A Day with Asian Elephants

Spending a day with these majestic creatures sounds like an easy call – but it wasn’t. I did a lot of research and soul-searching before making the decision to participate in what has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

First, we had to get to know the elephants. They were just
wondering around, no enclosure, no chains.

The Asian elephant has been worshipped and domesticated for centuries and is still used today for ceremonial and religious purposes. They are thought to bring good fortune and Buddhists believe they assist along the path to enlightenment. They have been employed to move heavy objects, such as logs, to carry humans and even to wage war. But elephants have also been badly mistreated. They have been worked to death in the logging industry, which the Thai government finally banned in 1989. Many elephants were killed by hunters for sport – which is illegal now, but poaching for ivory, meat and hides still continues. The government ban on logging effectively put many domesticated elephants out of work so the market for elephants as living tourist attractions has grown exponentially. But there is also evidence that they have suffered mistreatment and this is where my conundrum lay.

We were given special shirts to wear in order to familiarize ourselves with the elephants.

I had heard about the ‘tiger temple’ – a popular tourist attraction where tigers roam, seemingly at will. But several reports indicated that the tigers were tied up and drugged so as not to harm tourists. I wondered if this was the case with the elephants. I won’t go to a circus because I believe the animals are poorly treated, yet here I was, considering going on an elephant trek.

After getting to know the elephants, we fed them a basket of bananas and other fruits. Some members of our group (including Paul) tried to throw the food in the elephant's mouth, which did not work, of course. We had to place the food quite high up in the elephant's mouth. There was a strong suction-like action which was a bit unnerving at first.

After feeding the animals we learned about the ways to determine
the health of the animal. Healthy elephants have at least 5 bowel
movements a day. Feces should be moist, which indicates the animals
are getting enough water. Older elephants have longer fibres in their
feces because they don't chew as well as younger animals.

Since elephants are vegetarians, their
feces has a not unpleasant grass-like
smell. If the smell is bad, the animal
could be sick.

Healthy elephants, like this one, sweat from their toes.

Defenders of working elephants, whether for farming, performing or trekking, point to the very expensive upkeep — an adult elephant can eat up to 130 kilograms of fruits and vegetables each day — Thailand is a poor country. The Thai government maintains that elephants entertaining tourists in monitored and supervised parks is a legitimate and pragmatic way of conserving the animals.

Before our trek, we had to brush the mud and dirt from the elephants. Healthy elephants sleep lying down, so an indication of their health is dirt on both sides of their bodies.

There are 2 ways to get on the elephant, depending
on the preference of the elephant. Paul's elephant lifts 
its leg to help him mount like you would a horse.

In the end, the lure of spending time with these amazing creatures was too much. We chose to visit the Patara Elephant Farm. Patara combines conservation with education and restricted tourism (visitors are limited to eight to 12 per day). It breeds elephants, which are then sold to other elephant farms or elephant attractions; it offers day-long or overnight treks for travellers while also involving them in, and teaching them about, an elephant’s daily needs and activities.

The other way to get on the elephant is to scramble up its trunk as it lifts it. You end up facing backwards and you must turn around once you are up!

The elephant is Earth's largest land animal, although Asian elephants are slightly smaller than African elephants and have smaller, rounded ears. In the 1850s, there were an estimated 100,000 elephants in Thailand. Now there are just over 4200 — 1500 in the wild and 2700 domesticated animals. The Asian elephant originally ranged from modern Iraq and Syria to the Yellow River in China, but is now found only from India to Vietnam.

I am riding Noi and Paul is riding Mai May, both female. I thought Noi was
huge, but when I see her next to Mai May, she looks smaller. By this time,
as you can see, Paul had discarded his special shirt!!

Each elephant had a handler that always 
worked with that particular elephant.

It seemed to us like the handlers were barely 

visible. They used words and an occasional tug on 

the ear, if required - never sticks or prods. 

Asian elephants love the water and are excellent swimmers. This baby
belongs to the elephant at left. The baby followed its mother for the whole trek-
never tied and barged around as it pleased. It seemed very confident and bold,
like an over indulged child. So cute!

In the wild, Asian elephants are found in scrub forest, preferring areas with grass, small plants, tree bark, roots, leaves and small stems. The elephants in our group all like sweets and after our lunch, we fed them the leftover desserts. They are extremely sociable, forming groups of related females that are led by the oldest female, the 'matriarch'.  

