Elephant Trekking

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29th March 2005
Koh Chang, Thailand.

After a very late awakening I hung for a bit and then took off to try my hand at Elephant trekking. I ended up getting dropped off at wrong beach - did I mention that they don't have traditional taxi's here, just share-taxis which are utes with seats along the edges? Anyway, they do. So I ended up at Klong Prao, which turned out well, because it was there that I saw the sign for a 'Swimming with Dolphins' package. Worked out the details ad organised it for the next day before catching another taxi to the Chang Chutiman Elephant Trekking farm. There's about three elephant setups on the island and I'd chosen that one because they were advertised as having a baby elephant, Charlee. But when I asked to see Charlee, she explained that he had drowned in November, and shows me this laminated sheet with a picture of a dead baby elephant in a ditch!!! How traumatising! I pushed it straight back without more than a glimpse. 'No, no, no see Charlee" I said, quite weirded out.

So that was strange. But anyway I bought a two-hour trek for 900baht, which is less than $36, pretty cool, and met my elephant, "Rambo" - ("Rambo" and "Charlee", somebody's been watching too many American combat movies) - and went up the steps of my platform to get on the elephant. That was a little scary, so high up. But the seat was very secure, and off we went. The first 5 minutes or so are fun, then the thrill palls as you just sway along at a leisurely pace. The elephants don't run or anything like horses do. It was still nice, though.

Halfway through my trail converged with that of some Swedes and we went on together until we reached a waterhole. Stopped there for about twenty minutes, and I stipped off to bike shorts and top and dived in off the main rock while the Swedes (all guys) were still standing around debating it. The water was lovely. Dived in and swam about a few times, then went to make friends with my elephant. After getting permission I stroked his trunk for a bit and his eyes, aleady sleepy, closed, so I must have been doing something right.

Then as we went to go off again my guide/elepant trainer insisted I sit on his neck and ride him. That was pretty cool! Elephants are very hairy, though, and it's a pretty tough bristle-like hair, so I was happy enough to get back. Will download the picture later.

So it was pretty late in the arvo by the time I got back to White Sands beach. I lazed about and had a shower and glared at my sunburnt skin and went off to meet up with Rosie and Kate. More of the same lovely food and lovely beach and lovely drinks and then off we went to Tantamar for lovely music, but the main band had finished up for the night so that was a wee disappointment. It was really funny, though, I think the staff had had a few tokes out the back or something because they were even funnier than the night before and the older one was completely off his nut. He's so funny, he walks around in loose Thai clothes (as most do here) with one of his maraccas wedged down the back of his pants between his butt cheeks, often with his other maracca in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other. He had one of the American tourists shaking one of his maraccas at one point and we just sat there and laughed and laughed.

Later we found out where the band was playing and went there and later half the Tantamar staff turned up and we chatted and drank and it was all very nice. My new favourite song is "I'm Sorry", originally by Tracey Chapman. I definitely want to go back there before I leave.

So I said my goodbyes to Rosie and Kate at some point near 3am (they were leaving next morning) and exchanged emails and I trotted off to bed. Now another day of lazing. What a chore.

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