Elephants!

Today a group of twelve of us went on an elephant and rafting tour.  It was SO much fun!  We started with elephant rides, it was about an hour long ride through the countryside.  There was a mahout with each elephant, guiding them along.  There was also a baby elephant following its mother!  The elephants were beautiful and we even got to sit on their necks for part of the ride!  It was pretty surreal.

After the elephant ride we hiked for about 20 minutes to a small waterfall and got to swim in the river.  The water was a little chilly, but it felt great and it was really pretty.

Lastly, we went bamboo rafting down a river.  There were four of us on a raft and a Thai guy steering us.  We were all completely soaked from head to toe because the rafts were partly submerged and because anyone that we passed by on the river would smile and then splash us!  There were lots of Thai families and groups of people hanging out by the river, floating, and drinking.  It was definitely something I want to do again!

It was a long day, but so worth it!  It reminded me why I chose to come to this country.  Tomorrow we have a cooking class booked, so hopefully I'll be able to make some yummy Thai food when I get back!