Throwback! Kyle's Travelogue Thailand: Royal Elephant Kraal(2/4)
Who doesn't love elephants?? This 4-part throwback post was originally published in 2014 on http://michaeldesrosiers.blogspot.com/ during Kyle's visit to Thailand. The elephant is the national symbol of the Kingdom of Thailand, and of the Thai monarchy. Tourists love elephants! Unfortunately, not all of the elephants in Thailand are treated well. Many are forced to perform for tourists, or give rides for hours and hours in the Thai heat without food or water. Many people sadly only see these magnificent and intelligent creatures as a way to make money. You can look online and find lots of sad stories about how some elephants in Thailand are essentially tortured until their will is broken. The saddest part of all is that many tourists, unaware of this, are unknowingly supporting this terrible situation, just thinking that they are having a fun cultural experience. That's where the Royal Elephant Kraal comes in. The Kraal is an organization that rescues and protects elephants, and treats them very well. The elephants are treated with the best of care. It's much more expensive than any of the elephant rides that you'll see in Thailand, but please, research before you go. Don't pay into the abusive system. Spend the extra money to support an organization that actively protects elephants in Thailand.
-Michael
-Michael
Part 2: Royal Elephant Kraal, Ayutthaya
Special guest author: Kyle Desrosiers
Special guest author: Kyle Desrosiers
***
July 14, 2014
We cruised through Bangkok in the early morning light, just as the sun was rising in the smoggy sky. About halfway into the drive, we stopped at 7-11 so our driver could refuel. This gave us a chance to get a drink and use the restroom. In Thailand, gas stations are full-service and still have attendants who pump the gas for you. At random, I picked up a bottle of EST Cola brand green cream soda and and a bag of spicy Thai chips. After about 45 minutes more of driving, we were finally leaving the sprawl of Bangkok and its suburbs. We passed by tropical forests and farms, and before we knew it, arrived at Ayutthaya.
My first impressions of the Elephant Kraal and Village was of how rustic and traditional it looked. This place was worlds apart from Bangkok's Siam Paragon. Our van pulled up in the mud road, and we had to wait as Brahmin cows and scrawny goats slowly moved out of our way. Then, we entered the Kraal's property. The Royal Elephant Kraal was where the King of Siam traditionally would go to select the best war elephants for his army. Today, the Kraal is still a functioning mahout village, where elephants are trained and raised similar to the way they have been for generations. Because of the Royal Kraal, the species is protected as the Thai countryside becomes more industrialized. Elephantstay provides accommodations for visitors on the reserves in order to bring in extra money to sustain the Kraal and Mahout Village.
The caretakers and volunteers helped us to get settled, and then we all met up at the common canteen area where we got to know the other visitors- all nine of us were Americans this week. The main caretakers at the Kraal are former zoo keepers from Australia, a man from Scottland, and an Englishman named Paul who reminded my parents of John Cleese. Paul was hilarious and insisted on calling me "Lyle with a K." We received instruction booklets and got to jump right in and meet our elephants. We started with feeding time. (One of many daily feeding times for the elephants)
My sister Rachel and I were paired up with Jumpee, a young thirty-year old cow. She was the biggest girl, and I'll admit that I was a little nervous at first. After feeding her pineapple leaves and bananas however, I developed a bond with the big girl. We tossed the food to our elephants, and passed a hose from elephant to elephant so they could drink. They required a lot of food and water, so feeding lasted 15-20 minutes several times daily.
Elephants are very intelligent, and each elephant has a distinctive personality. When it came to drinking water, some elephants liked the water to be squirted in their mouths while some preferred it to be squirted in their trunks. (They would hold water with their trunks, then bring it up to their mouth to drink.) Others still wanted to hold the hose with their trunks themselves to drink.
