Elephant Parade

Well I am back in Beijing - unpacked and back at work.

I have always loved elephants and this post is more about an organization that does great work with Asian Elephants.  As I said before, the plight of elephants is a sad one.  Their has been a significant decrease in the number of elephants in Thailand and the number keeps getting smaller.  There is no jungle left and these beautiful animals are forced into camps where they are put on show for tourists.  The camps are doing the best they can with the space they are given but if we don't act soon we may not be able to enjoy these amazing animals in the near future.

The organization is called animal parade.  Their website is : http://elephantparade.com/

Essentially they are the largest open air art exhibition of art elephants in the world.  They seek to raise awareness and funds for the conservation of these animals.  They also sell limited editions of beautifully painted elephant sculptures.  I bought one while on my visit to Chiang Mai and it sits proudly in my living room.  I just wanted to share the great work they are doing.  Check them out.  You can also purchase their products online.

Elephant training

It was an exciting day as we headed off to the Chiang Mai Mahout training camp.  I love elephants and this was one of the main things I wanted to do in Chiang Mai during my week here.  It is different than a lot of elephants camps throughout South East Asia in that they provide more than a ride and show.  We were dressed in Mahout elephant clothing, taught how to feed, climb, dismount and wash the elephants.  Here are our new friends and the Mahout trainers who have grown up with these massive beasts.

After feeding came the climbing.  It was amazing to feel the strength of their trunks as they hoisted me up over their head.  A bit frightening but so amazing. This is a traditional way of getting on the elephant from the local people.  They also taught us how to climp on on their feet and legs by grabbing onto their ear and skin.  The strength of these animals is what amazes me the most.  They can carry up to 2 tons on their back so I suppose our bodies doesn't effect them too much!

After the "learning" component we had lunch and then rode the elephants to the river where we bathed them but unfortunately didn't have access to my camera.  To wash an elephant and scrub it down with soapy tree bark was an experience I will never forget.  We rode past many tourists who were riding elephants the "touristy" way on the chairs that sit on their back.  Our package involved the training which I was very grateful for.  It gave us a much more authentic experience.

Bonding with the elephants was the highlight of my trip.  They were so kind, gentle and accommodating to us climbing all over them.  The situation in Thailand with elephants is a rather sad one.  There is no more jungle left for them to free roam and so they only option for them is to be living in "camps".  Although the local people do their best with what they have, this is not an ideal living space for an elephant. We were fairly pleased with the facility and their care but could only wish that they had a slightly better life.  One group that is doing great work with elephants in Thailand is http://elephant parade.com   I bought a beautiful elephant from them last night knowing that the money was going to a great cause.

Meeting the newest addition to the camp was another highlight.  This baby was only born 3 days ago - how luck were we to be able to play with it!

Petting tigers!

 Well, another great day in Chiang Mai.  There really is soo much to do in this little city.  From elephants, tigers, snakes, monkeys, long-necked women, rafting, atv'ing, there isn't much that isn't capitalized on.  A bit of a disappointment really but can be exciting for the transient visitor.  I was so excited to be able to play with baby tigers today.  We got to the Tiger park after hiring a taxi for 4 hours and although a bit expensive (1250BHAT), it was worth every cent.  When do you get to play with baby tigers, watch big cats frolic in a water bath and lie on the grass with small tigers? This was a great experience.  Enjoy the pictures!

Takin' it easy in Chiang Mai

Hi Everyone,
It has been a while since my last post.  Last week I was fortunate to attend a professional development workshop in Bangkok, Thailand called EARCOS.  This was stimulating, challenging and gave me lots of great ideas to put into my teaching.  I am so happy to have been able to go.  Not only was it a great conference but we were also hosted at the Shangri-La hotel in the CBD downtown area and the quality of the conference was outstanding.  I will be putting thoughts and reflections on my new edublog which I will be using to keep all of my ideas and projects in one spot.  The url for my edublog is: http://tgascoigne.edublogs.org/
As of now it is empty but check back as I am excited to be building my network online and keeping up with current trends in technology.
I am also on twitter now: https://twitter.com/#!/T_Gascoigne

After a busy conference I flew to Chiang Mai yesterday for some rest and relaxation.  This week is our April holiday and we have the week off.  In an hour I am going ziplining over the jungle and hoping to see some elephants, tigers and other cultural things later in the week.  The weather is hot and the pool is also looking like a nice option later on!  Hope all is well in your lives.  Thanks for checking the blog - please pass my blog on to anyone else that might be interested.

Blog inspiration

I'm going to be honest, this blog thing isn't my thing but I want it to be so I have new inspiration to get it going.

