Elephants & Tigers, Oh Chiang Mai!

As a little last hooray before Mark deployed, we traveled to Thailand for a two week getaway. This was a very special vacation for us because it was the first time we went somewhere just the two of us without attending someone's wedding. We spent the first half of the vacation in Chiang Mai, and the last half in Phuket.

Our hotel room at Fern Paradise in Chiang Mai.

We stayed at the Fern Paradise in Chiang Mai. The rooms were made from rice barns, so it was basically like staying in a treehouse. It was amazing. The owners were super sweet; they even gave us a little gift when we checked out. The only downside about the hotel was that it was a little outside of Chiang Mai so we had a little bit of trouble getting the tuk tuks to take us back.

Wat Pra Singh Voramahavihara

After checking in, we went to the downtown area of Chiang Mai to check out the markets and wats, the Buddhist temples. As we were walking around, a man approached us and started asking us about our trip. This is very common in Asian countries; many locals will approach Westerners and use it as an opportunity to practice their English. It also often benefits us because they tell us about places to visit that most tourists don't know.

I couldn't get enough how much detail were in these huge structures.

The man we met told us about a special silver wat. He explained that it was the only one in Thailand and then showed us where it was on a map. We thanked him and after lunch, found our way to the silver wat.

Wat Sri Suphan - the only silver wat in Thailand.

There were signs posted all around the wat saying women were not allowed into the ordination hall area. This was not a problem because we were not properly dressed to enter any of the wats, though even if we would have been, I wouldn't have felt comfortable doing so.

Wat Sri Suphan front view.

We ended the night at our hotel and had the best Tom Kai Gai & Panag Chicken I have ever had. The next morning was our elephant day! I was super excited, but nervous at the same time.

My elephant, Ruby.

Once we arrived at Thai Elephant Home, the mahouts (elephant trainer) explained some basic commands to us and how to keep safe with our chang (Thai for elephant).

Pretty afraid I was going to fall to my death right about here.

The only command I remembered was "bye" which told them to go. There was another one to tell them to kneel down so we could jump off, but it never worked when I said it. After paying our respects to Ganesha, the Thai elephant god, we got to feed them and then practice riding in a small area. Each of us got our own elephant and rode bareback with a rope in the front and back to hold on to.

Mark feeding his elephant, Punoy, which means little boy in Thai. He was not very little.

We then rode up a steep hill through the trees. It was absolutely beautiful and only a little scary because they were constantly stretching over the edge to eat.

The whole group. Mark volunteered to lead. His wasn't as well behaved as mine.

After riding for a couple of hours, we came to a clearing and had lunch. The mahouts had brought Pad Thai wrapped in a leaf for us to eat. After we finished, we fed whatever was left over to the elephants.

Lunch time! It was super yummy.

Ruby getting our leftovers.

Then, the mahouts had us stand next to the elephant and started saying, "Joop, joop!" My elephant then proceeded to give all of us a kiss. It was super slimy and suctiony.

Mark got a nicer kiss than I did.

After lunch, we gave the elephants a mud bath. They told us the mud was also good for human skin, and then slathered it all over our faces. Mark was not a fan.

When in Rome...

Mark's least favorite part. He just supervised the whole time.

After each elephant was covered in the mud, we hopped back on and rode to the river. Apparently my elephant loved to swim and as soon as she got in the water she dunked under. It took me by surprise and at that moment the mahout asked if I could swim. I'm glad we covered that before we were in the water.

On the way to the river. We bought bananas to feed them.

They had us both get on Mark's elephant for pictures.

The mahouts thought it was fun to have the elephant roll around and make us fall off. In doing this, I almost got swept under the elephant, which was kind of scary. Luckily, Punoy used the sides of his tusks to catch me from going down the river.

Oh ya know, just seeing my life flash before my eyes. No biggie.

Yay to living!

We then returned to camp and took a cold water shower. This was my favorite part of our trip. I would definitely recommend it, especially the Thai Elephant Home. They seem to take good care of the elephants, and part of their mission is wildlife conservation and breeding.

ROAR!

The next day we went on the Flight of the Gibbon zip line through the jungle. They took pictures of us flying, but something about a harness just makes you look awesome. We were on our way home and the cabbie offered to take us to the Tiger Kingdom. The Tiger Kingdom is where you are able to pet the tigers, and it was also the one thing Mark did not want to do.

