Much of Chiang Mai tourism is elephants as the city is not too far from the mountains where these creatures used to roam free (and a small number still do). We heard different estimates, but there seem to be at least 100 different elephant parks in the area. All are a little different, offering tourists something a little different. Some are certainly more humane than others. We did our research and felt confident about the one we chose, and even after our visit, I still felt that way. Many of the parks offer elephant riding. I hope you will consider, if you ever have the opportunity to ride an elephant, not to do it. Why? First off, we saw the backbones of two different elephants standing side by side. One of them had been in the logging industry for years, carrying large things and more than likely being ridden while the other was born in the park. The difference was startling. The one who had been worked for years had almost a flat back, where the other one's spine curved above her back, showing a stark difference. For elephants to allow riders, their spirits must first be totally broken. Heart-breaking, right? Many in Thailand are working to make the activity illegal.
Let me tell you first a bit about Elephant Nature Park. A passionate Thai woman, Lek started this park as a haven for Asian elephants who had been mistreated. She works to save elephants from difficult conditions such as street begging (which has only recently been outlawed), logging industry, circus-type shows and elephant riding. The stories of these poor creatures are truly heart-breaking. Some of them have broken hips from so much work, some of them have broken feet or legs from stepping on land mines at the border, some are blind from the bright lights of a show, some were babies found abandoned in the woods and some show signs of mental distress from being on the streets for so many years. One gave birth to her baby, but it fell down the side of a mountain and she could not save it. So deep in depression, she wouldn't work. Her mahout (muh-hoot) got so frustrated that he shot a slingshot at her eye and blinded her. Upset, she threw her trunk at him and he stabbed her in the other eye. Truly heartbreaking stories.
While I believe Lek would love for these animals to live free, their injuries, and the fact that they have always been domesticated means that they cannot take care of themselves. So, she's not trying to prepare them for the wild, but rather give them a comfortable home where they can live out their days. While a very few babies have been born at the park, the adult male elephants are separated (they usually live on their own anyway) to prevent any more pregnancies. They'd rather spend money on rescuing elephants than breeding them.
Here, at the Elephant Nature Park, the mahouts still "train" the elephants, but it is for rewards rather than with punishment techniques. Every one of the 72 elephants in the park has its own mahout, its own care taker who spends ten hours a day with it every day (imagine the level of trust and devotion there). The mahouts are there to keep the elephants safe as well as the people who visit the park. Elephants form families, groups that they live in. In the wild, these are made up of a small number of adult females and some babies, most of which are probably related. Here in the park, they formed their own families. These bonds are stronger than blood. The babies are nannied by all adults in the group, and certainly protected by the whole family. The healthy ones lead the unhealthy ones. They mourn the loss of one of their own and they protect their family. Which is another way the mahouts play a role. The mahouts try to navigate the families around the park so that each of them gets time in each part of the park each day, without families fighting over coveted parts, like perhaps wallowing in the river. At night, the mahouts put the animals into large cages within their families, once again for protection. For protection from other families and to keep them from wandering off as there are no fences around the edge of the park.
My thoughts on Elephant Nature Park went back and forth a lot. On the one hand, it sort of felt like a zoo with the males in a large enclosed area, another family in an enclosure, animals letting us pet them, feed them and pose with them. But on the other hand, these animals are loved and well-cared for. And, if the park didn't offer a few of those cheesy, up-close encounters, I doubt it would draw many tourists, then where would the money come from to help more elephants? So, overall, I believe Lek is a truly-good-hearted animal lover who is trying to do some amazing things, and I was thrilled to get to see the park.
The Elephant Nature Park is much more than that, it is a home for the orphaned and the misfits. There are over 100 water buffalo who help to trim the grass. (We had a couple close encounters with some of their horns!) It is believed that if you give away a water buffalo, it raises your spirit or betters your afterlife. Some farmers also sold theirs after they were able to purchase machinery to do the work on their farm. Over 400 dogs (plus the ones that come from the villages to play for the day), call the place home. Many of these dogs came from the streets of Bangkok, puppy mills and even saved from the slaughter house. About 300 cats currently have a home there, not to mention the cows, the goats, the chickens and who knows what else. I loved seeing so many animals in one place living, perhaps not as friends, but harmoniously never the less. Cats made their homes on scooter seats, tables, nooks and crannies, and even snuck into guest quarters. Dogs wandered about, sometimes chasing the buffalo, but generally staying away from the elephants. We had to watch where we sat to ensure we did not disturb a creature, as they had first dibs.
The park is also full of people. The park employees hundreds of people who cook, clean, guide tourists, give massages, care for elephants, grow and gather crops and much more. Volunteers come from around the world to stay at the park for a week or a month to help out however possible. Vet students volunteer, do research, and get practical experience, plus there are the people like me, a tourist. So this park is flooded with people and creatures of all sorts of types living and working together in a beautiful harmony.
Now, I think I've given you enough background information about Elephant Nature Park that I can tell you more about my time there. It felt so very much like camp! Not just because we all smelled of sunscreen and bug spray, and it was hot outside, but also because of our groups. K was our leader for the first day. He picked each of us at our hotels and was in charge of the 8 of us most of the day. We had our own assigned table and times that we were to do specific things. (There were probably about 8 other groups like us.) We started our time by feeding the elephants from the platform. We fed them bananas, pumpkins and watermelons. The large items were cut in half, but they ate peel, skin, stem, seeds, every bit of it. I don't think we could overfeed these guys even if we tried. Did you know they eat around 300 pounds of food a day? Yeah, now imagine that times 72 elephants!