Then, we took a break for lunch. All the meals were prepared by local women who found a stable source of income working at the Elephantstay. The traditional Thai food was delicious. After being in the sun all day, it was good to sit in the shade and enjoy a nice meal. Throughout the visit, some of our meals included fried rice, pad-Thai, fresh vegetables, fried omelets, chicken, and stew. The women cooked in the traditional way- always on the stove, never in an oven.
Finally, after much anticipation and instruction, it was time to ride the elephants. Everyone who was riding on the first ride waited at a set of metal stairs, from which we would board our elephants and sit on their bristly, muscular necks. To properly ride an elephant, you must sat behind the head but in front of the shoulder. A mahout who worked with the elephants always rode behind us to watch out for us and the elephants. We tied a sash around our waist tightly. This was our "seat belts," which the mahout used to hold on to us. As we got more comfortable, the mahout would relax his grip on our sash, and eventually let us ride independently.
Balancing on the elephant was really not that hard, but it was tiring. By the end of our first ride we all had sore legs and wrists. (There are no saddles, so you have to balance your hands on their heads and prop yourself up with your legs.)
We rode through the village where the mahouts lived, a mix of corrugated metal shacks and a couple of gated brick houses. There was an outdoor/indoor barber shop in the town that, while lacking windows, had satellite TV. Then, we rode down to the river, where we were taught different Thai commands for our elephants, and got to practice them. Maa was the command for "come", hou meant "stop", huaa was "go", etc. Then we got to take our girls for a swim in the river.
It was hot and sunny in Ayutthaya, and the elephants loved the water. They would dip their heads under at the mahouts' command, and then we could scrub their leathery scalp and sides. One elephant, ridden by a man from D.C., loved to go all the way under water, dragging him with her every time without fail.
July 15, 2014
After the morning ride (each elephant went out twice a day, and since Rachel and I were sharing one elephant, I rode in the morning and she rode in the afternoon), it was time to give some of elephants a bath. Unlike most dogs, the elephants seemed to love baths. It kept them cool on a hot day, and we got to scrub the dirt out of their skin. Boy, were they dirty! A mahout brought each elephant to a gated concrete slab, tethered her up, and then we got to it. One person hosed the elephant off while the rest of us scrubed. The elephants have very thick skin, and it's almost impossible to scrub too hard. It was a good workout trying to reach up and down the whole 7 foot elephant while scrubbing hard.
It was great to do something that was beneficial to the animals' happiness and health, and not just ride them. I felt like we were actually helping out at the Kraal.
My first impressions of the Elephant Kraal and Village was of how rustic and traditional it looked. This place was worlds apart from Bangkok's Siam Paragon. Our van pulled up in the mud road, and we had to wait as Brahmin cows and scrawny goats slowly moved out of our way. Then, we entered the Kraal's property. The Royal Elephant Kraal was where the King of Siam traditionally would go to select the best war elephants for his army. Today, the Kraal is still a functioning mahout village, where elephants are trained and raised similar to the way they have been for generations. Because of the Royal Kraal, the species is protected as the Thai countryside becomes more industrialized. Elephantstay provides accommodations for visitors on the reserves in order to bring in extra money to sustain the Kraal and Mahout Village.
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| Our living quarters |
My sister Rachel and I were paired up with Jumpee, a young thirty-year old cow. She was the biggest girl, and I'll admit that I was a little nervous at first. After feeding her pineapple leaves and bananas however, I developed a bond with the big girl. We tossed the food to our elephants, and passed a hose from elephant to elephant so they could drink. They required a lot of food and water, so feeding lasted 15-20 minutes several times daily.
 |
| Meeting Jumpee |
Elephants are very intelligent, and each elephant has a distinctive personality. When it came to drinking water, some elephants liked the water to be squirted in their mouths while some preferred it to be squirted in their trunks. (They would hold water with their trunks, then bring it up to their mouth to drink.) Others still wanted to hold the hose with their trunks themselves to drink.
