Here Come the Elephants!

Elephants! I’m skipping ahead here because it was just so fun. Everyone who’s done it says it was one of their favorite things on their trip to Thailand. Elephants are a big thing here, not just because there are so many of them but because of their significance in Buddhism. There are statues of elephants all over the temple, almost anything you can buy is decorated with elephants: scarves, hangbags, tablecloths, earrings, belts; you name it, it’s got elephants! In Buddhism they represent strength and steadfastness. There is even a pagoda at one of the most important temples in Chiang Mai with a pagoda dedicated to an important elephant: story goes that the elephant carried one of the shoulder bones of Siddhartha to the top of a mountain and then promptly died, and the king ordered a shrine built on the spot. We postponed the trip from Sunday to Monday because Paul had been sick. But even on Monday, he wasn’t feeling great, and he’d learned a hard lesson about overdoing it. So sadly, he decided not to go. He was especially unenthusiastic about the bumpy 1½ ride to get there—and he was right. Rather than the nice air-conditioned vans of tours past, this was an open car with benches hitched to an SUV. Well, okay! I was the last one picked up. I quickly realized that I was by far the oldest person in the car. There were four American girls from California and a lovely young English woman, Katie, and her friend Joseph, who, it turns out went to the same uni (Southampton) that Paul did! Small world. The ride wasn’t too bad and the breeze lightened the day’s heat; until the last few miles, that is, when it became very bumpy (and a little scary—please don’t let this thing tip over!). But soon enough, we were spotting elephants from the dirt road. Elephants! Yay!

We arrived in Camp 5 of the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. Paul and I had done a lot of research about

these places, wanting to be sure we weren’t contributing to the exploitation of the elephants in the guise of a rescue operation. The very popular and well-regarded Elephant Nature Park was full on the days we wanted to go, so we picked this one out of the handful of other elephant rescue places. Gathering in the open-air hut with a few other carloads of visitors, our guide, Lulu, talked about the rescue efforts. Elephants in Thailand had (and, in some places, still are despite laws to the contrary) been used as pack animals, hauling logs from the rain forests while chained by the neck and feet. They’d been used as tourist attractions in cities, posing with tourists and doing “tricks” on hot pavement. Even the previously popular elephant rides have fallen into disfavor because of the way the elephants have to be trained—that is, beaten and abused—to make them docile. So there were no rides here, just lots of feeding and bathing and swimming.

First on the agenda: feeding the elephants! This was a good way to get everyone used to the elephants and vice versa. Although Lulu had already warned us: “The elephants don’t see you, they see banana! They want banana!” Yep! Over to the first pen to meet the elephants, where baskets of small bananas are provided. There are about five adult elephants in this area, two “teenagers” (a few years old), and two babies (under a year). For the babies, we’re told, we should peel the bananas first.

Oh my! I have to say, it was a bit scary at first! Not because anything bad was going to happen, but these are very big creatures. “Stand closer, move over here between the two elephants,” Lulu instructs (he’s holding my camera, trying to get a good shot). So I do, but it’s a bit nerve-wracking at first, mostly because the elephants will keep trying to take the bananas out of your hands or pocket whether you’re offering or not, and it’s a bit weird to have a big trunk reaching over your shoulder! Soon enough, though, we all got over it and were happily feeding the elephants, who’d take all the bananas they could get. They grasp them with their trunks and pop them in their mouths. Or, once you get braver, you stand closer to the elephant and call “Boon! Boon!” and the elephant will open his mouth so you can pop one in. Everyone’s having fun, the elephants included.

The babies are so cute! The adult elephants are very protective of the little ones, surrounding them to keep them back from potential danger, so the babies and teens don’t come out till it’s clear that we’re all harmless. The smallest one was just darling, still learning to grab the bananas with his trunk and would just as soon open his little (comparatively) mouth for you. The next oldest one, they told us, could peel his own bananas. Still not sure how he did it, but he popped the skin right off with his trunk before putting it in his mouth.

After hanging out with this group, we headed across a bamboo bridge suspended over the river. They

Katie, bringing in the sheaves

On the bridge!

gave us sheaves of bamboo (or something) to carry across: not for any purpose of the day’s activities, but hey—might as well put us to good use! The bridge was obviously sturdier than it seemed! It swayed under my feet, a bit alarming to us all at first! On the other side of the river were the other elephants, five in all, I think. An expectant mother was loosely tied by one foot to a post—pregnant elephants can go a bit stir-crazy (understandably) and want to run. But running is not a good idea for many reasons, Lulu said, most of them for the

Joseph--doesn't he remind you of Brian Cole?

elephant’s safety. The biggest reason being that the sanctuary abuts several farms, and the farmers are not at all happy, to say the least, when an elephant tramps down his crops. By now we’re all old hands at feeding and hanging out with the elephants. The new baby, whose mother was rescued from the rain forest but didn’t make it, isn’t eating yet, but is curious and likes to hang around and smell the bananas. These are the elephants we’ll be taking mud baths and swimming with.

Soon enough, it was time to change into bathing suits and head over to the mud pond. First, another warning lecture: “Elephants are not pets, they are not like your dog! Elephants don’t care about you. If they want to move, they move. And when they move, YOU move!” Also “Elephant will probably poop in the mud. Remember, it’s just the banana

!”

Off we trekked to the mud pool. A bit of an effort climbing down the rocky bank in bare feet, then into the pool, where at various places you’d sink into mud up to your knees. Of course, everyone had to get muddied—why should the elephants get to have all the fun? The guides and handlers did most of the muddying at first. When an elephant would lie down for a roll in the mud, Lulu would gesture us over to rub mud on them. They looove the mud, and who can blame them? So cooling in the heat of the afternoon. Once an elephant decides to roll around, though, you have to get away from their feet and out of the way. And once they decide to move—well, let’s just say, MOVE. And I did! About half the people had already gotten out of the water when the elephants started moving. Katie and I seemed to be right in their path. One of the guides swept tiny Katie up on the right side of them. “Go left! Go left!” they shouted at me, and boy, did I go left and scramble up that bank. One look behind me was more than enough to get me going! I thought about what Tarzan said when he saw the elephants coming: “Here come the elephants!” Yikes!

Next it was rinsing time, so we all trudged over the bamboo bridge (it is definitely sturdier than it feels!) and joined the elephant in the river. We all got plastic bowl for rinsing the elephants and ourselves and it was great fun for all of us, elephants included. Everyone got to pose for photos. Katie and Joseph (who reminds me a lot of Brian Cole) I were first. The guides have decided that Katie and Joseph are honeymooners (they’re friends) and that I’m Katie’s mother—not sure how that works: who brings their mother on their honeymoon? But by now we’re all friends so we obliging pose—and everyone douses us with water with their bowls! Didn't see that coming since we were first; good fun and it made for a great photo!

Afterward, we had a swim in another area by a waterfall (sans elephants) then a meal of massaman curry and rice, then it was time to go. What a fun day! Hanging out with the elephants and making some new friends. Paul and I met Katie and Robert for a drink at the River Market bar near both our hotels later that night and had a lovely time. They're off continuing their adventures too. We've seen so many twenty-somethings from England, America, and Europe off having break-year or summer trips through SE Asia—how great to be able to do that when you're young!