India v. Thailand
My first impression of Thailand after arriving here from India was… Wow, this place is TAME! And a bit boring! It’s also cleaner and more expensive.
I missed India a lot! I thought India was colorful, chaotic, and exciting. Thailand seemed so… vanilla, in comparison.
Many months ago, when I decided that Thailand would be included on my trip, I booked a week-long volunteering gig at Elephant Nature Park. ENP is a brilliant organization in Northern Thailand founded by Lek Chailert. Lek has made it her life goal to rescue and rehabilitate as many elephants (as well as dogs, cats, water buffalo, and monkeys) as she can from the tourism and logging industries in SE Asia. She is an incredible woman who works extremely hard for animal and human rights. She fights back against inhumane practices, educates locals about better ways to treat/train animals, and works closely with the Thai government to try to enact laws of protection for elephants. When you hear her speak about these issues, you realize that Lek herself is the embodiment of love, strength, perseverance, and determination. She is an inspiration to everyone who meets her. She spoke to our group for about two hours one afternoon about the abuses that elephants face here in SE Asia, about the struggles she encounters when trying to fight against these abuses, about the slow but positives changes that are being made, and about how horrific animal tourism is. For two days following her presentation, I would just burst into tears every time I thought about it. I still, as I’m writing this, feel on the verge of tears. But I’ll get more into the awful truth later. For now, I’ll tell you about what is was like volunteering at ENP.
In Chiang Mai there is a red rock quarry that has been popularly dubbed “The Grand Canyon of Chiang Mai.” You can Google it. I’m not sure why it’s called the Grand Canyon because it’s neither grand NOR a canyon, but whatever. It’s still pretty great nonetheless and has earned itself a high spot on the “things to do in Chiang Mai” list over the years (although it is actually in Hang Dong, 17 kilometers away).
*Disclaimer: The photos below may be inappropriate for young audiences.
Kathoeys or “ladyboys” are transgendered women in Thailand. Unlike in the west, there is very little stigma attached to being transgendered in Thailand, and it is often viewed and accepted as a third gender. Several Thai models, actresses, and singers are kathoeys. They live their lives as females and typically work predominantly female jobs like in beauty parlors, shops, hair salons, and also in tourism as entertainers (but also, of course, in the sex industry, which is huge in Thailand). During my time in Thailand, I saw no less than 6 recognizable kathoeys just out and about. And there may have been many more that I just couldn’t tell the difference. The last time I saw that many transgendered individuals in one place was at the PRIDE festival in San Francisco.
Some of Chiang Mai’s numerous wats (temples) and night markets, in photos
Little girls hanging out on the steps of Doi Suthep temple
Continue reading “Chiang Mai, Part 1: Temples and Night Markets”
Okay, so it was actually TWO nights in Bangkok, but I just had to quote that song.
Indian women are tough. Meanwhile, men do a lot of sitting around. This is, of course, a GROSS generalization. But during my time in India, I saw dozens of women doing strenuous manual labor, such as carrying a headful of bricks, working in the tea plantations, sweeping leaves on steep mountain sides (still unsure why they were doing this), carrying children, sweating over a huge pot of curry or rice, etc. At the same time, I saw probably hundreds of men sitting around on benches, publicly napping, sipping chai, or gambling in the street with their friends.
I spent my last 24 hours in India with Elizabeth, totally conquering Delhi. We took public transportation everywhere, saw some of Delhi’s most famous sites (The Baha’i House of Worship/Lotus Temple & the Mughal Gardens at the President’s Estate), ate our final authentically delicious Indian meals, enjoyed some cold Kingfisher beers, toured the world’s largest Hindu temple (Akshardham), and loved every second of it.
Delhi’s Main Bazaar Road by night:
The Indian Selfie
The World Is My Boyfriend 