Side note: these are Asian elephants which are slightly smaller than their African cousins and have noticeably smaller ears.
K took us on a walkabout where we got to meet and feed another elephant, one who's broken foot had healed improperly, became infected and as such, she had to be contained. We walked around more as K told us stories about individual elephants. There was the five year old male whom he called "Fat Boy" because most elephants wean at 3-4 years old and yet he was still nursing. And because of his size, he had to lie down to nurse as he could no longer fit under his mom. There were the two females who stuck side by side because one was blind and the other lead her around and cared for her.
Then, it was time for lunch, and while the gong brought people running just like it does at camp, food was not like any camp food I ever had. There were heaps of Thai food, wrapping around the corner and spilling over to more tables. My plate was overflowing, I didn't really know what I was eating, but I loved every bit of it.
We had some free time after lunch, so Jessica and I went to our own little haven, the Cat Kingdom! It was a true kingdom for cats: blankets, pillows, cat beds, benches, high walkways, everything the hundreds of cats could want. Some were new to the park and were in enclosures while they became accustomed to the area, but most that were roaming free welcomed attention. They didn't follow or swarm you (they're cats, remember?), but they allowed you to walk amongst them and stroke them, allowing more stroking if you were doing it correctly.
Our afternoon consisted of another walk where we watched elephants wallow in the river, splash about and act like stubborn children when their mahouts called them to get out. After a great bath, what else to do but throw mud on yourself? They do this as a natural sunscreen.
We also got to help in the bathing! While a mahout offered a basket of bananas to some elephants, we threw buckets of water on them. I think it was a win all around. I think they love water, but perhaps not as much the way we did it as wallowing in the water, but then again, there was a large basket of bananas there.
In the afternoon, after the place cleared of many day-guests, we were led to our accommodations, of which we were all expecting dorm-style rooms. It was not, it was absolutely luxurious. Our room had a queen bed and a twin bed, both canopied in a mosquito net along with a large bathroom including a rainfall shower that was attached to a "tree." Our balcony faced one of the elephant enclosures where they were put up for the evening. Much of afternoon was spent on this deck that we shared with our two Australian neighbors. Like us, close friends that liked to travel together, they had impressive backgrounds and lists of places they had traveled to. Kristen had grown up on a farm where they raised racing horses while Felicity had grown up on a farm with thousands of sheep, cattle and more. They had both lived and worked in England for sort of a gap year before college, sparking a love of travel that continues today.
The dinner bell called us all back to a massive spread of food once again. I was half-way through eating the pork, chicken, noddles, rice and vegetables when someone mentioned that the Elephant Nature Park was vegan. I have no idea what exactly I had been eating, but man, it was delicious.
During dinner, I also enjoyed meeting a young woman from Portland. She was there for ten weeks, volunteering, trying to get a new business up and running. The Elephant Nature Park is also involved in a new industry of coffee in the area. The climate is perfect for naturally growing coffee beans without deforestation. They are working to give women a sustainable way to make money on their own, and in the process making delicious coffee. And guess what, you can even get free US shipping. Want to feel good about where your next cup comes from? Check out ENPCoffee.com
After dinner, we were treated to a show by the local women, ones that were employed at the park. They wore traditional Thai dresses and danced to traditional Thai songs. Dogs wandered amongst the guests, stopping for some attention periodically, confident that the guests were in fact there to see them rather than the women performing.
Then, it was time for audience participation. Forty or so of us got lessons from the women about dancing and then, we broke into dance circles, conga lines and even danced to "Gangnam Style." We were all dripping with sweat and laughter by the end, thrilled to be surrounded by such great diversity.
During the night, sounds of elephant calls woke me up, but I drifted back to sleep thinking what an extreme pleasure it was to hear those noises.
Breakfast was once again, a huge spread of healthy, natural foods, including a fire burning grill where we each could make our own toast. We visited the cat kingdom once again, and were thrilled to find the kittens beaming with energy, climbing the fences of their enclosures, all the way to the ceiling. The kittens pounced and pranced about, leaping on one another or chasing bugs while their mothers looked on, seemingly thankful they did not have to participate.
Our new guide, Dao (rhymes with cow) led us on another walk around the park where we met Sexy Lady, an older elephant who came to the park with a small hole in her ear. Her mahout wanted to make sure she felt pretty, so he put a flower in the hole.
We also saw the male elephants and a couple more families who enjoyed the riverside. One family had a year-old baby who seemed to love the attention. She was quite the ham putting on a show for us. She could climb on the log, over it, back cross and was thrilled with her skills. What a treat to watch this young one enjoy herself!
We played with the cats some more, bathed some more elephants and once again enjoyed a massive hot meal. Then, it was time for us to cook for the elephants. Some of the older elephants don't have teeth, so it is harder for them to chew and get the nutrients they need. Working together in a large bowl that fit all eight pairs of our hands, we mixed sticky rice, bananas, oatmeal, rice powder, salt and ground corn into a giant messy dough that we then formed into balls. Next, was one of the biggest treats: feeding the elephants these balls. As they were messy, we had to get right up close to them, and man, they loved the rice balls!
Messy, tired, but full of excitement and thankful for the timing of the rain, we loaded up and headed back to Chiang Mai with our new-found friends, eager to share what we had seen and learned, but also eager for a shower.
On our way to dinner, we ran into Emilia, a solo traveler from England who had been in our group. A paramedic by trade, she had been living in Vietnam for the past year, teaching English, but was spending two months traveling before heading home. We enjoyed our street food dinner, our favorite Thai dessert, mango sticky rice, a drink at the bar and getting to know our new friend. It was a great last night in Thailand before heading on to a new country.
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