After barely a week’s rest from our Bali-Singapore-Philippine sojourn, we set out for our long-planned visit to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand where, many months ago, we had booked a Four Seasons Resort package involving two nights in their Chiang Mai Resort, an overland transfer to their Chiang Rai “Tented Elephant Camp” and three nights there which included the opportunity for intimate bonding with what the Thai call “Gentle Giants”.

The flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was short; we got out of the airport in no time, and were met and driven to the resort in great comfort by the Four Season staff. The Resort was not, as we had feared, the kind of slick, sterile affair we had seen in Ubud, Bali. It was actually Aman-like. The units blended beautifully in their respective tropical settings. Though located in two story pavilions, the rustic woodsy architecture of the suites and the respective position of the units on the sloped terrain successfully insured their individuality and total privacy. We felt like we had our own villa … just like at Amandari! The similarities did not end there. The size of the units is comparable, about 700+ square feet, and the quality of the amenities and the attitude of the staff also compares well. The pool area is spectacular, with magnificent vistas that allow a glimpse at one or two of the mansions being developed for sale in order to capitalize on the enormous asset being developed as part of the resort’s infrastructure.

To keep us productively occupied after our first night, Joyce was sucked into the spa, which is quite famous, for a marathon of treatments. Peter, on the other hand, agreed to rise at 6:30 am and meet two lovely Thai maidens, who drove him to the local market to shop for the food he was to later prepare in “cooking school” under the vigilant eye and demonstrations by Chef Pitak. The plan was that, by the time Peter was finished cooking, Joyce would be “well-done” as well. This way, she would enjoy his culinary creations, while he would revel in her renewed beauty. Indeed, she glowed from her treatments and he had learned a new kind of cuisine, one that is really hot!

The next morning we boarded a very comfortable Land Rover for the five hour scenic ride from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai. Along the way, we made a pit stop at a place called “Cabbages and Condoms”, its light-hearted but all too earnest approach to Thailand’s war against hunger and HIV. Naturally we bought the T-shirt!

While in a spiritual mood, we later stopped by a recently completed Buddhist Temple built out of brilliant white sandstone, with the exposed ridges covered by a mosaic of mirrors. The overall effect is awesome. The place looks like an ice or sugar castle shining in the sun - like something out of a fairy tale. The entrance to the shrine is rendered all the more dramatic by a ramp over a large pit filled with sculptures of writhing arms and supplicating hands, stretched skyward for help to reach some sort of mystical salvation in the temple beyond.

Finally, nearing Chiang Rai, we visited and befriended a “long-neck” hill tribe village, took the requisite pictures of the smiling children showing off the growing number rings around their stretching necks, and generally made like good USA ambassadors. Eventually, after transitioning from highway to mere road, then to a dirt road, and from built up areas to farmlands, and from farmlands to rugged terrain, we eventually reached total wilderness and our destination - the “Four Seasons Tented Camp”.

The arrival and, for that matter, everything else about the place, was reminiscent of an African safari camp. It felt like we would be roughing it…but not really! While the steps and walks looked challenging, they weren’t. The reception area looked uncomfortable and primitive, but it was far from that. Great ingenuity had been expended to make the environment like a Boy Scout camp, but in fact the overwhelming message was “be prepared for elephants”.

Indeed, the more you looked the more you saw that message; the legs of the tables and stools were carved as elephant feet (paws?), the decorations on the borders of trays were full of elephant representations, the umbrellas shading the seating areas were stabilized with kneeling elephant sculptures and the architecture as a whole was characterized by massive elements and structures, as if built by a bunch of elephants. The pool area, consistent with the pachydermal theme, felt like a watering hole in the wilderness, interrupted by resort paraphernalia.

Of course, the expression of this theme did not stop there. We reached our “tent”, which was removed from the reception and dining area by some 1,000 feet of steps and rustic paving, after a tropical trek with no idea what to expect. What we found was, in fact, a stealth villa! Sure the walls and the top were canvas, but there any similarity to a tent stopped. The nine hundred or more square feet inside was divided into two areas, just like the villas at the other Four Season or Aman resorts. The sleeping area occupied half the space, and was well appointed with desk, telephone and windows opening on to a terrace overlooking a magnificent panoramic view of a river flowing far below and into the distance. The other half of the space was the ubiquitous bath-dressing-storage area. But among its amenities, this one sported a huge tub that could have drowned an elephant! This tub was really a creation, probably commissioned by the architect, it had a spigot in the shape of an elephant trunk and an inside finish that felt just like ancient ivory. The exterior of the tub was beautifully and colorfully painted in such a way that this perfectly ordinary bathroom fixture emerged as an incredibly dramatic centerpiece for the entire tent.

In the dressing area, we found our Mahout outfits! A coarse denim very plain top, very generous loose denim pants to be folded and tied with strings and, just for intimidation, a long checkered cloth band to be wrapped around the waist and securely double knotted – this would become our seatbelt – something for the real mahout to grab to keep us secure on top of the elephant. No hat was provided, and any kind of footwear was OK! To complete the outfit, a plastic card, complete with a string to hang around our neck, was provided. It was entitled “Elephant Commands”. On one side, the card read “Basic Commands”. In addition to how, the command we felt was the single most important one to memorize before ever mounting up – it meant STOP.  The card also included other commands, such as “go forward” (nudge behind both ears) – ‘Pai’, “lift leg high” (to get on) - ‘Son Sung’, “lift leg high” (to get off) - ‘Hab Sung’, etc. There were 17 other commands, including those on the other side of the card for such maneuvers as turn, go backward, sit down, pull chain, kick log sideway, drink, push log with trunk, etc…etc. Though we were not ready to memorize all these commands, they gave us a hint of what we might be in for.

