The author writes about a 16-day, August 1996 vacation to Thailand, where she rides an elephant with a swishing tail on her 70th birthday. She describes the history: geographical; original settlement by humans in the 13th century by Chinese; the only Southeast Asian island never ruled by the West; King Mongkut (as in Anna and the King of Siam) and other rulers. It is not a travelogue, but the author' story of a special experience, brought alive through the people they met, the rules of behavior, etc.