ELEPHANTS, BAMBOO RAFT & SNAKE FARM (Day 6 - part 2)

Once back at the main camp, we wandered about until the rest of the tourists arrived. Lunch was a mostly vegetarian buffet.

Each posing with a different form of transportation!

Then it was time for our raft tour. Each bamboo raft was bolted across the front, middle and back by a wooden slat. You could see the water beneath you. The wooden benches were not attached to the raft so could have 2 or 3 rows. Two men with long bamboo poles guided us along the shallow, dark green river. It was an extremely pleasant ride... with the sound of swirling water and cicadas, and a slight breeze. During the small rapids, water would wash over the top of raft and up through bamboo poles.

A vendor sells drinks from his boat.

After we disembarked, we were driven to the elephant dung recycling workshop. The dung is washed, partially dried, boiled, bleached, then washed again. A machine then beats it for an hour. It is then laid flat on a screen and dried in the sun to make paper. Dye or other items (such as flowers) can be added. We watched them make cards, photo albums and a variety of other crafts.

Finshed paper

And elephant-shaped, elephant-dung-paper sticker

Next on our tour was the Mae Sa Snake Farm. We first walked around the area. There were snakes, iguana, birds, monkeys, a Siamese crocodile, and bunnies (which looked suspiciously like food for the other animals).

The jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world, weighing up to 80 pounds! Is it any wonder that people die every year from one falling on them!

Then came the exciting snake wrangling show! Beginning with two Siamese cobras, the wrangler would provoke them to repeatedly strike. They missed every time but it looked REALLY close! He would then slowly touch their heads and push them to the ground. They also brought out a python and other snakes that would try to bite but weren't necessarily venomous.

The wranglers had fun scaring the audience. Every time a snake would make a bolt to escape the ring and into the bleachers, the wranglers would wait until the very last second to grab its tail and pull it back. At one point, a man wrestled with a snake in the ring. Suddenly he yelled and flung a piece of rope into the audience. Naturally everyone FREAKED out until they realized what it was.

We got to see a "milking" demonstration (extracting venom) and see the fangs close up. Along with petting several snakes, we also got to wear some... and of course, as is tradition... kiss them too.

On the way home, we stopped again at the Bai Orchid and Butterfly Farm.

Back in Chiang Mai, we grabbed some dinner and then wandered about the night market.

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