Chang Rai, Day 2

We got a full on look into the hills of Chang Rai.  We started out with a boat ride down the Ruim Mitr river.  Beautiful and rural.  Some of the local industries down the river were using equipment that had to be dated somewhere around 1940 but it still seemed to work. 

Once we got down the river, about an hour’s ride, we were at one of the local villages.  Elephant rides are their  business.  They also had tons of snakes.  Not sure why.  Here is Josh with a cobra.  Yuck. 

This is a picture of one of the locals wearing their traditional gear.  It wasn’t like they were dressed for us, this is what they wear.

We got on the elephants and took a 2 hour trek through the hillside.  It was absolutely gorgeous but the ride was a bit of a killer after about an hour. Not exactly smooth sailing. Emily decided she couldn’t take it anymore and was begging for mercy.  I wasn’t exactly sure what we were supposed to do, airlift her out there?  As much fun as it was to get on the elephants, it was just as fun to get off.  Josh was totally into it and actually got off the small perch that you sit on and rode on the elephants neck.

  Next stop was seeing one of the hill tribes.  If I remember correctly, there are about 12 hill tribes living in the mountains of Thailand.  The Government has been influential in helping these small communities thrive.  As development has come in, it has been more difficult for them to survive.  I can only equate these small towns in America with the rural communities of West Virginia or small farm towns in the mid-west. 

The people couldn’t be nicer.  There were small farms of pigs running through the town, and always dogs. There are Thai dogs everywhere.  I call them Thai dogs because they all have the same shape and short hair.  This is a picture of the local kids. 

We left the mountains and went down to the city of Chang Rai.  One long street basically
with stores and a few side streets.  Not that interesting.  Although
all the cities are constructed with this cheap type of concrete and all
look the same.  My guess is that they were all constructed some time in
the 70’s when things were booming.  We were totally shattered from a
day of constant movement so we opted for a family foot massage.  It was
hilarious.  The people were so nice and the massages were fantastic.
After you are done they serve you hot tea and cookies.  The kids were in heaven.  Total cost including tip was about $40.