Birthday in THAILAND

The thing I was most excited about doing in Thailand was riding elephants so we decided to do that on my birthday. I was super excited about it. We got up and ready, and I usually skim over that part... BUT today was a special day, starting with breakfast. I love breakfast! Not only did the breakfast buffet at the restaurant have a beautiful array of different Thai foods each morning, but they also had fried egg and omelet options. Why is that important? Because...sense we had to be ready for our tour by 7:00 am, I didn't think I would have time to get a much desired omelet. If you know me, that is a big deal because I love food, especially breakfast. I figured if I got in line as soon as we showed up I would manage it but the line was too long so, sadly, I moved on. But my sweet, wonderful Hunny went up later while I was still eating and got one for me! That just made my day! It helped that it was the best omelet I'd ever had but it might have been because it was my thoughtful Hunny that got it for me that made it taste so good.

Anyway, we hopped in the tour van with a few other tourists and our enthusiastic guide had us all introduce ourselves. We were the only Americans, and native English speakers for that matter, in the van. There was a Belgian, Israeli, Norwegian, two Spaniards, and, of course Thai. There were a crowd of about 4 french speakers and they were a rambunctious group; and we had a 3 hour trip...both ways. Thankfully both ways there was a stop. We were treated to a free drink and a treat- Thai fried banana slices. Oh so tasty!! A quick tour of the memorial they are constructing for the 2004 tsunami that had a big impact on the area. The centerpiece of the memorial is a navy ship that was pushed inland by the catastrophe.

We then made it to the elephant riding academy. :) Like most events in Thailand, there were no instructions or briefings just, "Ok, hop on!" So we did. There was a bench on the elephant's back and the guide just sat on its head. I felt like the old British English high-class men folk that would ride them on hunts like in Two Brothers. I never knew that elephants skin was so rough and their little hairs very stiff! It was so cool to be up there! We strode through a river to take pictures before going into the 'jungle'. Luscious trees and vegetation.

I got to ride on the neck for half the trip. It was fun and way cool but I had a newly acquired wound on my knee and the ears would flap right on it so I had to flex and sit a certain way the whole time. It was worth it, though. I thought the ears were my favorite part of an elephant, 'till we got the opportunity to feed it. Oh that was so neat! We bought some sugar cane and mini bananas and watching the trunk twist and turn and move and flex. You would think it had eyes. We would hold out a piece of food and the trunk would probe it, wrap around it, twist toward its mouth, and toss it in. It was fascinating! After feeding the elephant we rode we were treated with a little performance. A volunteer was asked to stand in front the elephant facing away, the elephant would then pick up a hat and placed on her head. Then several of the men were given a 'massage' were they would lie down and the elephant would place one of its feet on their backs and rub back and forth! Then a it did little jig. Then it was picture time. We were doing a Flat Stanley and had the awesome idea of getting a picture of him being squashed under its foot. Cute!

Before heading to lunch, we got to stop at Monkey Temple for a little bit and feed some monkeys. I think our time was cut short so I'm glad we brought mini bananas from breakfast with us. There were monkeys everywhere running free. This time we were given more of a briefing. You can feed but don't try to touch or hold because they might bite. They were so cute though! Except the big ones... They were a pretty greedy bunch too. Hunny handed one an entire banana and he said it broke into it and scarfed it super fast, so we learned to make our treats last longer we broke them in pieces so we could feed more. Hunny had the great idea to push Tiki in the ground and was placing banana piece on top of him. Eventually one monkey got the idea that Tiki must have been the banana God because it snatched him and ran! WHA!! He ran off with Tiki! Luckily he was dropped and we were able to get him back. But wouldn't it have been the perfect final resting place for him?

All too soon it was time to go. Bye little monkeys... But on to lunch! My favorite! I thought it was going to be weird sitting with all these strangers but we got to talking and we had a swell time learning about each other. Plus it is always fun seeing others' reactions when they hear that Hunny flies helicopters. The food was tasty and then it was time to go on a little water trip. We reserved our trip online and booked the bamboo raft instead of a plan canoe ride. Again, we were the only ones that choose that option. So we went to a different spot and were instructed only to get on the raft. We were the only ones all around. It was nice and peaceful.

When we got done we had to wait for the rest of the other group to make it back. There was an orchard, or at least a lot of trees in a row and they had lychee berries on them. I didn't want to pick any but figured it was okay to get one off the ground. So Hunny and I went searching for one that wasn't so brown. Now, we have never had one before and didn't know what to look for, what was edible or how to eat them. So we were pretty cautious. You peel off the outer layer that has alien looking spikes and inside is a white bulb like fruit. But the pit has a thin layer that comes off making it a bit chewy. Always interesting experimenting, and trying new things.

The car trip back was long and boring! I decided to do something I do every now and then on long trip, only this time in a whisper to Hunny instead of just in my head. I described the movie Toy Story, lines and all, so we could watch it in out minds. Toy Story is probably the only movie I know well enough to do that with. After about an hour and a half my brain got tired of trying and bored with it. I think it only got us half way through the movie. I knew I should've brought a book.

When we finally got back to the hotel there was a piece of cake waiting for me that the hotel had provided. Unfortunately it had already been discovered by a colony of ants. Somewhat disappointed we took it to the dinning area and they said they would replace it but the only thing they had available was cheesecake. O.O We went from a tiny meh piece of :p cake to CHEESECAKE! No problem! Oh it was so fancy and tasty! We decided to have dinner there and the live music was a guy in the guitar that played an OLD Jim Croche song that I'm sure NO ONE knows but I did, and loved. This day could not have been any better. If there was ever something kind of bad that happened, something better made up for it. I am grateful for my Hunny that does such a great job of taking care of me even when I make it hard or ask him not to worry about things. He loves me so much and I am so blessed.