It was after 6 long years that I went back to Thailand on a holiday. Sitting inside the Kochi airport, I could already recollect the smell of Kao Pat Kai and Tom Yam Kung that I had so long ago. It even got my mouth watering. This time I had planned not to spend my time just in Bangkok alone but also to go to some part of Thailand that I had never seen and also if possible try and catch up with some old classmates of mine.
Suwarnabhumi ' the new airport where I landed - is truly an engineering marvel and it is supposed to be a very energy efficient design. Getting out of the four level airport and meeting up with my father indeed took some time. Once outside I could almost immediately tell that Bangkok had changed so much in the last six years - elevated expressways and multilevel roadways and really wide roads. What ever happened to the traffic congestions that this place was so notorious for ? - I wondered
Over the next ten days I went about doing bits of shopping but mostly going around places I was once familiar with which looked so transformed now. The MRT system had made commuting locally so much easier. However the only problem with the MRT system was that it was limited to Bangkok city. Within the first few days I had decided the place I was going to visit would be the Northern Province of Chiang Mai - the old capital of the Lanna Dynasty which is also famous for its elephant farm and rich cultural centres.
For the days I spent in Bangkok, I wondered how much this small Kingdom had changed. The Thai Baht which fetched once Rs 10 in exchange for Baht 25 eighteen years ago today fetches Rs 30. At a time when the Indian Rupee is growing stronger that is saying a lot about the local currency. The Kingdom known better for its tourism (or was it sex tourism alone) has come a long way to become the world's biggest exporter of Rice and also a major exporter of finished electronic goods. On the cards are also plans to convert Bangkok into the Detroit of the east ' producing all the important cars. It is not surprising then that I even saw a TATA car advertisement in the local television.
There is not a day that I spent there that I didn't enjoy the wide variety of Thai food available to me ' be it in large department stores or by the street sides. Mmmmmmmm Thai food is really unmatched. One other thing I experienced while I was there in Bangkok after many many years was a haircut. My! the way these guys literally pick each strand of hair and cut it treating them with such care really can put one to sleep. And I kept thinking to myself if this is the Thai haircut what might the Thai massage be like 
' No wonder then that they say one night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble.
Chiang Mai was much quieter and nicer and we stayed at what was called the Night Bazaar inn very close to the Night Bazaar ' a year long attraction so typical of Chiang Mai. In the three days I had in Chiang Mai we (my dad and I) had not a minute to waste. If a visit to a Buddhist Temple and a visit to a local tribal village was what kept us busy on the first day, it was the day long visit to the Elephant park and Orchid farm that was on the cards on the second day.
Of the places I visited, without a doubt the elephant farm was the most enjoyable. Hailing from a state in India that parades its elephants for practically every temple function, I had grown up seeing elephants, I didn't think the Elephant farm will have very much to enthuse me. After all having witnessed the Thrissur Pooram festival where one gets to see over 20 elephants paraded in front of the Temple, I thought I had seen it all. I was so wrong. But on all those occasions, the elephants, I remember were chained and had a mahout poking and prodding with his sharp stick.
The elephant farm had over a 150 elephants and if the number did not surprise me, their best behaviour most certainly did. Not one of them ' unlike those elephants at the Pooram which are chained and constantly poked and prodded by the mahouts - had any chains on their legs and none of them needed any close supervision of their mahouts. If anything they were extremely naughty and playful. One even snatched a bunch of bananas from my hand from behind when I least expected it. To watch them play football and paint was such fun. Once the hour long programme got over I was treated to a 45 minute long elephant back ride through the thick jungles, crossing the river and up and down the hilly terrain and through the marshy land.
It was undoubtedly the high point of my trip to Chiang Mai. And what better way to end the trip than with a visit to the Cultural Centre to watch a traditional dance show while I sat on the floor being treated to some exquisite Thai cuisine. It is amazing how time flies when you are having a really good time.
Before I knew it, my stay in Chiang Mai was over and in a few more days I found myself packing to get back to India. But as I mentioned before, this was one holiday that was very different from all my previous trips to Thailand for this time I saw an interesting part of the Kingdom. I am already looking forward to yet another trip to the magical Kingdom which welcomes all its tourists with a pleasant Sawadeekap greeting an open arms.
Of course it would take an elephant to think I was talking about the elephant…..right? Only an elephant can recognize a good looKing elephant…….. Who is this Misty Bella creature who has this fetish? Do not they fornicate on her iland?
Lucky you. Very informative post. Liked the narrative.
The elephant is indeed a great looking animal.
Nice Pic!!!!! U look GREAT!!!!
An excellent travellogue, after such a long long time. Am glad you enjoyed yourself so much. Thanks for sharing. You and the elephant look good together, almost made for each other. :))))
dear Ramesh, your post really refreshed me…thanks for sharing…ranjit