Then, we took a break for lunch. All the meals were prepared by local women who found a stable source of income working at the Elephantstay. The traditional Thai food was delicious. After being in the sun all day, it was good to sit in the shade and enjoy a nice meal. Throughout the visit, some of our meals included fried rice, pad-Thai, fresh vegetables, fried omelets, chicken, and stew. The women cooked in the traditional way- always on the stove, never in an oven.
Finally, after much anticipation and instruction, it was time to ride the elephants. Everyone who was riding on the first ride waited at a set of metal stairs, from which we would board our elephants and sit on their bristly, muscular necks. To properly ride an elephant, you must sat behind the head but in front of the shoulder. A mahout who worked with the elephants always rode behind us to watch out for us and the elephants. We tied a sash around our waist tightly. This was our "seat belts," which the mahout used to hold on to us. As we got more comfortable, the mahout would relax his grip on our sash, and eventually let us ride independently.
Balancing on the elephant was really not that hard, but it was tiring. By the end of our first ride we all had sore legs and wrists. (There are no saddles, so you have to balance your hands on their heads and prop yourself up with your legs.)
We rode through the village where the mahouts lived, a mix of corrugated metal shacks and a couple of gated brick houses. There was an outdoor/indoor barber shop in the town that, while lacking windows, had satellite TV. Then, we rode down to the river, where we were taught different Thai commands for our elephants, and got to practice them. Maa was the command for "come", hou meant "stop", huaa was "go", etc. Then we got to take our girls for a swim in the river.
It was hot and sunny in Ayutthaya, and the elephants loved the water. They would dip their heads under at the mahouts' command, and then we could scrub their leathery scalp and sides. One elephant, ridden by a man from D.C., loved to go all the way under water, dragging him with her every time without fail.
July 15, 2014
The next day, we woke up at dawn to the sound of monks chanting from a nearby monastery in the hills, and got ready for another day taking care of the elephants. After breakfast and coffee, it was time to clean the elephant's covered corral and field. First we scrubbed the corral, which meant picking up hay, stems of pineapple leaves, and of course, the poop. Elephants weigh several tons, and need to eat over 150 kg of food a day- that's a lot of input and output! (And that's even just the smaller females.) Anyways, it wasn't as gross as it could of been, since elephants only eat plants, but we cleaned in the traditional mahout way.
We used rakes to scoop the hay and poop onto tarps, which we would carry to piles to dump out. It was effective, and with all of us working together we were done pretty quickly. Then, we each cleaned up our elephant's night spot in the field behind the corral- pretty much the same thing, only a little bigger area.
We used rakes to scoop the hay and poop onto tarps, which we would carry to piles to dump out. It was effective, and with all of us working together we were done pretty quickly. Then, we each cleaned up our elephant's night spot in the field behind the corral- pretty much the same thing, only a little bigger area.
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| Some of us enjoyed it more than other |
After that, we got to lead our elephants back to the corral for more feeding and watering. In Thailand, elephants are a sacred symbol of the nation, and since it was a Buddhist holiday a few monks, nuns, and some people from the community brought fruit for the elephants. They brought a truckload of pineapples, bananas, mangos, and melon, and each elephant got a big sack of fruit, which they loved. Unfortunately, it would mean more to clean up the next morning!
After the morning ride (each elephant went out twice a day, and since Rachel and I were sharing one elephant, I rode in the morning and she rode in the afternoon), it was time to give some of elephants a bath. Unlike most dogs, the elephants seemed to love baths. It kept them cool on a hot day, and we got to scrub the dirt out of their skin. Boy, were they dirty! A mahout brought each elephant to a gated concrete slab, tethered her up, and then we got to it. One person hosed the elephant off while the rest of us scrubed. The elephants have very thick skin, and it's almost impossible to scrub too hard. It was a good workout trying to reach up and down the whole 7 foot elephant while scrubbing hard.
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| A post-bath drink |
It was great to do something that was beneficial to the animals' happiness and health, and not just ride them. I felt like we were actually helping out at the Kraal.
