February 26th - Day 20 - Chiang Mai

Of the twenty-three participants only two decided to do the route through the hills, Rolf Pritz and Mark Freeman. It will be interesting to see if they enjoyed the long drive on winding roads through the Thai hills.

We, on the other hand, after talking with Greg Willams' brother Peter, an orchid grower who has been here in Chiang Mai for some years, decided to take his advice and visit an area just north of the town to see orchids being grown. Bob & Thelma joined us in their car and so we set off on the 40 minute drive at around 11am. We found our first orchid farm, Thai Orchids on the main road about 25kms out of the town. We took a a lot of photos of these beautiful plants and here are just a few.





We left the orchid farm and drove about 20kms to the Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens.

Whilst we were there having a break, Bob took this photo of us with our spirit house, perched proudly on the bonnet of the Landcruiser.

I can assure Thavi and Ouratai that it was stowed away safely before we left the gardens!

One of the very strange Bottle trees that came from South Queensland, Australia. Five were imported but several have fallen over and have died. This one has several cables to support it.

We finally stopped at a small shop selling elephant dung paper. We had seen this being sold at the elephant conservation centre but had not bought any. The shop turned out to be a small production unit and we were shown how they turn the dung into paper. Contrary to expectation it was not a smelly process, just a pretty dirty one. They boil the dung in caustic soda, wash it, beat it and then lay it out on frames to dry in the sun. It was quite an experience to peel off the freshly dried sheets of paper. A little cottage industry turns the paper into all sorts of items.

Here are a few photos of the process, beginning with the dried dung and the vat behind with the boiling soda.

The wet pulp laid out on the frame ready for drying.

The dried paper.

The paper being used to make a variety of items, including photo frames, note books, diaries, book marks and envelopes.

We bought some items as both souvenirs and gifts and then drove back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we drive more or less due east to Nan. Apparently, there have been serious wild fires in the region and a regional emergency has been declared. I hope it doesn't cause us any problems on the journey. The following day we leave Thailand for Laos.

Finally, spare a thought for Sheila and Andrew, who have a problem with their Landrover. A part is being flown from England, as I write this. They will not be able to leave Chiang Mai until Saturday, a day behind us, but with a bit of luck they are hoping to catch us up in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.