Our experience on the sleeper train to Chiang Mai was a good one. We were served a lovely meal, then in the evening, a kind gentleman came and converted our seats into beds and made them up for us. We arrived into Chiang Mai around 9am and shared a taxi to our hotel with a German guy we met on the train. We couldn't check in for a few hours, so we had a walk around the city. First impressions are that I like it here, there's a laid back vibe about the place.

For the first couple of days, we didn't really do much. The travelling is really taking it's toll on us now, so we just need some days to rest and to not be on the go all the time. It's not as hot here as it is in Bangkok, but it is still hot enough that you're sweating if you're out in the midday sun. We went out in the evening and they had a night market on, which is only on every Sunday, so we were lucky enough to catch it. There were swarms of people and it was too busy. John wanted to watch the footy, one of the biggest games of the season Liverpool versus Chelsea was on. We found a pub with a crowd and went to watch the game, where Liverpool lost to Chelsea.

The second day was just another lazy day. We went out in the afternoon to find out about booking tours. There's so much choice here in Chiang Mai, you could easily spend weeks here. I do think the tours are overpriced in Thailand though, I did expect them to be cheaper. I'd say they are one of the most expensive places for tours on our whole trip. We spoke to a couple of agencies, but just ended up booking it through our hotel. We've heard some of these tour companies can be a bit unreliable so at least you have a come back if anything goes wrong. Later we went out for dinner and bumped into a group of travellers, so we sat chatting to them in a restaurant for most of the night. One guy went to China and said we should be applying for our visa now as we go in 5 weeks. He said it can take up to 6 weeks to be processed, so I hope we can get it sorted in time!

Elephant ride

The next morning, we had to be up early for our tour, so got up and waited in the lobby to be picked up. As usual they were late, we were the last ones to be picked up. We got driven an hour outside Chiang Mai to the elephant camp, where we are to ride the elephants for about 45 minutes. I don't really know how I feel about riding an elephant yet, but I do hope they don't get mistreated. There is an issue with riding elephants in Thailand.

In our tour bus were some family groups and some local people, but no backpackers. It was a noisy journey as all the kids were excited. We got there within an hour and upon arrival there were elephants everywhere. The surroundings were beautiful, jungle and mountains set upon a hillside. The elephants were all lined up ready to take people on their rides. I heard that an elephant can carry up to 300 kg, and we're well within that combined with the mahout, but does that it make it right to ride them. I'm not sure about it, but i'll do it once.

So we walked over the bridge and towards where all the elephants were. We walked past a few of them along the way, and I couldn't resist stroking their trunks. They had saddles strapped to their back with a platform to sit on. To get on them, there was a raised platform at the right height. John and myself went first and the guy tied rope across the front to stop us falling, although that wouldn't stop you from slipping down the hill! We set off and started going downhill, it felt quite a steep gradient and I thought we could easily fall off! I felt bad as the mahout told us to put our feet on the elephants back, but I didn't want to put anymore weight on it.

We continued on downhill, going through the jungle towards the river. We could see people bamboo rafting down there, and elephants crossing the river. We traversed the most amazing scenery on the way down to the river; a jungle canopy. It was a bumpy ride and we had to go uphill too. I think it must be hard work for the elephants in the heat. I didn't see any visible signs of the mahout being cruel, although he did carry a bull hook, which I didn't like at all. We came across a lady selling bananas and sugar cane, so bought some for the elephants.

Feeding time!

When we arrived at the river, all the elephants that had been following us in a line, stopped to fill their trunks with water to drink. They must need to keep hydrated taking tourists down and through the river. I think they enjoyed this part, they were splashing about in the water looking like they were having fun, which was nice to see. When we crossed to one side of the river, we got to give our elephant the bananas. As we had to stay in the saddle, the elephant extended it's trunk over it's head and you just give them the whole banana, skin and all! They also suck the sugar cane up through their trunk and put it in their mouth! Our one couldn't eat the bananas quick enough! By the time we picked a banana off the stem, it had eaten one and it's trunk was back up again! It was so funny to watch and was my favourite part of the ride.

We crossed to the other side of the river and our elephant wanted to stay in the water, so while everyone else was going uphill out of the water, we stayed in the river. The mahout sits on the elephants neck, so you think they could fall off, but they seem fairly balanced. Then the other elephants came back in the water and we went down river for quite a while. There was another lady selling bananas, so we got more. It's the least we can do for our elephant while we're riding it. We got to other side where we fed it more bananas. Our mahout took some pictures of us while we fed the elephant. It must have eaten about 20 small bananas!

