Monks, Elephants, and Silk

Today we spent the early morning in the Eco-Village in Maeta.  We woke up at 6:15 to be ready to feed the Monks, who started their rounds around the village at 6:30 with their food collection bowls.  We were given various types of food like rice, fish sauce, eggs, and pork skin, as well as bottled water and juice boxes.  It is traditional for monks to walk throughout the village to ask for food in every form of Buddhism and giving food is a way for the Buddhist people to gain merit.  After giving the food, we were given cups of water to pour on the ground.  This ritual is in respect for people we love that are both alive and that have died and grants them merit.  The monks chanted a blessing while we thought about these people and slowly poured out the water.  The ritual was for the earth and heaven spirits.  After this ritual, we went into the gardens and picked greens that were fried for breakfast, which we ate with rice soup.

We gave our hosts in the village gifts and then departed for the Elephant Park created by the current Princess of Thailand to save injured and tortured elephants.  We enjoyed being very up close to the Elephants.  We got to pet them, kiss them, and were slobbered on by them.  We saw the elephants being bathed and watched an elephant show.  Then we went to the first elephant hospital where we saw two disabled elephants, one from trauma and one from disease, getting individualized care.

After our two and a half hours with the elephants, we were exhausted and departed for lunch, but first made a stop at a silk shop where we saw where traditional and expensive Thai silk is made and sold.  We then had lunch at a roadside stand: pad thai, fried rice, and soup.  The size of our group was somewhat overwhelming for the one woman and her wok.

We returned to our hotel in Chiang Mai and had time to rest and shower before our two hour group reflection.  This reflection allowed us to discuss our views and ideas about the past day in the Eco-village of Maeta.  With the reflection, we discovered that certainty often leads to uncertainty and uncertainty often leads to certainty.  And most of us now feel very confused about our feelings and are excited to learn more!

We are leaving in a few minutes to join our guide and translator, Chuleepran, for dinner at a local Thai restaurant and will then go to the Can Do bar that has been organized by the sex workers union called Empower.  We hope to begin our observation of this Thai industry tonight.  We think that this view of Thai culture will be very different than the parts of the culture we saw today.

We are having a great time in Thailand and can't wait to continue our journey!

-Abby, Nancy, and the group