Thailand Tuttle Travel Pack. Jim Algie

Чтение книги онлайн.

      8 The Elephant Conservation Center

      On the shoulders of giants

      As the former mascot of Siam’s flag, and revered by many Thais as the most regal of beasts, the elephant still occupies a prominent place in local history and folklore, even as the herds thin and the mythology wanes. On most of the major islands, like Ko Samui, Phuket and Ko Chang, and especially in the northern part of the country, riding an elephant is a rite of passage for first-time visitors to the kingdom.

      For festivals, the Elephant Roundup, where they reenact famous battles fought from the backs of pachyderms, lumbers into action every November in Surin (the province that is home to the most creatures and mahouts).

      For those animal lovers who really want to experience the life of an elephant handler and learn how to “drive” the world’s largest land animal, the Elephant Conservation Center in the province of Lampang is a good choice. Many visitors opt for the three-day course. Expect to go “rustic” and live, eat and hang out with the real mahouts. Also expect to have your own elephant assigned to you for the duration of the course. Come sundown, when the elephants are taken to bathe in the river, it turns into a free-for-all water fight as the tuskers use their trunks like fire hoses.

      Most guests at the center wax rhapsodic about the authentic Thai fare served at the homestay, though they also grumble about the roosters crowing all night and the necessity of bringing a good pair of earplugs.

      Originally set up as a hospital for wounded pachyderms back in 1992—when a young female had her leg blown off by a landmine along the Thai–Burma border where she was illegally employed to haul logs—the Elephant Conservation Center is helping to bestow some dignity upon a vanishing breed rapidly being reduced to a clown show and circus act.

      Opening Times Daily 8 am–6 pm

      Address 28-29 Lampang-Chiang Mai Highway

      Getting There From Bangkok catch the train at Hualamphong Station bound for Chiang Mai and get off in Lampang. The trip takes 10–12 hours. Bangkok Airways has one flight per day from Suvannabhumi International Airport to Lampang.

      Contact +66 (0)5 424 7875, www.changthai.com

      Admission Fee Various programmes from oneday visits to 10-day-long mahout training programmes. See website for prices.

      9 Wat Phrathai Doi Suthep

      Holy mountain stands tall

      Wat Phrathai Doi Suthep is the pinnacle of northern spirituality: a mountaintop temple outside Chiang Mai with a cornerstone erected on fantastical tales about a monk and a Buddha relic and a white elephant who died up here. Whatever one believes, the golden chedi gilded with sunlight, the shrine to the sacred tusker, and the balustrades made from the snake-like body and crested head of Phaya Nak (“The Serpent King”) certainly do look otherworldly.

      The view of the city from on high, some 1,066 meters above sea level, is also fit for a deity. From the road, the not so fleet of foot can skip the 300 steps by riding the cable car up to the temple.

      The complex is a fanciful confection of Buddhist and Hindu elements, with the fairytale whimsy and those brightly hued colors that appeal to Thai aesthetics. With a history dating back more than six centuries, the temple is hugely popular with both locals and tourists. For all that, Doi Suthep (it’s often referred to by the name of the mountain it crowns) is a real temple with genuine supplicants and monks. There is also a model of the “Emerald Buddha” on hand that inspires veneration.

      Standing almost 1,830 meters high, the mountain and its sister peak are part of the Doi Suthep-Doi Pui National Park. It’s also one of the kingdom’s best bird watching areas. Near the temple are Hmong hilltribe villages.

      As the Thai saying goes, “If you haven’t eaten khao soy (a spicy northern-style curry with crispy noodles) or seen the view from atop Doi Suthep, then you haven’t been to Chiang Mai.”

      Opening Times Daily 6 am–8 pm

      Address Km 14, Srivichai Road

      Getting There By car or tuk-tuk the temple complex is 30 minutes from the center of Chiang Mai

      Contact +66 (0)5 324 8604

      Admission Fee Climb the 300 steps for free or take the tram for 30 baht.

      10 A Muay Thai Boxing Match

      Punchy entertainment for the whole family

      Muay Thai is the most artistic and mystical way for two men to beat the snot out of each other. As the two fighters step into the ring of Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok—the sport’s Mount Olympus for regular clashes of the Thai titans—they are both wearing garlands of marigolds around their necks and colorful headbands. After removing their silky robes, the two barefooted boxers walk around the ring, stopping to pray in each corner to the guardian spirit of the ring.

      Then live classical music composed of two drummers hand-pummelling their instruments, another man clinking finger cymbals together, and a Thai-style oboist playing melodies serpentine enough to charm a cobra, kicks in. The two boxers begin dancing around the ring. Their slow fluid movements ape the graceful movements of Thai classical dance. Occasionally, they both kneel down, touching their foreheads to the mat in obeisance to their coaches. After the two fighters and their coaches pray together for a minute in both corners of the ring, their mentors then remove the boxers’ garlands and headbands.

      In a martial art that flagrantly mixes the sacred with the profane, the men in the crowd make gestures and wagers on the outcome of the match before each fight begins.

      Make no bones about it, Muay Thai is brutal. Each of the 10 matches on a fight card, which begins in the early evening and lasts until 10.30 pm, is filled with punches to the head, elbows to the jaw, knees to the rib cage and vicious kicks to the throat, chest and calves.

      For СКАЧАТЬ