July 16, 2014
It was our last day at Elephantstay. We fed and watered the elephants, as was necessary several times a day, then headed out for our ride. My mahout that day was a tough lady named Gik, who sold the beer in town and was the only woman mahout at the Kraal. She was also very outgoing and one of the few who knew some English. She asked me where I was from and I told her the U.S. Then, she asked if I liked football (yes) and which team- I told her the Dallas Cowboys, but she didn't seem to understand. Later, I realized that since it was in the midst of the World Cup, she was actually asking about FIFA, and not American football.
We rode to the old Kraal, where the war elephants used to be paraded in front of the King of Siam. It was a white and red walled fort-like structure, and it we were told it was used as a relief camp after the destructive floods of 2006. Then, we rode to a war elephant monument, which was interesting and looked pretty old.
We rode to the old Kraal, where the war elephants used to be paraded in front of the King of Siam. It was a white and red walled fort-like structure, and it we were told it was used as a relief camp after the destructive floods of 2006. Then, we rode to a war elephant monument, which was interesting and looked pretty old.
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| The Old Kraal |
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| The whole gang |
We headed down to the river. Since we'd been there a while and gotten to know the mahouts pretty well, they decided to mess with all the kids and dared us to stand on our elephants. Rachel was getting up to try, and her mischievous mahout pulled her off into the river. My mahout got my elephant to sway and shake in the water as a joke, and I held on for a while, but then feel in. It was hilarious, but I was a little nervous about swallowing the river water.
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| Rachel went for a swim |
The mutual respect between the mahouts and their elephants in remarkable. They depend on each other for labor and livelihood in exchange for food and water. The graceful, proud elephants obey the mahouts' commands, and the mahouts trust the elephants to ensure their safety when riding and caring for the massive, powerful animals.
We had a delicious last lunch of pad-Thai with shrimp and seafood, and after our afternoon ride, we got a special experience.
At the reserve there was a two month old baby elephant named Sapponica, who was really goofy and ungainly. At free-time we could go watch her. She wasn't in a pen, and there was only a low rail to show us where to stand behind. Her mother, a full-grown cow was tied up behind that. Sapponica however had free-reign to wander. She wouldn't go too far from her mother, but she liked to come right up and curiously try to play with us and our items. She tried eating one guy's scarf, and we were warned that she had snatched digital cameras before.
That afternoon we got a chance to bathe her. She had a kiddie pool, and we squirted her with a hose in it. She was really palyful and full of energy. She kept falling over and rolling around, since she was not all that coordinated yet. It was really fun.
I sat down on the rail, and she came up and started chewing on my leg. It didn't hurt, since she didn't have teeth yet. It was really funny, but also amazing to be that close to a wild animal.
Sadly, that evening it was time to leave. My experience at the Royal Elephant Kraal was truly an awesome one. These animals are so important in Thai culture and to the natural world. They need to be preserved and protected, and the reserve is successful at doing just that. It also provides jobs for mahouts, cooks, people who clean, and even an ice-cream man who came after lunch every day, without fail. (Buying from him provided a good opportunity to practice my Thai.)
Riding on a songtaew (covered truck bed) from the Elephant Kraal to out hotel in Ayutthaya that night, it began to sink in how exotic and awesome this experience was. I mean, here we were riding in the back of a truck, exposed to the elements of heat and humidity, speeding down the cobbled streets of this ancient town. Thailand truly is a beautiful and unique country, a thousand miles different from any other I've ever experienced.
Riding on a songtaew (covered truck bed) from the Elephant Kraal to out hotel in Ayutthaya that night, it began to sink in how exotic and awesome this experience was. I mean, here we were riding in the back of a truck, exposed to the elements of heat and humidity, speeding down the cobbled streets of this ancient town. Thailand truly is a beautiful and unique country, a thousand miles different from any other I've ever experienced.
It was sad to leave the reserve, but I hope I can return one day!
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