Elephant trek

After our second orphanage visit we had another day of adventure. I opted to do something I knew Josh would never forget although for me personally it was a little scary!
I booked us in for a whole day trip which started with watching elephants playing football!!!!, and ended with a ride down a river on a bamboo raft. I'm not really into getting animals to perform unnatural acts. However, I was curious to see how the elephants were treated and this was so unlike anything I had ever done before, we just had to try it.
We rose early and taking just a small backpack with water,sunhats and suncream we set off on our organiseed tour. I must admit, it felt very exciting to be a tourist in Thailand and be off on an adventure with other like minded tourists but my real purpose for being there was never far from my mind.
The elephant camp was quite a distance outside of Chiang Mai so I was glad we were in an air conditioned minibus. It's such a great part of a child's education when they can see animals in a more natural habitat than a zoo and when they can experience a culture first hand so I was delighted to watch Josh's face -in wide eyed wonder as we approached the camp and saw elephants among the trees on our left,
eating leaves from the trees and to our right, a river with elephants swimming. I was pleased to see they had so much space.
Sure enough we watched the elephants playing football and then painting pictures and then doing a comical parade, holding each others tails -they were well trained and obedient but I was hoping they weren't cruelly treated. If I was an elephant I don't think I'd paint a picture for anyone!
Then we got into carts pulled by oxen and went a journey of about half an hour into the countryside to visit what was supposed to be an authentic hilltribe village. However, all it was, was a few hilltribe people in all their beautiful Thia regalia,selling goods for a higher price than we'd pay in Chaing Mai. I felt sorry for them because they did seem quite poor so I bought some souvenirs but what really annoyed me after a while was when we got onto the elephants to wade down the river and some men sitting on platforms kept trying to persuasively sell us bananas. After I'd bought a couple of bunches and we'd fed our elephant I really didn't want any more but I was getting disgruntled looks for saying no thank you. I was beginning to understand just how different the Thai culture is from my European culture.I realised it would be difficult to adapt but it didn't put me off. I just wanted God's will in my life.
I will continue this adventure in tomorrow's blog - about the monkey show and the bamboo rafting.

http://www.mylot.com/?ref=goldie77
http://www.xomba.com/referral/778238d1
http://www.hubpages.com/profile/goldie77/
These are links to the articles I've written which I invite you to read. Any money I make from writing goes to fund the orphanage I will have in Thailand.
"http://adhitzads.com/64609"

First orphanage visit

I woke up early on our second day in Chiang Mai to pray about the day ahead. I was excited because today I would be visiting the first of three orphanages I had arranged to visit. This first one was run by an Australian couple who had felt called to Thailand about three years previously. Tracey came by my hotel to pick us up and I gave her a few bags of books, art supplies and soft toys which I had brought over from Scotland. She received them gratefully and said they were just what they had been needing. I felt quite emotional as we pulled up outside an attractive house with a mountain behind it. It was the same shape as the mountains in the picture God gave me and my heart missed a beat when I saw it. Nevertheless I knew it wasn't THE house because there was only one solitary mountain. Neverthless I knew I was meant to be there. I felt it strongly in my heart.
The children came out to greet us - eight little treasures, rescued out of darkness, aged between 9 months and 6 years. They were adorable and I couldn't believe how well behaved they were. The orphanage house was so clean and tidy, I made a mental note that I wanted my future orphanage home to be this clean. The helpers were doing a fantastic job both with the kids and in the house.
We had lunch and a long chat. Tracey and David encouraged me to follow God's leading if I was sure about it and said they knew God would provide for me if I was stepping out in faith to follow His call.
I felt encouraged and looked forward to my next orphanage visit two days later.
However, the next day was a special visit day for Josh because I wanted him to have really good memories to take home of all aspects of Thai life. We went to visit the orchid and butterfly farm just outside Chiang Mai. It was lovely and well worth the visit but I must admit I spent most of the taxi ride gazing out of the window, searching for that house in front of mountains, like the one in my vision.