And so it was, with some trepidation the next morning, that we donned our Mahout outfits and confidently trudged to the eating area. We had not quite finished with coffee when they arrived. There were three of them, including a two year old frisky 1,000-plus pound juvenile delinquent and his much bulkier, but equally animated adolescent cohorts. Mahouts sat on top of the older ones and the baby was led on foot by a third mahout. The morning greeting ceremony proceeded as it did every morning. Bowls of bananas were brought out and this was our way of bonding with these “Gentle Giants” It gave us an opportunity to feed them “candy” and for them to wrap their trunks around us affectionately and playfully, like a bunch of kids who never have enough!

Having thus become acquainted with the nature of the beast, it was time to become serious, and the next team moved in. The three juveniles lumbered reluctantly away and the chief Mahout made his appearance. We followed him down to the river, where we were loaded on a boat that brought us to an area about a mile down stream where we found our mounts ready for their daily training routine. Unlike our earlier breakfast companions, these elephants were frightfully huge. We were in awe, and wondered if we would live out the day.

Peter had his problems. Because of his bout with hydrocephalus, the height of the beasts was especially dizzying, but the Mahouts were solicitous and helpful. He was able to climb a 20 foot platform, where one Mahout lead his giant alongside, a second got on the elephant’s head, Peter stepped from the top of the platform onto the elephant’s neck behind the second Mahout and grabbed him as tightly as he could, while a third Mahout made it to the top of the elephant’s rump in order to hold on to Peter’s tightly wound sash. And in such manner, he was heroically carried off, one swaying, stomping step at a time, to rejoin the rest of the “Mahouts-in-Training” party.

Joyce, on the other hand, like the experienced thrill-addicted would-be desperado and, more recently Porsche enamored maniac, was able to mount her beast without the aid of a platform and four Mahouts; only one, who sat behind her and showed her how to shift gears. She quickly mastered the word PAI (go forward) and she was able to steer the beast, left and right, and even made him back up! The final test was to lead her steed to the water hole where she forced it to drink!

By mid-day, Peter, the elephants and the Mahouts…but certainly not Joyce…needed a rest. We all dismounted to get ready for the afternoon, which involved an elephant safari during which the budding Mahouts would all ride solo, without anyone pulling on their sash if they lost their balance.

And so, as the sun slowly started its descent, the lumbering cortege wended its way up and down the hilly terrain, with Peter this time gratefully ensconced in a “howda”, a sort of portable seat where he could rest his feet on the neck of the elephant and maintain his balance by holding the sides of the seat … a humiliating position, were it not for the fact that kings and emperors find this the preferred means of locomotion, if you have to be on top of an elephant!
It was quite hot that day. Towards the end of our safari we all needed water. A simple matter for us, as there was an ample supply of the bottled stuff in our bags. For the elephants, however, this involved a pit stop at a place near a bunch of motorcycles, where some helpful souls were holding a hose with running water. Each elephant patiently took its turn to “fill up”, much like cars at a lone gas pump. Each elephant had its own technique. Some filled their trunk for about a minute and spilled the content…about ten gallons…into their mouths; others simply stuck the hose directly into their mouth, bypassing the trunk. Still others combined the process and played with the water, spraying the innocent bystanders.

By the end of the day, Joyce was an accomplished Mahout, having even learned to mount and dismount over the elephant’s monstrous head with minimal help, by bending the beast to her will and having it crouch to enable the maneuver. Peter was really proud of her…and knew exactly how the elephant felt!

Just as predicted when we first checked in, when Joyce asked if she could ride both days, we were both too sore to do it again … instead, we eagerly booked the “Mahout Recovery Package” at the spa, which really helped. The third day, we had our last breakfast with the babies. At the end of our visit, we were seized by an overwhelming affection for elephants. As Joyce said, “…they are just like puppies, only reeeealy reeeealy BIG!”

Our Elephant Polo escapade a few weeks earlier had given us not only an introduction to the region and its geography, but the opportunity to meet and socialize with Bill Heinecke, a 45 year resident of Thailand and the owner of, among others, the Four Seasons hotels in Thailand. So lastly, on our way back to the airport, we followed his advice and visited the Opium Museum, bucolically situated in the Chiang Rai countryside. It was a worthwhile stop. The museum is world class in every respect. The architecture would make any of the Guggenheims proud. The exhibits were artistic and the programmatic content spectacular, sophisticated and highly innovative. Most of all, however, the ultimate message about the lure, greed, wars and ravages surrounding drug addiction is compelling and deeply thought provoking.

As we returned to Bangkok, we realized with great dismay that we had only 2 weeks left in “Hurricane Evacuation - 2006″. There is still so much to do and see in and around Bangkok, this will probably be our last side trip - shopping must now take priority! We will be home October 20th, slightly changed from all our experiences - for the better, we hope - and anxious to see all of you.