Worry - Tuesday, November 27

Hi,
I'm glad you came back. I have stories to tell. As you may remember, it's now Sunday and we're going on an elephant adventure. This time we're going to ride on their backs. We decided to try a tour company that a friend of mine from Chiang Mai had recently used. (how about that, making reference to a friend from another city) The plan was to travel by boat, up the river. First we'd stop at The Monk's Cave Temple, and then proceed to Moo Ban Ruammit and the elephant camp.
We left the tour office at 9:30 a.m. and drove to the river. We could see evidence of the festivities the night before. There we were, the three of us and our guide, Ann, ready to start the day. We rode for about half an hour until we came upon the caves. This place is amazing. It's a natural cave that part of a temple complex. I'm still trying to find out how long it's been used this way. There was a monk giving a teaching to some visitors when we arrived. Ann told us that he lives in the cave. One side is open, facing the river so there is lots of light. There are also openings in the top and when it rains, it comes into the temple. It was a very quiet, serene place to be.
After another half hour, we arrived at our destination. When we rode in 2001, we approached the village from the road. It was really something, coming in from the river side, seeing these huge animals walking through the water, and clustered on the bank. The first thing we saw after getting off the boat, were several cages containing huge pythons. For a fee, you could have your picture taken with the python wrapped around you. No thank you, I don't do that! Kristy, on the other hand, does that. We have the pictures to prove it. Then we waited for a few minutes and got a chance to watch a little 'school'. They were training a couple of young ones. Finally, it was time to mount up.
We climbed a staircase to a platform where we leaned into the benches that would carry us through the village. Kristy and Ann rode on one and Lisa and I followed. Our driver's name was BG and he sat on the elephants head, not it's neck. Somehow, it works for the two of them. He talked and sang the whole time. Kristy's elephant had a brief spat with a dog and freaked us all out. The dog was walking down the path and the elephant clearly didn't like this dog. First he hissed, then he went down on one knee and slapped his trunk on the ground. The poor dog was losing it by this time and then we heard that loud trumpeting sound that elephants make, and the dog was gone in a blur. Whew.
Basically, we spent half an hour riding through the village, seeing everyday sights and hearing everyday sounds. We ended our tour by walking through a corn field and into the river. That was a little weird. Any time a large animal goes down hill, and you're on top, it's weird. (do I jump to the side or dive in?) Ok, so we're walking down the river, the water is up past the elephants stomach. This is feeling like an old movie. There's a pic of Kristy's ride 'snorkeling'. When we got back, we shopped, what else? The return trip was a bit faster, since we had told Ann we wanted to be back by a certain time. She managed to time things out pretty well and we'll use their services when you come to visit.
Oh, one last thing. Things have moved forward on the property I showed you, next to the policeman's house. We'll be buying it next week. Oh my.
I almost forgot....many correct answers to the song question. This song was 'story song' that joined the ranks of legends. "...And then smoke and gas belched out of that mine, everybody knew it was the end of the line for __ __, __ __ __" Clue: there were two adjectives in front of his name. Hmm.
Now it's time for Happy Tuesday.

Peace,
Danny

"Worrying often gives a small thing a big shadow."
~Swedish proverb


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