Bending Elephants

Set off for an afternoon stroll in Chiang Mai, exploring many more of the beautiful temples. Our aim for the 3 hour walk was to end up at the Whole Earth Restaurant. We walked past a small door surrounded by brightly coloured paintings. We ventured through the door and ended up in a different world – a maze over 3 levels, photos entirely covering the roof and walls, artwork hanging in all directions, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash playing on the gramophone, Martin having to crawl on all fours trying not to bump his head – welcome to John Gallery.

 

We spent a good half hour browsing through all the artwork with not a soul in sight and all of a sudden from the depths of the cave a smiley man covered in splotches of bright paint poked his head out and said "Sawadee!" – John himself.

 

After purchasing some artwork, we finally ended up at Whole Earth – ravenous. It's a good place to feel ravenous. We filled our bellies with an Indian feast, washed down with a couple of Chang longnecks. What a beautiful place to enjoy such nice food, surrounded with tropical ferns, flowers in all colours and candles lighting our way.

 

Completely stuffed we wobbled home through the Night Market, where Bec bought a couple of elephant keyrings, which reflected nicely the way we felt. At the end of the track awaited the second highlight of the day, an hour long Thai massage, on the daybeds at our guest house. We were greeted by two small elderly giggling ladies, which lulled us into a false sense of security. Then started an hour of the most extreme bending and stretching we both have experienced, with a surprising strength coming out of these tiny ladies.

 

Then we crawled the ten meters to our room.