We took a tour with Siam on Friday. The tour was a 4 in 1 opportunity to ride an elephant on a short ride, see a monkey working demonstration, rubber trees, and also an opportunity to feed the elephants. Having 3 1/2 year olds requires some variety and this was the perfect opportunity for it. Below is a picture of the elephant we mounted. This is actually a picture taken by our "elephant pilot". This is the only picture that we have in file form that I have. Our friends took some other pics but I don't have them on me at the moment. This is the view we were rewarded with atop Ah-chew (our elephant's name). We also reviewed the elephant training of the younger ones. Then we were allowed to feed them. They appear to be very gentle animals. I compare it to my farm boy days with horses. Horses are gentle but require a great amout of respect...as do these. Caden enjoyed feeding them but Ava wanted nothing of it. Our next stop was the rubber tree. Below you see a picture of how natural rubber starts out...much like a maple syrup gathering operation. Each day a cut is made in the tree and the rubber "bleeds" into the cup.

We then checked out the "Working Monkey Demonstration"... monkeys are used to grab coconuts out of the trees. They spin the coconut until the vine breaks. The average monkey can harvest more than 100 coconuts in a day we were told.

Until next time... we are leaving for Bangkok this morning to spend time with your friends that just moved from Shanghai to Bangkok.