It is Thursday morning and the all the girls are ready, with their bags packed, to go. We have three days on the road with all the girls and all the “mothers”. The girls are excited and are looking forward to this trip. We are taking 4 trucks with us to Chiang Mai. When we have reached the half-way point we stop to eat lunch and then continue our journey. In Chiang Mai everyone gets out and walks to the train station because aside from the drivers everyone is taking the train down to Lampang. For many of the girls this is the first time traveling by train and they are really enjoying themselves despite the heat. The youngest girl soon falls asleep because after an hour and a half it is no longer new and exciting. Days later everyone is still talking about the train ride and how beautiful the scenery was, the sounds, the ravines we passed and the length of the train that became obvious when we rounded another corner.
When we get to our destination it is evening and everyone is ready for a shower but a storm has just passed through and has knocked out the power so there is no water. But with the help of the handyman the problem is partially resolved and there is enough water to freshen up a bit. Then it is time to sleep and everyone lays down in the big meeting room at a local church where we will be spending the night.
The following day we go to an elephant reserve where we get to see how in earlier times the elephants worked for the humans by moving logs. The elephants have been trained to greet, let their caretakers mount and dismount, and even paint. What beautiful animals they are but also somewhat scary. The girls get to feed the elephants afterwards and they are even allowed to pet them and of course pictures have to be taken with them as well.
Other things we did include shopping at a big mall and at the local market, eat good food, go to a powerplant to learn how power is generated, and to a ceramics factory. We all had loads of fun and we learned a lot. Everyone arrived back home feeling satisfied after 3 incredible days on the road.