There were 7 people in our group.

The baby followed along for the entire 
trek.

More than two thirds of an elephant's day may be spent foraging.

Cultivated crops such as bananas, rice and sugarcane are 

popular foods, but can cause obvious human/elephant conflict. 

At one point our trek followed the edge of a paved road. The passengers of several vehicles slowed to take
pictures!

Asian elephants keep their ears in constant motion in order to radiate the heat they generate and therefore cool themselves. Healthy elephants also keep their tails moving. An elephant's trunk is used for smelling, breathing, trumpeting, drinking, and also for grabbing things—especially a potential meal. The trunk alone contains about 100,000 different muscles.

We were given woven bamboo baskets to wash the elephants. They
seem to really love the water.

We rode the elephants to a watering hole fed by a stream. Because they need to drink at least once a day, elephants are always close to a source of fresh water.

Part of the watering hole was deep enough for the elephants to
completely submerge. We sat on them and poured water on them
from the basket and scrubbed them with the brush.

Elephants have a longer pregnancy than any other mammal—almost 22 months. Cows usually give birth to one calf every two to four years. At birth, elephants already weigh some 91 kilograms and stand about a metre tall. Babies stay with their mother until they are about 4 years. They do not reach full size until about 17 years of age.

The watering hole was lots of fun.

The elephants seemed to enjoy this part as much as we did!

After the water hole, we rode through the jungle, up quite a steep hill and stopped for an amazing picnic lunch, (my hair was still wet!)

Noi is 16 years old and 12 months pregnant
with her first baby. 

Mai May is 24 years old. She had a baby 2
years ago.

As mentioned, one of the goals of the Patara Elephant Farm is to breed elephants. We were fortunate to see a three week old baby.  The baby was on antibiotics for a skin disease.

The older baby tried to sneak a banana.

In the end, our day with the elephants was a highlight. At no time did I see the elephants chained or tied (although Paul said they were tied during our lunch to keep them from wandering back to the 'pasture'.) The handlers were inconspicuous. The elephants seemed gentle and content. As we made our trek, we saw other elephants wandering around, including the mother and baby above. I was impressed with the educational aspect of our day and the patience of the handlers. Patera provided an excellent lunch and we were all given a picture and video CD at the end of the day. Every detail was looked after, including hotel pick-up and drop off and 'riding clothes'. Just a fabulous day.

I wish Thailand success in its conservation efforts with these beautiful creatures.

Thailand

The word "Thai" means free, and therefore the meaning of Thailand is the land of the free.
The Thai people are originally thought to have lived in southwestern China and migrated to Southeast Asia over a period of centuries. The Khmer Empire ruled Thailand for many years starting in the 800’s. In the 13th century, several small states in the Mekong River valley united, expelled the Khmer and formed a kingdom called Sukhothai. Thailand was known until the mid 20th century as Siam, (from the Sanskrit word syam meaning brown race), likely reinforced by the first Europeans to reach Thailand, the Portuguese in 1511. However, Thailand was able to avoid foreign domination and remains the only country in Southeast Asia that has never been colonized. The current ruler, King Adulyadej, has ruled since 1946 and is a member of the Chakri dynasty, established in 1782. The population of Thailand is 67 million.

Part of the ancient wall and moat, Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai

With an estimated population of more than 1 million in the metropolitan area, Chiang Mai is Thailand's fifth-largest city. It was founded in 1296, and was at one time the capital of the ancient Lanna kingdom.

Our first meal in Thailand. We went to the fish counter and picked the seafood we wanted. They cooked it and brought it over. In Thailand, the food is brought as soon as it is ready, so you may get your salad last. Thai food is for sharing, so there are always lots of plates and utensils.

Beautiful restaurant with a view of the old iron bridge.

                           This sign was in the lobby of our hotel. Durian is a very smelly fruit, which is
                         popular with S. E. Asians. When you go to the market in Vietnam, you often smell
                          it. It is worse than raw fish and tastes just as bad, in my opinion.

Richard Parker is pointing out that our hotel, the Sakorn Residence, was highly rated at Booking.com. It was very reasonably priced, clean, good service, decent sized room and adequate breakfast, with a pool in a good location.  My only complaint was the mattress - very hard! 

