With most of the crew heading back to the states, Brendan, Steph and I jumped a flight to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. Counter to the beaches, sand and sun of the south, Chiang Mai promised mountains, culture and cooler temps. The city delivered on the first two in a big way. As for the weather, we are convinced that Thailand's "cool season" is the longest running international scam in history. If there is one, we haven't found it. Maybe they just keep that rumor out there to get you to book your flight. Once you're here, you'll fall in love with it despite the 99 degree days and 100 percent humidity and learn to live with it.

Steph had three requests for the North: elephants, trekking and "gritty" travel. While we did get fancy and fly to Chiang Mai from Phuket (expensive, but saves time versus the overnight train or buses through Bangkok), sitting on the floor of the Koh Lanta public ferry for three hours with luggage piled around us was a bit more in line with our typical "style" of transportation. First class, all the way. As for the other two, a day excursion booked through Trekking Collective gave us all that and more, thanks to our guide Chang (which also coincidentally is the Thai word for Elephant).

Chang is a Bangkok native, now living in Chiang Mai and working as a partner in the Trekking Collective, an ethical trekking company that puts custom treks together for private groups (we highly recommend it). He's probably about 60, but treks up to 6 days a week and has a childlike enthusiasm for nature, especially orchids. His excitement was contagious and his quirks - like talking to himself, scolding himself for taking a wrong turn or adding the Thai ending "kop" to every English word - were endearing and entertaining. And his stories were legendary. From trekking down from the Burmese border to raising wild cats in his Chiang Mai home, he is a fountain of random tales and tidbits. He picked us up in the morning in his Nissan 4-Runner (trust me, it was a 4-Runner, but not a Toyota) and after a quick stop at the market for ingredients for lunch, we headed out of town to the Mae Song Valley, about an hour outside Chiang Mai.

Thailand and elephants have a long history and tourism is one of the main modern industries for domesticated elephants. We, like many, struggled with the decision to visit an elephant camp. Is it ethical? Are we perpetuating the problem (supply and demand)? How are the elephants treated? Why can't they be free? Would they be if people like us didn't need to jump on their backs for a ride in the jungle? So many questions and conflicting feelings led to a long conversation with Trekking Collective on the the realities of life for elephants in Thailand, elephant tourism and the right ways (or at least not the wrong ways) to get involved. The fact is that without tourism, many of these elephants would be employed in hard labor jobs (logging is now illegal in Thailand, but was the main use for domesticated elephants for many years), would find themselves homeless or "begging in the streets," and would be unable to fend for themselves in the wild. Plus, there are people whose livelihoods rely on the work of an elephant (think farmers back in the day with oxen or horses), so there is an interesting human side to the story as well. However, and this is a big caveat, there are a lot of bad operators and companies out there who mistreat and misuse the elephants. They work them too long, too hard or when they are sick. All because there are people lined up at the door to see the show or take a ride. It is so important to find a good company, camp or conservation center to support if you want to spend time with elephants in SE Asia. The Trekking Collective uses Mae Song Elephant Camp who only work their elephants 4 hours a day and only offer full day programs during low season. Long story long, since we trusted Chang and Trekking Collective, we signed up for an elephant ride and, as you can tell from the pictures, loved every minute. There is something so sweet and special about these gentle giants and being able to spend even a brief time with them was so rewarding.

After the ride, we took a cage over the river (weird, but true... I felt like we were in Robinhood) and started our trek. It was hot. We were sweaty. But Chang's energy, constant stories and the beautiful scenery kept us going. And there were frequent breaks when Chang spotted a new orchid that he had not seen before or that was showing up for the first time this season. He would whip out his video recorder and capture the flower to investigate later (and then talk to himself about it for five minutes). After about 2.5 hours of walking uphill, we arrived at a village where Chang and the homeowner prepared us lunch over a traditional village stove, a clay pot with coals. Luckily for us, and despite the fact that he'll never admit it, Chang is an excellent cook. He says it only tastes good when you're really hungry, hence the trekking. But, his mother was a cook in Bangkok when he was growing up and his comfort in front of the fire is a dead giveaway that he has food in his genes. He even added some drama with, "Prepare your cameras!" before flames flew up from the pan. We ate in the family's kitchen/living room/ bedroom and then relaxed on the porch with panoramic views of the valley. The hike ended with a quick dip in the waterfall and a sleepy drive home to the city. We were beat, but happy from our time with Chang - the man and the elephants.