I don't exactly know what I was expecting for our elephant experience. I knew I wanted a place that does not allow you to ride the elephants or put on a show. I wanted to actually be helping these amazing creatures. I guess I just wasn't expecting so many stories and visuals that made my heart break into pieces.
On our ride to the park we watched a video documenting how some elephants are treated in Thailand. Some being used to beg for money on the streets while rocking back and forth in pain from the noise and vibrations. Some as timber elephants who are worked too hard and pushed to extremes. Luckily the light in all of this was at the Elephant Nature Park. Lek Chailert, the founder, has created an environment to protect many animals and give them a well deserved life. Not only are there seventy-two elephants ranging in age from one year to over eighty years old, but also over 400 rescued dogs, 300 cats, and a large herd of water buffalo. Yes, you heard me, 300 cats!! My kinda place. We made friends with them right away, and a few may be hidden in my bag at this very moment... But, back to the elephants.
Several of the elephants have stepped on land mines while working and needed serious help before coming to wander through the park. A few are blind from human causes, bright spotlights, punishments and more, and rely on their new found families to guide them around. Some have seemingly small problems such as their old owners cutting off the hair from their tails to sell at high prices. You'd think this was no big deal, but in fact that hair is used to throw mud and dirt on their backs to protect them from the sun. Every where I looked there was another elephant who had gone through something awful before coming here.
We started our day with a quick feeding. Some of the elephants are fed by visitors and happily wrap their trunks around the tiny bananas and watermelons we handed them. After this we walked through parts of the park meeting elephants and learning about their histories. One part I loved the most was how these elephants pick their families when they arrive at the park and stick together. Every elephant has their own mahout to take care of them. The families each have their own areas of the park to avoid conflict. We even got to see several babies! There is no breeding there, but a few moms were saved as they were pregnant. The babies are doted on and have "nannies" who help care for them.
Later that day we met a few elephants at the river and helped wash them off. They love playing in the water and rolling around cooling off. Just watching them was an amazing site. And the water felt good for us too!
The place felt very much like summer camp. Each group had a table and we all hung out together. I was lucky to have a wonderful group to talk to and hear travel stories. We had dinner and went to watch traditional Thai dancing. At the end the dancers pulled everyone up and had us join in. We started with just copying them and a bit of free style, but suddenly Gangdum Style was blaring from the speakers so there was nothing we could do but gallop around like idiots. It was hilarious. The Thai dancers were adorable as we danced away the night. Talk about sweaty! We finally stopped and headed to our surprisingly comfortable room with a shower that looked like a tree. I wrapped my mosquito net around my bed and went to sleep with sounds of elephants in the background.
The next day we had a new guide and walked around the park more. We also got to do a little cooking in the elephant kitchen! Don't worry, it was easy. A nice mixture of rice, bananas, corn, salt and a few other ingredients mashed together with our hands and rolled into balls. We took these to the elephants with no teeth and fed them. They grabbed them eagerly and followed us with their trunks for more. Our cooking was delicious.
Waiting for our next river walk I heard a commotion from the kitchen area. A calf had lost his mom and wandered onto the platform. He seemed calm at first and just walked around the people. The dogs however did not appreciate him being on their turf. It took several workers and one quick trip through the gift shop to get him out. I think he just wanted a new shirt. The excitement didn't stop there. On our way to the river the calf appeared again, being chased by a scooter. This upset him and he charged the guy with his newly grown horns. It was a bit unnerving, but after dodging behind a van for a minute we were able to move on. Hopefully he found his mom and was happy again.
After a bit more time with the elephants and a quick rain storm we were back in the van heading to Chiang Mai; with a bit more knowledge, a few more friends and possibly some stowaways in my bag. And of course one baby elephant for my mom. No wonder my bags weigh so much!
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