Who is that guy?

 Yesterday morning we drove past the train station, out of the city, and into the countryside. As we headed toward the largest vineyard in SE Asia we gradually gained altitude. The road sinewed up the mountainsides until we reached Monsoon Valley Winery (https://www.monsoonvalley.com/en). You can read the full story on the vineyard’s website.

It is one of the most beautiful vineyards I have visited. The 300 hundred acre property sits on the side of the mountain with the grapes neatly planted by varietal: Colombard (which I loved), Chenin Blanc, Sangiovese, Rondo, Shiraz, Muscat, Dornfelders, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc. The vines take up about 272 acres of the property with the rest of the acreage planted in indigenous plants and a small amount of land set aside as an elephant sanctuary. 

Once the grapes are harvested they are transported to Bangkok for processing. This province does not allow the processing. After our ride through the vineyards we stopped at the Elephant sanctuary. Elephants are the national animal of Thailand representing strength, loyalty, and longevity.   

At the sanctuary we met the two inhabitants, both in their thirties with a life expectancy of at least 70. We were each given a basket of bananas to feed the two gentle creatures. The young boy in our group started to peel the banana but the keeper explained to all of us that they like the whole fruit, peel and all. And they especially like getting 2 or 3 at a time. At one point, I only placed 1 banana in his trunk. He looked at me and put his trunk out for more. His look said it all, “Come on lady, don’t be stingy.”

After the elephants, yes we were given moist sterile towelettes to clean our hands, and up to the bistro we went. We were just a bit confused about the tastings. We finally realized that you selected a tasting with or without tapas. We then selected one that consisted of Colombard, Rosé, and Shiraz with tapas--an apple timbale topped with lobster, a crab leg with greens, and a smoked duck breast. Heavenly! Kudos to the chef.

 

“Who is that guy?” Dennis asked our guide Art via Google Translate. That “guy” was Luang Phor Thuad a revered monk who lived some 400 years ago in southern Thailand. It is said that he performed many miracles, including turning seawater into fresh water. The large head and ears represent his enlightenment. Take heed and the next time you see a guy (or gal) with big ears, ask them to share their wisdom. The three headed elephants seen with Luang Phor Thuad represent three major gods in Hindu mythology: Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the keeper, and Mahesh, the Destroyer.

Before saying good-bye and thank you to Art we stopped at the Floating Market. The people there were lovely and perhaps a bit lonely. Many of the shops are closed. It is a sad place and is falling into disrepair. We made the best of it, buying a few items from more than one vendor. They were so gracious. If you are willing to sit thru the eventual videos, you will be rewarded with a pencil made in Thailand!

 And finally, Dennis has his say—Just a bit of a glitch on our tour today, Art (our guide) was right on time. A great guy but…didn’t speak English even though the trip was advertised as having “an English speaking guide.” We had a Google English/Thai translator on our phone and he did too but it still made communications slow. It’s tough making small talk especially when he’s driving. All in all, the three of us were able to get our questions and comments understood but I do like personal small talk to get to know people better. You know, like “How do you and your wife get along? Argue much? Do you smoke pot and if you do, where do you buy your weed?😜

Cindy through her writing, videos and great pics pretty well covered our day so I won’t bore you with more verbiage on that but I really liked the elephants. Their owner spoke English well so I got lots of information on how he came to be their caretaker, how old they are, how long they live, etc. Unfortunately, we had to move on with the tour so I never got to the “small talk” of does he believe in God or does he have more than one wife? Bummer. Tomorrow, a food tour. I’ll fill you in on my thoughts about that later…