Well never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be in a film of the remake of Jungle Book! But today was pretty close to coming onto those lines. I did extensive research on elephant trekking and swimming with these massive creatures that move with such grace and beauty despite their massive size. In most parts of Southeast Asia the elephants are mistreated, poked and prodded with spikes to keep them moving while sedated with tranquilizers so they won’t go wild on the individual riding them on land or in the water. I was a top the huge elephant for a stroll through the jungle for about half an hour. It felt pretty cool to be doing something traditional in this part of the world where elephants are looked upon as majestic animals with spirit.
My highlight came when I was in the river holding on for dear life as my elephant was submerging the both of us under water while blowing large amounts of water from its trunk. What a life experience it was to get this opportunity in the middle of the jungle and a small river outside of Luang Prabang. My heart did go out to these creatures as I know that daily they are used to attract people from far and wide to ride them and experience the same adventure as I did today. I know they are treated well, but whenever I see an animal caged or used to make money it makes me wish they were free to roam in their natural habitat. But these elephants seemed happy, and happier when they got to swim because of the heat. Laos is a very poor country so I understand that this business is a must to make money and feed their poverty stricken economy. The environment was clean and friendly so that’s all that mattered. Peaceful animals and a truly amazing day. Tomorrow a change of plans, it’s off to Cambodia where more adventure and dreams await. Siem Reap here I come!!!…
Much Love Ryan Phillips.
My last day in Chang Mai was a great one. I went up into the mountains and saw a beautiful Buddha that stood 30 feet high and was surrounded by other shrines and temples that were breathtaking. I had a chat with an old monk that told me I was a lucky man. He said that because of the old Buddha necklace that was given by me by Koko in Phi Phi island. KoKo told me it would bring me luck which I believe is something we create for ourselves, but what the heck. I also met a woman that was 95 years old and she walked around with the grace and poise of a 40 year old or less. Her smile was amazing even though she was missing a few teeth. She was surrounded by family that loved and respected her a lot I could tell. I was “lucky” enough to get a hug from her and she grabbed my hands and looked at me with these wise eyes. Being over here in a land where spirituality comes from within I could feel an ageless energy field when she touched my hands.
I’m Ryan Phillips from Return to Happiness. I was blessed to grow up in the mountains of North Vancouver, Canada. After leaving home in pursuit of a hockey career at age 16, I was exposed to a lot of amazing experiences and incredible adversities.
After arriving in Chang Mai thinking it was relatively tame on the hustle bustle I was mistaken in a big way. The city came alive around 7pm. And wow was it buzzing. I’m staying in the downtown area where night markets, bars and restaurants were jammed wall to wall with people. The streets were a constant flow of scooters, tuk tuk’s and others vehicles. I went and checked out the famous night markets and was amazed by some great art and a lot of cheap knock offs as well. Everyone hustling their butts off looking to sell you a deal. By no means are any of the locals rude or forceful, they are just very hard working trying to make a living. I scooped up a couple of cool linen shirts for 3 bucks a piece and a killer pair of shorts for 2. There was music and lights everywhere and people from all over the world had smiles on their faces as the energy was magical. 
Yesterday was one of the most precious days of my life. My friend Christian and his three brothers helped build a school in Khao Lak where they lost their parents in the 2004 tsunami. I didn’t really know what to expect other than what Chris had told me about these kids having next to nothing other than the clothes they wore. I was led to the school by some very special people that live here in Khoa Lak from D-Travel. They informed me that out of the 70 kids at the school they had only one ball to play with. So it was the next logical step to go load up with some soccer balls for the kids. I got them some ping pong racquets as well and and an abundance of fresh drinking water.