Living with the elephants


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Asia » Thailand » North-West Thailand » Chiang Mai
March 22nd 2012
Published: April 18th 2012
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Our first night in Chang Mai and we arrived at BMP Residents, which was also booked in Bangkok. It was nice enough. Just average. Had a pool, but you wouldnt get excited for the pool it wasnt outstanding.



I spent the day led by the pool while Jimbo went exploring with some guys we met while checking into the accomodation, Mo and George (African and Italian). I almost got knocked out by an umbrella pole but had a nice day sunbathing on my own.



In the evening we went for dinner at a place called The Riverside (and yes I did have the Riverside song stuck in my head while we were there) . It was delicious. Our group grew: Mo, George, Morgan (French) Alex (French-Candian) and Tom (fellow English). Everyone was really nice and chatty. SOme of the guys had a meal that came in a whole coconut, some form of seafood curry. It looked amazing.



We then went to the Muy Thai, which I wasnt keen for but changed my mind when they all got out of the tuk tuk. It looked fun so I went along too. One of teh tuk tuks that took the other half of the group there was amazing. It had neon lights and a massive sound system. It looked like it should hav ebeen on Fast and the Furious. The boxing was interesting to watch. Next to us were 3 18 year old guys from Biristo. Who were nice to chat to, James Joe and Will. I didnt really understand the boxing and they were all making bets which I thought id stay away from as the local guy seemed to be making a fortune. At one point there was about 6 people in the ring and they were all blindfolded. That was werid and brutal. The ref was getting beaten and one of the guys was absolutely massive, he shouldve been a sumo wrestler!



At one point we received some abuse from behind us and it was Sam who we met in Koh Tao. I have never been so please to see a little bold man!



The next day was the start of the elephant trek. We got picked up from the hotel by Lowe and his wife, there was a little misunderstanding about our receipt (as the hotel had kept it) but that ws sorted and we were away. On the way we met another English girl called Emma, who went to university with one of Jimbos friends and knew him which was weird.



When we arrived at the camp we were greeted by two elephants. They were big but not as big as I thought they would be and we fed them bananas that we collected on the way. On our tour there were 3 English people, 3 Amercians and 3 Germans. After we fed them all the bananas everyone started walking but Jimbo and I got to ride the elephant to the middle of the camp! HA! My shorts were covered in so much dirt and I was clinging onto Jimbo for dear life. I thought I was going to fall of every step the elephant took. It really isnt as easy as it appears.



At the centre of the camp there were lots more elephants including a little one, Lantong. So sweet. We met Mr Paul who was to be our guide and was incredibly funny. Turns out he worked in America for alot of his life so his English was amazing and he was 70+!! Amazing. He told us all about the elephants and about how they have been saved from Burma and looked after by the Mahoots in Thailand. We then got taught all the elephant commands and practiced on one of the smaller elephants:

Song -lift leg (to get on the elephant)

Sung - lift leg higher

Pai - forward

Toy - backward

How - stop

Sai and qua - right and left but cant remember which way is which.

Melong - lie down (to get off)

Then after the practice we were off. Jimbo and I ended up with the mummy and baby elephant, Butong and Lantong. This meant that the baby elephant followed us everywhere, which you would think was sweet and yes it was to begin with. Then the little elephant kept walking between mums legs and infront and they walk so slow. It took us forever to get anywhere. The first trek was round the jungle a little bit and then we went back to camp for some lunch. Standard Pad Thai but it was delicious.



The second trek we went on was up to the waterfall where I sat on the front (or drivers seat as Mr Paul called it - even though the elephants didnt listen to us anyway). We got absolutely soaked washing the elephants, in pooey water, and it turns out I had a friction burn on my hand from the elephant skin and holding onto the rope (which was later to get a little infected and puss green stuff probably from this moment) but it was lots of fun.



Turns out when we got back to the camp that Jimbo and I were the only ones that were staying the 2 nights and that we were only the 4th group to ever do it. Interesting ... We all went to visit the tiny baby elephant at the other camp. He was tiny and so sweet. Plus there they had all the family. They obviously had the mum, but they also had the dad, grandmother and a brother of the baby one. He was about the size of a shetland pony maybe a little smaller.



Then Jimbo Lowe and I walked down to another place where they do white water rafting and had some dinner which was the biggest load of food ever and we barely made a dent in it. Then back to our camp. Here we both had a thai massage from the cleaner but it was amazing and then we both sat chatting to Lowe while bats flew around my ankles. It was so surreal but so cool at the same time.



Next day we were cooked eggs and toast which were so good again and took Butang to feed them vitamins at a completely different camp. Here we got given more food for breakfast which we politely ate at least some, stickey rice, curry and some watery soup with wantons. Making the vitamins was fun, it was banana, this sour fruit which was delicious, some seeds of some form and salt. We had to mash it all up together and then with our hands (delia smith would be proud) roll it into balls to feed them.



After this we took the elephants down to the river for another bath and once again got absolutely soaked, but this time I was wearing my walking shoes, luckily of which were wwater proof so they werent completely destroyed. Then we went back to camp for lunch (which I could not eat) and joined the rest of todays group. Druing this time I was getting headbutted by Langtong, which if you have never been headbutted by a baby elephant, massively hurts! Then I was being squashed between baby elephant head and wooden bench which also massively hurt and Jimbo took his time helping me out. But I was fine.



Jimbo and I offered to walk to the waterfall in teh fternoon as there were alot of people in this group and not enough elephants so we said tha tsomeone else could ride ours. That group were massively boring and unsociable and I was happy when the day was over as noone seemed to want to chat or anything. THey just kept to their individual groups.



Then after this we went back to the camp with the baby elephant where we stayed that night. Got taken to the river to shower as the water wasnt working, which I did not do as the water was too cold. Plus to get down to the river was a trek adn a half so b the time we walked back up I was sweating more than before we left. Lowe said that his wife and I could go to the other camp to shower but by this time the water was back on so it wasnt a problem. We then ate more food (massive portions again) and we got little packs of salted nuts and these sweet biscuits as well as coke and as much water as you could drink. They looked after us really well.



When we were in our hut in the mosquito net and saw a few little spiders of which I killed straight away - panic over. It was pretty horrific still though. Then something even worse happened, Jimbo was faffing about with the torch taht we had borrowed off Lowe and came across the biggest spider I had ever seen in the corner of our mosquito net inside, with us. It was huge. It was about as big as my hand. I have never seen anything like it. I ran out as quick as possible of the net and just stood in the room with a candle light unsure what to do. Jimbo stayed in but couldnt move and then we were devising plans of how to get rid of it. I suggestred that I would go outside to see if there were any Mahoots or sign of other people so they could get rid of it, no lights at all. Then Jimbo told me to put my shoes on to stomp on it. So, after checking there were no spiders in them, I pubt my walking shoes on and at this point the spider was under my pillow. Jimbo moved the pillow and it ran between teh two mattresses so i started kicking. AFter much kicking, jumping and noise making, the spider was gone. Not dead, but it disappeared. Unsure where we both had a restless night.



We also found out that one of the German women from the first day complained to Mr Paul about the number of forest fires that were occuring wanted a refund. HA! Most were not man made at all, most being nearly all of them.



The next day, after another enormous breakfast we went on the back of the elephants to the camp with teh white water rafting... (massive storm at the moment in Hoi An and the power keeps cuttign out - will finish anotehr time)

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