On our long bus trip to Nong Khai we made several cool stops. The first was the Elephant Conservatory. We watched elephants move and stack logs in the Thai logging tradition. They aren't really used for logging anymore, so the conservatory is kind of an employment program for old elephants and their trainers. The elephants are also trained to paint pictures and play music with their trunks. Of course Grandma Waldorf had to buy one of the paintings from the elephant named Cezanne. On our visit to the baby elephant's pen, we got to feed it bananas. The elephant was so excited it reached through the fence and grabbed Max's leg and tried to drag him into the pen. Fortunately, Max was released unharmed after a brief scare.
We visited an amazing 800-year old temple, and then went to Sukhothai. At Sukhothai there is a huge park with several sets of historical ruins from several hundred years ago. Giant Buddhas, towers, temples, and other structures are there for the climbing on. It was very neat - we got to rent and ride bicycles through the whole park. The kids actually had a great time despite some fears about "looking at a bunch of old crumbling buildings." Anna particularly had fun running around with all of the college students that she'd been sitting with on the bus. She's learning lots of new words and picking up some interesting philosophies.
The hotel in Sukhothai was a real treat. After a big thunder and lightning storm the first night we got to swim in their large swimming pool several times. Thankfully, the college students never tired of carrying Max on their necks and playing volleyball with Anna in the pool. Kim and Dan were happy to sip some coconut drinks made from Mekhong whiskey and lounge poolside. We left the hotel Monday morning and settled in for the beautiful 8-hour drive through the mountains towards Nong Khai and our next home.
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