Located in the lush foothills of the Himalayan Mountains 700 km north of Bangkok, the city was surrounded by a moat and a wall since nearby Burma was a constant threat as were the armies of the Mongol Empire. 









Until the 1920’s, it could only be reached by a river journey or an elephant trek. Chiang Mai formally became part of Siam in 1775.

The mode of transportation around Chiang Mai is the Tuk tuk. There are no 'car' cabs for travel in and around the city. Car cabs are only used to get to and from the airport or for long distance travel. This fellow was parked across from our hotel entrance. The drivers all snooze when they are not ferrying passengers. It is the same with the taxi drivers in Vietnam. Outside my building, I have often had to wake a driver up when I want ot go somewhere. Tuk tuk's are not the most comfortable means of transport - they kick up a lot of dust and dirt and passengers breathe in a lot of engine fumes - there is little regard for air quality.

Chiang Mai has become an increasingly modern city and has been attracting over 5 million visitors each year, of which close to 2 million are foreign tourists. The city has a cosmopolitan air and a significant expat population. A lot of attention is paid to making food and drink look as good as it tastes!

Bangkok

Richard Parker and his new Thai friends survey Bangkok.

Bangkok is a huge, cosmopolitan city with crippling traffic jams and serious air pollution. It is home to over 11 million inhabitants and is the capital of Thailand. Before 1792, when it was made the capital of Siam, it was only a small trading post and life evolved around the Chao Phraya River. Ordinary people lived on bamboo-rafts, while floating vendors plied the waters selling fruit and vegetables. The only stone structures built on land were temples and palaces.

           This sign was prominently displayed in our cab. 

It took over an hour to get from the airport to our hotel, not because of distance but because of traffic congestion. As we drove to the hotel along busy expressways, I got the impression of a typical large North American city, until I noticed the sign, at left!

Eastin Grand Hotel, Sathorn

We stayed at the Eastin Grand Hotel, Sathorn. It is in the heart of Bangkok's financial district but has direct access to the Skytrain. This part of the city rose to prominence after World War II, particularly from the 1980s onwards, when Bangkok established itself as a force behind Thailand's role as a newly industrializing country. Rapid economic growth led many multinational corporations to locate their headquarters in Bangkok.














Bangkok has become an international centre for business, transport and health care, and is emerging as a leader in the arts, fashion and entertainment. The city's spirited street life and cultural landmarks, as well as its infamous red-light districts, have given it an alluring appeal.

Bangkok, from the beautiful infinity pool at our hotel.

Bangkok's rapid growth amidst little urban planning and regulation has resulted in a haphazard urban sprawl with inadequate infrastructure systems. Poorly planned roads, despite an extensive expressway system, together with substantial private car usage, have resulted in serious traffic congestion and severe air pollution. Limited open spaces, Bangkok has one of the lowest percentages of green areas of any major capital in Asia, compound this problem.
 

Apparently, Canada is known not only for its bacon, but for its lobster as well. We saw Canadian lobster being promoted all over S.E. Asia. At an Italian seafood restaurant we like in Phu My Hung, it is called 'lobster Canadese'.

We had dinner by the pool, which was located on the fifth floor. Beautiful setting.

The pool at the Eastin Grand was spectacular.  An infinity pool located on the fifth floor, it had amazing views of the city. There was a restaurant next to the pool which served excellent meals. Our room rate included breakfast, like most hotels in SE Asia. Breakfasts are quite interesting because the hotels have to cater to guests from all over the world. There is always a huge variety from phu to omelettes and there are almost always baked beans!

Eastin Grand infinity pool.

I was not a huge fan of Bangkok. It is a big city like many others, but then, I am not really a fan of big cities. The best part of visiting Bangkok, for us, was leaving Bangkok to see the Bridge on the River Kwai. However, our hotel was lovely so it was a good way to wrap up our trip to Thailand.

Travel Tip:
Always carry kleenex and wet wipes. The travel wipes are better than hand sanitizer in a bottle - you never have to worry about the 'liquid' restrictions for carry on luggage that way. The 'Wet Ones' travel wipes are great (see below), but sometimes hard to find. I got a couple boxes at Jean Coutu in Ottawa. And you'll need kleenex because you never know what kind of bathroom facilities you will come across. The toilets almost always have the spray hose or a bucket of water with a cup for cleaning but often there is no toilet paper. I've never understood to hose thing - who wants to get soaking wet with no towel or paper to dry off?