I'm back in Beijing again. I returned in august 2011 to work at a new school, BISS. So far the experience has been great. I am teaching grade 3 and loving it. The staff are great, supportive and am finally feeling settled. I am living on my own this year in an area called Phoenix city, not far from my old school. I have the best of both worlds, being able to still stay connected with my friends from the Canadian school but still have the privacy of living on my own.

I just got back a couple of weeks ago from Vietnam for the Chinese national holiday. Went with 5 friends and had a blast. It is the rainy season there so we had lots of rain but enjoyed sunny mornings at the 5star pool and exploring the area. I am in the middle of planning my Christmas trip to Boracay, Phillipines. Stay tuned...

January/February

This blog is proving to be a difficult thing to remember to update, however, I realize that it will be something I appreciate in the long run.  Christmas was spent in beautiful Thailand on Patong Beach on the island of Phuket.  It was an incredible experience. I love the Thai people, the culture, the beach and warm weather.  Christmas was very different this year with a swim in the ocean, great time with some friends and a cultural production in the evening complete with acrobatics, elephants and dancing.
It was hard to return to work after such a great holiday but having only 4 weeks of work until the next one made it quite doable.
So.....January was a great month, however cold, with lots of adventures.  Soon after returning a few teachers and I planned a day trip to Nanshan ski resort. Nanshan ski hill is one of the most popular ski hills in Beijing.  Only 1 hour away, it is a man-made resort but the skiing was awesome! It was nice to be out on the slopes again.  It was really neat to see from a distance this white ski hill amongst the brown rolling hills on either side.
Around this time was when I decided to book my flights for Chinese New Year which was only a few weeks away.  We decided to go to Vietnam and Cambodia!  These are two countries I had never dreamed of visiting but it looked like it was shaping up to be a great time.  The week before we were set to leave our school had its 5th year anniversary.  Complete with a meal, prizes, entertainment and lots of laughs, we celebrated in style and had a fantastic time.
The day finally came for us to leave for Vietnam and Cambodia.  Because I booked through aeroplan points we had a 24 hour layover in Hong Kong.  This was a lot of fun and was a great way to get a taste of the busy city of Hong Kong.  We spent the night at a dirty hostel downtown Hong Kong and the next day we took the tram up to The Peak, which is the highest point in the city and gave us breathtaking views of the harbor and buildings.  That evening we boarded a plan, first class, headed for Ho Chi Minh city, vietnam.  The trip was amazing.  We spent 1 day on the Mekong Delta on a cruise, then headed for Siem Reap, Cambodia to see the Angkor Wat temples.  After staying here for 3 nights we took a bus down to Phnom Penh to visit the awful killing fields and S-21 prison used during the genocide under Pol Pot during the 1970's.  This was a sad day.  Afterwards we took another bus down to Sihanoukville, a beach town, and spent 2 nights there and then 4 nights on a remote island called Koh Ta Kiev.  There was nothing to do except lie in hammocks, swim, read and relax on a beautiful beach with 30 degree heat.  Life couldn't get much better!
After the long trek back to Beijing we arrived on Saturday Feb. 12th back in our humble abodes with 2 days to get rested up and ready to get back to work.  Now begins the long haul until my return to Canadian soil in June.

December

December is a month full of reminders of Christmas and the upcoming holidays.  It is the same here in Beijing.  Our school is loaded with christmas trees, candy canes, and ho ho ho's.....it makes me sad to not be around familiar surroundings and people.  Yesterday I got a Merry Christmas CD from my friends in Sackville and it was a true gift, something that made me happy, yet sad not to be there. It is hard to believe that it has almost been 4 months since I landed.  What an adventure it has been!  I continue to experience new things, meet great people and work harder than I ever have had before.  I recently travelled to Xi'An which is a city south of Beijing famous for the Terra Cotta Warriors.  These warriors are all man made and each one is unique.  They were accidentally discovered by a farmer in 1974 who has been made famous (and rich!) as a result.  While we were there we got to meet him, get his signature and take his picture.  We travelled down on a sleeper train over Friday night which for me was a highlight in itself and flew back on Sunday morning.  It was a fast trip but full of lots of exciting sightseeing.
It is now less than 2 weeks until we depart for Bangkok, Thailand.  We spend 3 days there and then fly into Phuket which is the beach we are staying at for just under 2 weeks.  I am very much looking forward to a break from the school and my students and some much needed rest and relaxation.   Thanks for reading this short message.  Things are going fairly well for me..this whole experience very much seems like a fog that I haven't come through yet...it should be an interesting year.