It all started near Chiang Mai. We just got into a van and we started driving to an elephant sanctuary. Here, not only would we be able to feed the elephants, but we would also get to learn about their diet and how to make their medicine. Yes, I know, we are tourists. You’d expect from a worldschooler that they won’t go out of their way to do things like this but for us this was the one exception. We immediately started off the tour by feeding the elephants bananas. These elephants were not messing around. We fed them one bunch at a time, and they ate a lot. We were swarmed from all sides as they grabbed at us with their specialized trunks. We then proceeded to a roofed terrace where we learned about the different medicines used and the ingredients that they are made of. We then, to much of my surprise, proceeded to make these medicines but sadly we didn’t get to feed these to the elephants. The medicine smelled sweet and had a stick consistency, and appeared brown. After making the medicine, we headed down to the river bed where we got onto a dinghy raft which was pulled across the river via a small string. We did a small trek before heading back into the river and cleaned the elephants. Or so we were told. As the elephants lay down in the river they sprayed us with the freezing water we were standing in. Within seconds we were all drenched to the bone as we desperately tried to scrub these beasts with the handmade soap we were given.
After drying ourselves up we ate lunch and proceeded to our next destination, a waterfall. Unlike most places, we were not just going to look at the waterfall, we were going to climb it. It was formed by limestone, making its texture grip to your bare skin, allowing people to climb it with ease. There is calcium carbonate in the spring where the water precipitates out from, and layer by layer, the minerals stick to the surface creating the unique waterfall that we see today. It felt as though we were doing a normal hike, as the waterfall wasn’t that steep, and the texture of the rock below us along with the water made the experience that much more enjoyable. Infact, when we finally got to the top we decided to go back down and do the whole thing again. We were debating if we should go a third time but sadly it started to rain down on us and we had no option but to retreat back into our van. That is the peculiar thing about tropical countries, their seemingly fickle weather. That about summed up what we did on that day but things were only getting started, as a few days later we took a plane flight to Krabi.
This place is famous for its beautiful beach and even prettier water. We took a day trip on a traditional boat (which appeared to be the main source of travel here) out to sea to the neighboring islands. They were not that big, but in total we passed five, stopping at each one. On the first island we stopped off at a large beach, where many other boats had stopped. Here, we saw wild sea slugs for the first time, infact, we saw many. They were around the size of an adult’s hand, which was a lot bigger than I had anticipated. However, it was what we did on the fifth island which was the most memorable. The boat made a shuttering stop and before we knew it we were all jumping off of the boat into the ocean! Yes, it was finally time to snorkel. The water was crystal deep and around 5 meters, however if we swam a little further away from the island it became much more. Here, we got to swim around vivid coral reefs, although we couldn;t go close as deadly uni populated the floor. While swimming I managed to see many fish including a parrot fish, which was by far the most beautiful. Towards the end of our stop we also saw a giant clam, which was bigger than my body! After we had got onto the boat again we made the painfully rocky journey back to the mainland. Here, we recovered from our immense motion sickness before walking to the other side of the peninsula which had incredible rock formations along the cliff. They towered above us and the stalactites reminded me of when I visited Carlsbad caverns when I was younger. We also saw many people climbing the rock face but sadly we couldn’t go since it was getting late.
That about summer up our time in Thailand, or at least the most memorable parts. We still went to a cooking class and explored countless markets and traditional temples, all which still are tattered to my brain. Thailand has been amazing, from the food to the culture to their religion and to the beautiful country itself. I cannot wait to come back to this spectacular country and experience everything that I did again.