As a Montrealer, you don’t have to travel far to be wowed by an internationally acclaimed artistic production. Last night I saw Totem at the Big Top in the Old Port, Cirque Du Soleil’s latest acrobatic show by our very own Robert Lepage and music by Bob & Bill. Totem is a sensationally spectacular sequence of human evolution and the earth’s species which is represented through music, acting, acrobatics, costumes, dance and everything Cirque!
A totem is a super human force or animal that represents the spiritual essence of a group. To worship it, is to worship in symbolic form, the social power that makes life possible and it is of great importance to well being. The show is an exciting and passionate exploration of evolution and culture and it embodies the brilliance of Montreal’s talent which Cirque has now showcased to the world! The Canadians may have lost, but Totem is something to be just as proud of.
Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai’s tropical Maesa Valley, was my first up close and personal encounter with Elephants in their natural environment. They are impressive, sensitive, strong, wise creatures. Upon arrival we were greeted by a spunky young female elephant with a hot pink flower garland around her neck. She turned out to be my favourite of the 50 elephants, she was just simply silly! I have to say when she put her snout around my neck for a photo opp, I was afraid that she was going to strangle me! Ironically enough, I also hesitated to sit on her leg, afraid to crush it!
We watched the Mahouts (elephant trainers) bathe, ride and “perform” various activities like soccer, darts, painting and harmonica performances with their elephants. The shows are at once impressive but sad too... these large, powerful, intelligent, majestic creatures seem so diminished when reduced to performing circus acts. But it was comforting to see that the elephants did seem well taken care of, happy, healthy and sincerely loved by their Mahouts!
Here are a few of the hundreds of shots Hadi took to try and capture their very impressive every move:
Like most of the visitors, we couldn’t resist our own private elephant trek through the jungle! The views are breathtaking (the terrain a little smelly) and we got to ask the Mahout many questions about our new elephant friend.
But the most memorable part of our expedition was our visit with the 1 month old new born baby elephant Meena and her mother. She was 85kg at birth...and I was afraid to hurt the leg of a full size teen elephant!
Did you know an Asian elephant is more closely related to the extinct mammoth than to an African elephant?
One of my favourite activities in Thailand (apart from massages of course) was the full-day Thai Cooking Course we took at the Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School in
Chiang Mai:
http://www.asiascenic.com/. This school is
nestled away from the hustle and bustle of
Chiang Mai, or in our case it was a safe haven from
Songkran water soakings!
We shopped for ingredients at a little Thai Market set up specifically for cooking classes and then learnt about fresh Thai Herbs in the school's private garden. Our teacher was the cutest little Thai lady who's English was excellent and she had a wonderful sense of humour! She ended all sentences with a questioning "Yaaah?" to make sure she was still engaging everyone in the 40 degree heat.
Galanga, Kafir Lime, Thai Basil
On the Menu and Prepared by Yours Truly:
Chicken Cashew Nut
Papaya Salad
Spring Rolls
Yummy Pad Thai
Other Things on the Menu:
Tom Yum Soup
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Red Curry
Panang Curry
Massaman Curry
Sticky Rice with Mango
Deep Fried Coconut Battered Banana
Yes! We will be hosting a Thai Cooking Class soon!
Chiang Mai- a must when visiting Thailand. For some reason, Chiang Mai is what I expected Bangkok to be like... visually striking, vibrant, rich history and tradition.
We were lucky to be there during the Thai New Year, Songkran Water Festival (April 13-15) where pickups drive around, loaded with kids adults, huge pails of water and water guns to spray everyone in sight. After cowardly observing from the sidelines and repeatedly being large white targets for “dumpings” of cold water filled buckets and dirty contaminated river water...we armed ourselves with the cheapest water gun in the city and joined in on the fun in the 40 degree sun!
BAHRAIN DIVA
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