I had read about a woman's correctional institute where the inmates are taught to do Thai massage and then are able to work in a spa connected to the prison. We walked down around lunch time to see if we could book ourselves in for a massage in a couple of days time. When we arrived we were told that they didn't do bookings and that the massages were offered on a first come first served basis. The next available appointments were at 3pm so we changed our plans for the day and booked ourselves in. We went back to the accommodation, checked into our dorm and then chilled out for a while since we'd slept on a bus the night before.
Just before 3pm we headed back to the prison for our massages. I am ridiculously ticklish and have never really enjoyed any massage so I opted for a foot massage while Kay and Jess went all out and got Thai massages. The place was very professional and the ladies all very nice and friendly. I kept wanting to ask my masseuse what she was inside for as she was so sweet that I couldn't imagine her doing anything illegal. My foot massage was great, lasted an hour and only cost £3. I wouldn't say that I am very high maintenance at home, I've had my nails done a handful of times, I think one facial and again, a handful of massages. In south east Asia it's a different matter, when you can get a pedicure or massage for a few pounds, it would be rude to say no.
We went to see a couple of temples on the way back to our accommodation and then got ready for dinner. We had the most amazing food for dinner, I had a delicious banana curry while Jess had young coconut curry and Kay had Kaow Soi. Full bellies and an early night for us.
The next morning we were up at the crack of dawn to get ready for our day at the elephant sanctuary. We had originally picked to go to a bigger place called Elephant Nature Park but they were full for quite a few days and so the lady at our accommodation recommended this place ( Elephant Retirement Park ) and I am so glad she did. Our day started with a bit of a meet and greet and some information about the sanctuary, the people working there and, of course, the elephants. They had four elephants at the park that day, one was 25 years old, and pregnant and there were three young ones between the ages of 2 and 5. We spent the morning feeding the elephants and getting big slobbery kisses and cuddles from them. Then came an amazing lunch of pad Thai, fried rice, chicken wings and watermelon. Yum. After lunch we got to get into the water with them and splash around until we were all thoroughly soaked through. Next was the really fun bit, mud bath! This was followed by some more time in the water with them so we could get all the mud off ourselves and them. This place was so wonderful, they rent elephants from other places in order that they can give them a better life away from mistreatment or being made to perform tricks for tourists. They can only rent the elephants as the law in Thailand says that they must be passed through a family from generation to generation. They, really sadly, didn't have enough money to keep the older pregnant one last month and so had to give her back. She spent the whole month in a cage, pregnant and in a cage. This makes me feel sick but thankfully they managed to get her back this month. They are a relatively new place and I really really hope that they succeed and they manage to save more beautiful elephants from abuse.
We went back to the same place for dinner because it was just that good! I spoke to a couple outside who had looked at the menu and were about to walk away. I told them they were making a huge mistake and they should definitely eat there. They weren't disappointed and neither were we. We asked if they did cooking classes and we told that if we went back any day between 3pm and 5pm, and they were quiet, they would show you how to make your dish and give you the recipe.
We had a bit of a chill out day today. We started the day by going to a yoga class, Kay's and my first ever, if you exclude the one at the top of the mountain in Sapa. The class was wonderful, the instructor was really great, I can't wait to do regular classes when I get home. After lunch we went to a cafe called Catmosphere for some tea and cake. This cafe has 19 resident cats which you can play with while in the cafe. It sounds kind of gross but the place was spotlessly clean and the cats are so beautiful and obviously very well looked after. I am allergic to cats and so took two antihistamines in the morning thinking that would do the trick, but unfortunately not. I started to get itchy eyes and kept sneezing after a while and so I had to go sit outside. I did manage to be around them for about an hour though. Pad Thai and an early night for me while the Kay and Jess went to the night market.
We spent the next morning at a cooking class learning how to make 4 different delicious thai dishes. I decided to make pad Thai, a chicken coconut milk soup, papaya salad and Khao soi curry. It was so much fun getting to make all these things and I can't wait to try out these and the other recipes from the book we were given at the end of the class.
In the afternoon we took a bus to Pai, the journey consisted of over 700 corners on an uphill road. Thankfully it didn't actually feel too bad, it was my ears popping with the height that was bothering me rather than all the turns. We arrived in Pai finally feeling hungry after eating so much food at our cooking class and so ventured down into the town. Our accommodation was a wee bit away from the main strip but the walk only took ten minutes, but you do need a torch to see where you are going. Pai is such a cute wee place with lots of yummy looking street food and cool shops along 'walking street'. Our accommodation is called Circus School and you can in fact learn how to do some fire tricks here. The place also has an infinity pool!
Glad to be back in the land of pad Thai and 7/11s.
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