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Published: September 13th 2008
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Bonjourno from the land of Pad Thai and Red Curry again, where we have had one of the
most amazing experiences of our trip so far... a day at an Elephant Conservation Camp in Chiang Mai!
The initial idea of paying to hang with elephants left us a bit quesy (horror stories of abused animals are rampant in Asia), but our fears were unfounded because after spending a day with our elephants there were no questions in our minds that these animals were loved and well taken care of! We chose carefully which "elephant experience" to participate in, and researched to find a place that is known for its care and conservation efforts with the elephants.
The day started out with the four of us (our friends Dan and Maria are here from Canada) getting a little Elephant 101, and then introductions to our "own" elephant. At first we were a bit intimidated because elephants are GINORMOUS and could squash us if they wanted to, but we quickly learned that they're very gentle animals!
After the intial "greet and eat'" (we bought baskets of fruit from farmers to bribe our elephants for their affection/tolerance), we got a lesson
Elephant Love
Take note of the baby playing in the water. in daily elephant care and then set to bathing them in the river. Definitely another "pinch me, is this real??" moment!! Trevor's elephant was a new momma, so we had her mischievous 4 month old baby "Bee Mai" slipping around, getting into everything much like a human toddler would. She was super playful and her game of choice was "knock the human over". It was very entertaining and fascinating to take in (but alarming when she knocked Trevor down and attempted to stand on his knee -- thank goodness someone stopped her) -- pretty freakin' cool to interact with elephants like this!
After bath time in the river, we discovered we were going to be riding bareback and got lessons in mounting and dismounting before setting out for a trek into the jungle. We learned how to mount our elephants by both their trunk and front legs, and practiced a few times. Another "pinch me" moment for sure! We were also taught a few commands in Thai, such as "go", "stop" and "don't". The last one was quite useful when it came to my elephant trying to uproot an entire banana tree while I was on his bare back
and trying to hang on! We had their trainers with us the whole time though, so our inability to remember the words and/or truly control our elephants did not affect much.
The jungle trek was quite the adventure, as it was a little steep for us. It was a wee bit difficult to sit gracefully/comfortably on our elephants as they navigated their way up and down muddy/rocky slopes - not a whole lot to hang on to! Definitely an adventure worth having though. Upon arriving at our destination in the jungle, we had an incredible traditional Thai lunch at a waterfall and then swam some more in the river with our elephants. Swimming time was cut short though due to a downpour (you have not experienced rain until you've experienced
rain in a tropical rainforest climate), and back to camp we headed.
At camp we learned another riding technique, and set out for another walk through rice fields and down a shallow river. This time we balanced on top of the elephants heads and rode with our legs hanging down their trunks, instead of with our knees tucked behind their ears. Super cool. That brought us to the
First Trek of the Day
Beginning our jungle trek end of the day, where we once again bought fruit from farmers (this time not as a bribe, but more of a "thank you for not squashing me" gift) and said our goodbyes.
What made the day so cool was that first off, it was just the four of us, so it felt alot like a private or personal experience rather than a gong show tourist attraction. The opportunity to connect with such a majestic animal and to see that they have personalities just like we do was incredible. And the staff were wonderful! They were patient and friendly, and seeing them play with the baby or giving affection to the adults was rewarding and heartwarming. Knowing that these animals really are loved means alot to us!
It was definitelly one of the highlights to our entire trip and a day we won't be forgetting anytime soon!!
T and K
PS. For other travellers, the name of the camp is
"Patara Elephant Farm" and we highly recommend them!!
PPS. Most of the photos in this blog post are not taken by us, but the photographer who accompanied us throughout the day.
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Steph
non-member comment
WOW!!
Guys this looks SOOOO AMAZING!! I'm jealous!!