After it had eaten all the bananas, it was time to come out of the water to go back uphill to the platform. It was another steep hill, and we were sliding backwards a lot! The elephant got us back safely and I was thankful. I didn't really enjoy riding the elephant as I felt bad about the weight they carry. I didn't like them having to cross up and downhill with people on. I did enjoy giving them the bananas and to see their trunks keep coming back for more food really put a smile on my face. I would say it's better to marvel these graceful creatures by their side, not riding on their backs. It was an experience, but I probably wouldn't do it again.

Karen Long Neck Hill Tribe

When we'd finished our elephant ride, we went to visit the Karen long neck tribe. We just had to walk up the hill into their village. There were little wooden shacks, surrounded by forest and mountains. Once we walked into the tribe, our guide said we can walk around and take pictures if we wanted to. The place seemed to be geared towards tourism, there were stalls all selling scarfs, jewellery and souvenirs. We saw each lady had her own stall, and each made their own scarfs. They had a loom which some of the women were spinning while we were there. It reminded me of the ones we saw being made in Peru. They are talented however, and the skills must be passed down from generation to generation. Some of them did look like they had really long necks though, and even some of the girls appeared to have long necks too.

Who are the Karen people

These people are refugees from Myanmar (Burma), who have fled due to military conflicts. They are outcasts in Thailand, thwarted by the government, and are not subsidised in any way. Tourism is their main source of income, so the selling of handicrafts is the only way to earn a living here. They have lived in this area close to Chiang Mai for over 20 years.

Why do they wear brass rings around the neck

Legend claims that the brass rings protect the women from tiger bites. However, the practice of wearing them helps maintain individual and tribal identity. Rings worn on arms and legs may weigh a women down with and additional 30 pounds of brass. Women wearing the rings are known as 'giraffe women' to tourists. Young girls start wearing the rings from 5 years old. As the child grows older, turns are added to the coils making them longer. The weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down, thus giving the impression of a longer neck. However, the length of the neck is not actually increased. Once the coil is on, it's rarely removed, unless to be replaced by a new one. It's a complicated, lengthy procedure. I find the whole thing fascinating really, they must be restricted from doing so many things.

What are their religious beliefs

The Karen religion is Animism; a belief that all things are embodied with "Spirit", ancestor worship, and living in harmony with nature and all beings. Over the years many of them have converted to Buddhism and more recently Christianity. Yet even the converts express their Spirituality with a curious mixture of the old and the new.

Unique identity

Despite living close to Chiang Mai, these Hill Tribe people continue to follow a lifestyle which remains, in many respects, virtually identical to their ancestors in Tibet. Unlike many indigenous peoples around the world who are rediscovering their lost roots, the Karen Hill Tribes of North Thailand have managed to keep their original culture in their day to day life. This connection with their roots has allowed them to maintain ‘world views’ and values which have not been influenced by the western world view. Overall, their cultural frames remain outside those of the world’s dominant cultures.

So after wandering though the stalls and seeing the women and girls all wearing some form of rings around their neck, I felt really sorry for them. Tourists must just stare at them all the time and take photos, which I too, am guilty of. There's a real focus on you buying something from them, but you can't buy from everyone. It was really interesting to visit a group of people so different from our westernised society. I guess that's why it's appealing for tourists to come and visit these tribes people, even if it doesn't provide you with an authentic experience.

Oxen cart ride

The next activity on the agenda was to take a ride on an Oxen. I think this was a bit pointless as we got loaded into the cart, where two Oxen pull along four tourists, plus a driver. We went for a ride along the side of the road, where the driver kept hitting them. I found that quite disturbing and certainly didn't enjoy the ride upon these animals. I think it's cruel if you ask me. It was about a 10 minute ride, so not too long anyhow. The scenery was nice, overlooking the jungle and we saw some rice terraces too.

Bamboo rafting

We took a nice buffet lunch after the Ox cart ride, there were a good selection of foods and some fruit for afters too. Once we'd finished lunch, it was time to do the bamboo rafting. It's not quite white water rafting, you just get to float down a shallow flowing river on a raft made of bamboo. It looks fun all the same. We had a man steering the front, and one at the back too. They just steered it with a stick, which they could dig into the rocks to control it's direction. We set off just flowing with the stream of water, first it was quite slow, but then we picked up a bit of speed. It was a peaceful, relaxing experience going down the river. The ride took about half an hour, then our guide and driver picked us up at the other end.

Orchid farm

We got driven back towards Chiang Mai to an orchid farm. It was just a stop off along the way, so nothing to get excited over. It started raining before we arrived, so nobody really wanted to go and look at the flowers. After a while, the rain stopped, so we went to have a look around. One thing we heard sounded like a kitten meowing, but it definitely wasn't a kitten, as this sound was coming from all around the farm. I think it was some type of cricket or something. It was amusing though, never heard anything like that before! We couldn't see anything so couldn't be sure what it was! There were some really colourful orchids there too. Then we got driven back to Chiang Mai where it continued to rain for most of the night and there was a thunder storm too, much to John's delight!