady figured I was a tourist and thought I was expecting the luxury buses. (Tip: Found this blog in case you want to more about the Southern Bus terminal)

Southern Bus terminal where both state and private buses ply — Southern Bus terminal, where both state and private buses ply

Instead of wasting time in Bangkok, I thought I’d go to Kanchanaburi instead, which is 130kms from Bangkok city. So I bought my ticket (77 baht/Rs. 107) and boarded my bus which was departing soon.

It was pretty hot outside and the A/C in the bus was minimal. Fortunately, the bus was barely full and the journey wasn’t too long (1 & 1/2 hours).

We reached Kanchanaburi bus stand by around 11am. I was approached by taxi drivers as soon as I got down from the bus offering tours to all that Kanchanaburi has to offer but I first wanted to check my e-mail and get some water. While I was at the internet cafe-slash-computer repair shop, I checked the weather forecast for South Thailand. BBC Weather said it was going to rain in the coming days. “Oh crap” moment #2.

Kanchanaburi maybe a fairly popular tourist destination but the town is fairly small and a far cry from madness of Bangkok. After sending out a few mails, I took a Mazda pick-up truck taxi (something I haven’t done since the early Gulf years) and set out for the famous Tiger Temple which was 35kms away.

Kanchanaburi town. Taken from inside the Mazda taxi

The driver said he would first take me to the Bridge over the River Kwai, which I didn’t know was en route to the Tiger Temple. But even before that, we stopped by the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery.

Kanchanaburi War Cemetery — Over 5,000 Australian, British and Dutch prisoners of war are buried here

After that, the taxi took me to the famous Bridge over the River Kwai and you read about its history here. It’s mostly a tourist attraction now with short train rides available and surrounded by restaurants and street vendors.

The Bridge over the River Kwai — You can even walk on it

It was around 12:30pm and it was scorching hot, so I took a few more photos and then headed back to the taxi.

Jeath War Museum, Kanchanaburi — There was a war museum there as well… but I didn’t check it out

We then headed for famous Tiger Temple at Kanchanaburi.

Driving to Tiger Temple, Kanchanaburi — Taken from inside the taxi

On the road to Tiger Temple, Kanchanaburi — The pick up taxi I took

En route to the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi — The terrain looked fairly similar to what you would see in Karnataka

We reached the Tiger Temple a.k.a Wat Pa Luangta Buaat around 1pm. I was wearing a sleeveless vest and I had to change to a non-red coloured T-shirt as there is a dress code. Not to do with the fact it’s a place run by Buddhist monks but more to do with your own safety when getting close to the tigers.

The ‘temple’ is only open to the general public from 12pm to 3:30pm. The entry fee is a rather steep 500 baht (Rs.700) & video cameras weren’t allowed (or you probably had to pay extra for it). I walked in and was asked by the volunteers to run and join the group who were being led to the area where you get to see the tigers.

Tiger Temple, Kanchanaburi — The volunteers there wear the golden yellow t-shirts

From here, volunteers take visitors one by one to each tiger — From here, volunteers take visitors, by hand, one by one to each tiger

There are a lot of controversies surrounding the Tiger Temple. Despite being run by monks, many accuse it of exploiting the animals for money and some even question if the stories of how the temple acquired the tigers are actually true. You can read their response to all these queries in their FAQs but I did question their money-making means.

For the 500 baht entrance fee, you get to sit next to the tigers and have your photo taken by the volunteers using your camera (& bottles of water). If you want to have a photo taken with a tiger’s head placed on your lap, that will cost you 1000 baht (Rs. 1,300). I was approached by one of their foreign volunteers, a young woman, who asked if I was interested in spending the night at the reserve, feed the tigers the next morning and see them play — all for 1500 baht (Rs. 2,100). I kindly said no, citing I had to head back. I actually had to head back and I would have loved to spend more time with the tigers, but I just didn’t feel like giving them anymore money.

Even their international volunteers looked like a questionable lot. All young guys and girls who looked like they got into some sort of trouble and sought refuge in Tiger Temple with easy jobs as supposed to actually knowing a lot about tigers. I could be wrong, but that’s how I felt.

Anyway, back to why I actually came all the way here. The tigers.

I-LOVE-tigers! I have always loved big cats — especially since I was a child when I came across a photo book my father had on wild cats. Of all the big, furry, cute (yet dangerous) wild cats, tigers have been my favourite. It’s sad to know our national animal is on the decline the world over but a chance to be this close to them was something I would not have ignored.

Me with one of the tigers at the Tiger Temple — The tiger wasn’t stuffed — he was just in that position — the whole time

A tiger at the Tiger Temple, Kanchanaburi — See, I told you.

Me with the biggest tiger they had — This was the biggest tiger there. I believe they told me it was 4 years old.

Me trying to lie down with the tigers — Me kinda wishing I could place my head on the tiger

Tiger embarrassed too be seen with me — Tiger: “Let me sleep kid! Go away… no photos!”

If you want a photo like this, you have to pay 1000 baht — The 1000 baht pose

After spending around half-an-hour there, I went back up — where they had more tigers for you to pose with.

A tiger getting a massage at the Tiger Temple — In a country famed for massages, even tigers get them

A tiger getting patted at the Tiger Temple — Mounted the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 lens for these shots

A tiger at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi — “Great, another moron who thinks he works for National Geographic”

A young tiger staring at me. Tiger Temple, Kanchanaburi. — “Water … waaaterrrr …”

By 2:30pm, I was done. They do have few other animals at the reserve but they were all animals most Indians have seen before (buffaloes, peacocks etc.). I headed back to Kanchanaburi town in the taxi.

Kanchanaburi town, taken from inside a taxi — From inside the ‘furnished’ taxi

The driver stopped at a bus heading back to Bangkok city. The ride to all the tourist spots and back cost me 600 baht (Rs. 836) and I tipped him 50 baht (the initial quote I was given when I arrived was 800 baht).

I boarded the bus and headed back to Bangkok city. I contemplated my next move. If it was going to rain the next few days, why bother going to Krabi now itself. So, I figured I’d go to Chiang Mai instead — and do my trip in reverse order. Something, I hadn’t planned for and something that would eventually cost me a lot more than I had budgeted.

Other posts in this series:

Getting ready for my trip

The day I left for Thailand

Day 1 – Suvarnabhumi, Pantip Plaza, Fotofile & MBK

Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai

Day 3 (Part 2) – Chiang Mai Night Market

Day 4 – Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai… and back in town

Day 5 – Leaving Chiang Mai for Phuket

Day 5 (Part 2) – One night in Phuket

Day 6 – Leaving Phuket for Ao Nang by bus (via Phang Nga)

Day 7 – Touring Koh Phi Phi (Maya Bay, Monkey Island & Bamboo Island)