I obviously talked him into it. 

We went with the medium tigers because they had the shortest wait time. It took us about 45 minutes for them to call our number. When we entered the enclosure there were four, completely NOT drugged, tigers roaming around. We were told to approach them from behind, make no sudden movements, and never run.

This one was not into the petting. Again, saw my life flash before my eyes.

They called this one Fat Boy. He was super into the tummy rub.

They kept telling us to hold their tails for some reason.

After we walked around for about 15 minutes, one of the tigers got into their pool. Mark started taking pictures like crazy so the keepers pulled out a stick with some leaves on it and they really started to play.

Fat Boy playing. He doesn't like swimming.

It was a crazy experience and I'm so glad we did it, but I would never do it again. I feel like you can only look death in the face so many times before you run out of luck.

And that was our time in Chiang Mai. Between Chiang Mai and Phuket, I definitely liked Chiang Mai more just because there was so much to do and see. After Chiang Mai, we spent the rest of the vacation beaching and relaxing.

Welcome to Hell

When my parents came to visit, we took them to Osorezan, otherwise known as Fear Mountain or the Gates of Hell, one of the three most holy places in Japan. The day was rainy and foggy, which I believe really added to the mood. Also, the autumn leaves were in full effect, making for an even more memorable experience.

So why the Gates of Hell? The story starts 1,200 years ago when a Japanese Buddhist priest, En'nin, was studying in China. During a dream, a holy monk appeared to him, telling him when he returned to Japan, he must find a sacred mountain that was a 30 day walk from Kyoto and build a statue of the bodhisattva (enlightened being) Jizo. 

This brought En'nin to Mount Osore in the Shimokita peninsula of northern Japan.

The mountain fit the description of what he was told in his dream, so En'nin built the statue of Jizo. But, what about this makes it the Gates of Hell?

The topography matches the description of Buddhist hell. There is a small stream running through town, representing the brook the deceased must cross on their way to the afterlife. How they cross the stream depends on what kind of person they were in their former life. They may simply walk across the bridge, or they may wade across snake infested waters.

The shrine itself is surrounded by eight different peaks, representing the eight-petaled lotus blossom, the symbol of Buddha. The sand is almost white and hosts 108 boiling sulfuric ponds, representing the 108 worldly desires and the hells linked to each one.

People visit Osorezan for many different reasons. Some pray and leave offerings for decreased loved ones, hoping to help them cross into the afterlife. Others visit to deepen their faith.

When you visit Osorezan, you will see pinwheels everywhere. Jizo is also the guardian of children, so many of the pinwheels are for children who have passed.

The shrine itself is one of the most beautiful that I have seen so far in our travels. It is the ornate type of architecture one would expect to see in Japan.

My parents really enjoyed the whole experience. Unfortunately, it started raining and cut our visit short, but we still managed to get a fair amount of pictures.

Obon & The Big Buddha

Big Buddha surrounded by lanterns.

Last week was Obon, one of the biggest holidays in Japan. It is a weeklong celebration in which the Japanese honor relatives who have passed on to the afterlife. Many Japanese travel to their hometown for the holiday to spend time with family and clean the temples and their ancestors' graves.

Lanterns lining the pathway.

Another beautiful part of Obon are the lanterns. The Japanese light them to provide a source of light and help guide their ancestors' spirits home.

My friend, Anna & me at the shrine.

Big Buddha is located in Aomori City, which is the large town about an hour to the northwest of Misawa. The grounds are beautiful any time of year, but for Obon they had hundreds of lanterns sprinkled throughout the site. I think they may have been for different people because the kanji was different on each one, but that is just a guess.

Mark cleansing. Not a clue if we did this correctly.

Once we reached the Big Buddha, we saw a celebration of sorts. People were dancing in a circle and chanting. They kept asking us to join, but we didn't feel comfortable and didn't want to mess up the ceremony.

Big Buddha - the tallest seated Buddha in Japan

You can actually go inside the Buddha. The base is lined with the story of the Buddhist afterlife process, which is actually quite graphic and bloody. Fortunately, they also had paintings with happy Buddhist quotes between the story to kind of break up all the gore.

My favorite shot of the night.

It was so cool to be a part of this special and sacred time of year. It was definitely one of the cooler experiences we've had since moving here.