And so we made the trip to Chiang Rai. It’d been a long few months and I really felt Aditya and I needed the break. We booked the all inclusive Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort. We flew in to Chiang Rai and then a short car ride to a river where we were taken by long tail boat to the resort. These are special services we had booked to truly enjoy the experience. Enroute we were so lucky to see the gorgeous Golden Buddha glistening in the sunlight.- truly an unforgettable sight! Then as we approached the resort we were greeted by two gorgeous elephants who would now take us to our room. All the sleep vanished from our eyes as we sat on the elephants and manoeuvred through bushes and trees to get to our rooms. The elephants were lovely, though naughty. My elephant chose to stop on the way to meet a friend at the camp and we got waylaid a bit. He then proceeded to almost bring down a tree… just because he was hungry. We did make it to the room eventually but honestly the journey was what made it so fun!

The fun part at Anantara was that there were tons of activities for us to do. So after a short nap, we were ready to go bathe the elephants. We were given overalls to wear and we figured that made sense as our clothes may get dirty… Little did we know what was going to happen. We first visited the camp and saw the elephants and a new baby as well. And then we were shown the showers. Throwing water and showering the elephants was a laugh riot. But this became even more fun when we were asked to mount an elephant each while he headed off to bathe… The elephants were so fun and relaxed and took us for a merry jaunt while heading to their bath. They stopped to eat, they turned around and seemed to chat with other friends. Then they headed to what can only be seen as a muddy lake. I saw it from the corner and didn’t think much of it. Suddenly my elephant mad e a quick turn to the ‘lake’ and walked right in! As he enjoyed the coolness of the water, I was most grateful for the overalls which were now covered in mud. Laughing at how fun this was, the elephant used his trunk to bathe himself and me! Now I was covered with mud but super happy! At the end of his bath, he took me back to my room and I had a bath in cold water (not mud!).

Watermelon , the cutest elephant was at breakfast the next day and enjoyed bananas and quick kisses while she blushed and basked in all the attention the guests gave her!

We then decided to explore the bordering countries. The Anantara team was amazing. It was unbelievable how you could go by boat and then a car ride and in a few minutes reach Myanamar. There we were taken to a beautiful temple where we prayed and watched locals pray and observe their traditions and customs. Walking through their local markets we were able to shop for trinkets while the aromas of food wafted through the air. We were then taken to a picnic ground where we were given a basket for lunch and sometime to unwind and relax!

Next it was time to cross the border to Laos and once again see how close this country was and how similar all 3 countries were at least in their border towns! In Laos we also saw an alcohol speciality in vodka with a scorpion inside! While I thought about whether I’d be brave enough to try it; in the end I decided against it! As the sun set in Laos, we headed across the water and back to our beautiful hotel.

Love, laughter and adventure… this has been my favourite Thai Hotel because the location and the hotel gave me as a tourist so much to see and do.

Cost-:Approximately $1200 approximately per night for a package which is all inclusive incl transfers.

Best times to Travel-: October to February when the weather is cool and not too muggy!