Changs in Chiang Mai: an Elephant Trek in Chiang Mai (Part II/III)
A Day at the Chiang Mai Elephant Highlands
Read my brother's thoughts and experiences with the elephants HERE
An important article about elephant welfare in Thailand
"Chang", by the way, is the Thai word for "elephant"
9 March 2017, Evening
I was exhausted in the best kind of way: full of endorphins, covered in the dirt and sweat of a thrilling day spent outdoors. I sat in the front row of a minibus with 9 others from our elephant trek. We were heading back to the city of Chiang Mai. I sat quietly, as did all the others. I think we were all happily reflected on our intimate experiences with those beautiful, intelligent creatures.
The day had begun early, around 6 am. We arose, breakfasted, and waited in the Rainforest Boutique Hotel's open-air lobby for the crew from the elephant park. A friendly 20-something ecologist named Smile walked into the lobby to collect us. She grinned and promised us we were in for a memorable day.
Once all the trek's participants had been picked up from their hotels, Smile began introducing herself and giving a run-down of what the day had in store. She told us that the three female elephants who lived at the Highlands were called Pop, Phaeng, and Pon. Two were rescued from tourist begging (elephants who are forced to carry heavy chairs on their backs for years, so that tourists may take pictures) and one was rescued from a logging camp. "Our elephants are smart, cute, and sometimes naughty," Smile said. She jokingly admonished, "Remember this: Our girls love to eat. If you want to have a friend you must give them food. No food, no friend." This would turn out to be true as the most common activity of the day was feeding.
We pulled off the modern, paved highway of the city, and turned onto the narrow, dusty roads of the countryside. The landscape of Chiang Mai, a province in Thailand's northwest, was hilly and alpine, but somehow quite tropical and lush at the same time. We passed small wooden houses, fields of lychee, orange, and coffee, terraced on steep hill sides. Countless dogs and brahmin cows wandered near the roadside.
We climbed higher and higher, on a winding road and arrived in the highlands, where we could meet the elephants.
The van stopped high in the hills. Surrounding us were tall, leafy trees and a cloudless, blue sky. A collection of a few buildings, a basic bathroom house, and storage huts were scattered around the headquarters for the highland camp.
We were soon introduced to our elephant friends for the day. Our first activity was rinsing and cutting watermelons to feed the hungry ladies. To feed them we could hold the fruit in our hands out to them; they'd grab it with the end their trunks and bring it to their mouths. They gobbled it quickly.
Our guide remarked, "Sometime people ask me if Phaeng is pregnant because her sides are so big, and I say "yes", she's been pregnant 10 years. But not with a baby elephant-- with watermelon, and she's never given birth!"
We then broke into small groups to divide up the three elephants among ourselves. I was with Michael and Mom. We were given food bags containing sugar cane and cucumber, with which to lure our elephant and encourage her along our trek.
We took an hour-and-a-half trek from the first camp to the second.We followed a winding dirt path along the hillsides high above the valley below with all kinds of crops in rows, lush wild vegetation and small scattered huts. The views were absolutely breath-taking. We were very high up and could see for miles and miles to the hazy hills far away.
We made it to girl's large habitat area, a spacious enclosure equipped with plentiful food, shelter, and water and no chains. The program we participated in did not believe in chains, training with tools, or beating to train. It was a rescue and rehabilitation facility and also offered no rides to tourists out of respect and care for the elephants.
We got to feed them again - this time grass and more melon. Then it was time for us people to eat. We had a tasty lunch prepared fresh: stir fry, tropical fruit, samosas, and spring rolls. We sat next to and conversed with two girls from Germany about our respective travels.
After the trek, we walked with Phaeng, Pop, and Pon up the hill to graze. They were allowed to simply wander, and enjoy all the things a wild creature should. We could watch them and follow from a safe distance as they meandered and grazed. As I said before, there were no chains, prods, or whips. The mahouts led the elephants and gave instructions, but generally, they were given the freedom to do what they enjoyed most. It was not just a tourist show.
 |
| a sleeping puppy. The park is home to dozens of rescue dogs from Bangkok and Chiang Mai. |
The the girls bathed in a bubbling, muddy puddle, splashing happily everywhere
Then came my favorite part of the day: bathing the big girls. We took them back to their enclosure and the mahouts led them into a large, concrete pool filled with clear water. The mahouts waded in, picked up plastic pails and begin splashing water all over the elephants. We followed them in. Smile snuck up behind me and threw a huge bucket of water on me. I splashed her back and then witnessed as Michael, distracted by filming, slipped and fell in the water with a big splash. (Video coming soon!)
 |
| one of the last activities of the day was preparing a rice ball snack for the elephants |
Comments
Post a Comment