tales from thailand: Orientation: Elephants and Karaoke !

My favorite day that I have had in Thailand so far was our day trip to Kanchanaburi and our last night of orientation. This day was memorable for a lot of reasons, but the coolest part of was being able to ride an elephant!! Alexis and I rode the elephant through the paths of the elephant camp and into the river, which was my favorite part. Then we got to take turns sitting on the elephant's neck, which was actually really nerve wracking because I thought I was going to fall off every time his shoulder blades moved!! After our elephant ride we moved on to the bamboo river rafting, which was a really simple concept but very enjoyable. We got to go swimming in the river and glide along the side of the raft, with beautiful mountains in the distance and our friends passing us on elephants. It was definitely a one of a kind event and it was really fun! From the rafts, we returned to the camp and caught the end of the elephant show, which had adorable elephant babies doing tricks with hoolahoops and entertaining the crowd.
After our visits with the elephants, we visited the historic Bridge Over the River Kwai. I only knew about the bridge because of the famous song, but it was really cool to see it in person and learn about its significance during war conflicts in Thailand.
After the bridge, we wrapped up the day-trip at the coolest restaurant I have ever been to. It was an all-seafood menu so I had a heaping portion of white rice and fruit, but it wasn't until after dinner was served that it started getting fun. The restaurant (originally docked on land) was being tugged along the river by a small Thai boat and we were cruising along a gorgeous scenery of greens with beautiful mountains in the background. Then, the disco lights came on, the DJ played "Gangnam Style" and the 2 hour dance party began! I didnt participate because I was way too tired from the day, but it was a fun environment and it was a great way to kick off the last night of orientation.
Once we got back to the hotel, everyone changed quickly and rushed to the downstairs bar that they opened especially for us. It was the weirdest room I have ever been inside, with strange Egyptian patterns on the walls and a funky smell, but the Karaoke songs were all of my favs, pure 90s and love ballads. I was loving it! Skye and I did a great rendition of "I Want it that Way" and then Alexis and I designated ourselves the token background singers and belted out every song that followed.
Overall it was a great last day of orientation. The next day we traveled back to Bangkok where we all met our coordinators and said our goodbyes.
Alexis and I were officially on our own!