To ride an elephant without knowing
We have a few more days in Bangkok and a visit to an elephant sanctuary pops into our minds. The idea is to feed the elephants, walk with them, and bathe them. As appealing and exotic as it may be, we decide against riding them. I’ve read somewhere that an ethical way to ride an elephant is skin to skin. Anything else is considered animal cruelty. We arrive in an area surrounded by a jungle. It’s hot and humid and adventure is in the air. A few minutes later, we change into blue outfits and with childlike excitement, feed the elephants with bananas and sugar cane. The animals devour them…
Monsters in Bangkok
Bangkok. The airplane window is so sweaty that anything is barely visible outside. The feeling is as in a Turkish bath – steamy and sticky. Perfect conditions for my hard-to-tame hair. A promise for an adventure! We arrive during a dengue fever outbreak. Despite that we religiously apply and reapply a mosquito repellent throughout the day and wear long sleeves in the evening, we get our first bites from gigantic mosquitos. They bite through the clothes! While I wait for the agonizing symptoms, we get bitten a few more times until we stop counting the red skin swellings. It turns out not every mosquito carries the disease and even during…
Ode to the orchid
Orchids are my favorite flowers. I chose them for one of the most special days in my life, I enjoy orchid bouquets and having orchids at home. Orchids are the world’s largest family of plants. The variety of these flowers is amazing: there are over 25 000 different species. Vanilla is also a type of orchid. In Thailand, often called the land of the orchids, the flowers are everywhere – at the airport, at hotels, in temples, on the street. Orchids in ”Barbie doll” boxes are available to buy at the airport. Labels assure that they have passed an agricultural inspection. Orchids immortalized in resin, orchid jewelry, and other eye-catching…
