Courtney Dellafiora » xocourtney.com

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Thailand, in my iPhone

So you’ve seen my photos from Thailand here. Now it’s time to share with you the random iPhone photos I was able to get of myself as well as a few borrowed from friends who were there. My face obviously spends most of it’s time behind the camera. So I am grateful to have a handful of photos that I can cherish forever from my time in Thailand.

PS- Excuse the way I look. It was hot in Thailand ya’ll. I pretty much stayed a sweaty mess the whole trip. Well, we all did! Oh well, the sacrifices we make to have an adventure!

One of my favorite things I did while there was visit the Maetaeng elephant camp outside of Chiang Mai. They have so many amazing elephants there! I took an hour ride on the back of one. We did a trek into the jungle and I LOVED EVERY SINGLE MINUTE. We went through the river and over the hills. It was like a genuine real life adventure. All I could keep thinking the entire time as I looked off into the Thailand hills, was “THIS IS LIFE”. We can easily get so caught up in our fast pace lives. But it’s SO necessary to sometimes stop, take a deep breath, and SOAK IN the amazing beauty all around us. Even if it’s just breathing in a sunset, or cuddling your pup. ABSORB LIFE.

So after our trek, we came back to the camp and watched the elephants dance for us and PAINT PICTURES. You think I’m kidding? NO. They have 3 elephants that know how to paint actual pictures of trees, flowers and elephants. I CAN’T EVEN DRAW AN ELEPHANT!!!! SERIOUSLY! And the elephant in the picture below is only 7 years old! I still haven’t really gotten over it. I mean, for real… an elephant that can paint is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. God’s creatures are so incredible. I loved my time with these beautiful gifts from God!

The following photos are a random collection of moments. From our lantern release party, to snorkeling with a million fish, to visiting Buddha.

TIGERS. Pretty much since I was a little girl I have been obsessed with this magnificent creature. Jasmine and Rajah? Yep, obsessed. I was beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to visit the Tiger Temple. I got to spend about 3 or 4 hours with tigers and there will never be words to describe how amazing that was. I’ve played with tiger cubs in the past before, but never adult tigers. First, I went into the den of tigers and got to lay several of them in my lap. Mostly the young-ish ones, but I did get to lay one full grown bad boy in my lap and WOW was that intensely incredible in every way. (Photo to the right, one down.) These animals are so sweet and kind but of course you are taking a huge risk being that they are still a wild animal. It’s very scary but worth every moment of fear. Then I got to feed a tiger. Yep, that’s chicken in my hand (top right photo). The bottom photos on the left and right are the moment I got to play with the tigers. UM, TALK ABOUT SCARY. They put you in their swimming area, let you get in the water with them (them as in several adult tigers), hand you a stick with a plastic bag on the end of it and tell you, “no matter what, don’t run… or YOU will become their toy.” — ahhhhhh! I will not lie, this was not like letting them lay in your lap. This was INTENSE. Tigers are obviously huge animals that want to play rough. We played with them by teasing them with this stick toy.. kind of like you tease a cat with a string or such. So as you can see in the bottom right photo, I was teasing the tiger with my “toy”, and in the bottom left, he attacked it. They jump EXTREMELY high in the air when they attack and they actually jump AT YOU. Let me tell you, it’s scary when a 600+ lb. tiger is jumping at you. EEEEEEEEEK!!! It was so worth it though. I mean, who gets to play with tigers everyday right????  AMAZING.

This last set of photos are also so special. In the bottom left you can see me and my sweet sponsor child Duangdao. Meeting her was definitely the number ONE highlight of my trip to Thailand. In the middle you can see the group of amazing people I had the opportunity to go on this trip with. I will never forget the time I had with each of them and the INCREDIBLE memories we made.

I cannot wait to go back to Thailand. There is so much more adventure to have. XO

  • CandaceAugust 31, 2012 - 1:46 am

    I love the pics! Did you take a tour of Thailand with a tour company or plan your own trip?ReplyCancel

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