Out of the dark...Chiang Mai part two and beyond.

Part Two

Many of us have a favorite animal. Myself, I am particularly fond of elephants. I was a little concerned that we would get to the elephant park and find that the pacaderms were being mistreated. To my delight, I found no such thing. (I have heard these rumors and maybe some are true. I personally saw no harm come to any elephant during my visit to the park.) Each elephant spends its life with one trainer. The trainer cares for it just like a beloved pet. Many of the elephants appear to love the attention. They will bow to people with or without command. They love to be pet and played with. I was fortunate enough to frolic around with several of these gentle and super smart giants. So much fun!

I LOVE elephants!

Our next stop was Perth, Australia. Pert was quite a change from Asia! It is a wealthy city with beautiful white sand beaches. We spent one day biking around a natural attraction known as Rottsnest Island. We took a ferry to get to the island and once there, we rented a couple bikes for a self-guided tour. It was over 100° F so when we found a stretch of secluded beach and skinny dipped in the ocean, it felt fantastic! When we got out of the water, we sun-bathed in a similar fashion. Topless tanning is not uncommon here. In fact, after a little bit, a couple of ladies joined this stretch of white sand and did the exact same thing.

A light house on Rottsnest Island.

Another lovely view from our bike ride on Rottsnest Island.

Enjoying the water in the 100+ weather. Photo by J.A. Atwood.

One more view before we leave the island.

The next day was spent at the zoo and wine tasting. The main things we wanted to see at the zoo were kangaroos and koalas. We were not disappointed! The kangaroos were so cute I kind of felt bad for trying some kangaroo meat in Bangkok a couple nights before.

Sleepy koala at the zoo.

For wine tasting we drove out to the Swan Valley wine region. This was kind of a rare experience. Most of the wineries we visited do not export anything to America. Wine tasting was fun and yummy.

We love wine! Photo by J.A. Atwood.

We ended our night with a lovely dinner in the city since the next day was Valentine’s Day and we would be spending it in-flight.

Next stop is Auckland, New Zealand.

Side note: The Prime Minister of Australia apologized to the Aboriginal people yesterday for mistreatment by white Australians.

Please do not alter photos in any way. Please only borrow photos for PERSONAL use and please ALWAYS give Dana R. Atwood credit for the pictures you use. Thanks!