We headed out of town, to the west, for about 50 km, which by now feels like a short jaunt. Our goal was the Chai Laid Orchid Eco Lodge, where we were going to try a low carbon footprint in a jungle setting for a couple of days. The outfit offers a few rustic bamboo cabins in three clusters: garden, mountain, and river. For the first night we will be in the garden section, but for the following day we will be moved to the mountain section due to some sort of screwup with the booking.
The garden section faces the rice paddies and at the beginning we got "the best cabin" in the place, which was very roomy and included a giant bathroom with a lovely wooden tub that I promptly submerged myself in. It is hot, so the trickle of cool water was perfect to get into the spirit of relaxation. This was the perfect follow up to the brutal massage I got yesterday! After half an hour I got out and was drying out in the jungle breeze, wrapped in a towel, when one of the young hostesses came to tell me that they were going to move us out of the shared room to two separate rooms. Something about the owner of the property offering us a swap because he had decided to come and stay, and he wanted his own room. Mondo bizarro but we made the swap.
Meals are served at the main location, which is quite a distance from the garden section. We had a tasty pad thai for lunch, and that gave us the opportunity to see mama elephant and her two kids. Baby is totally cute and takes plenty of naps, so Mom cannot go very far without having to constantly establish contact with her trunk. Baby loves water and is always ready to play with their keeper when he turns the hose on him. Junior, on the other hand, is a scattered teenager that appears and disappears at random and is always looking for food. The elephant family is a big plus for the lodge, and elephant viewing or bathing is a big draw of tourists to the region. Elephants are, alas, all domesticated, and the humans are responsible for feeding them and keeping them safe and comfortable.
Overall a quiet day spent in jungle meditation.
No comments:
Post a Comment