Ice Cube said today was a good day, but today was actually a really freaking awesome day. In fact, Ice Cube, today was quite possibly one of the best days I’ve ever had in my 28 years on this earth. As I sit here in bed in my hostel bunk, I keep looking through photos and videos to remind me that today did in fact happen.
So what happened, you ask?
We got to play with Asian elephants at the best elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai and possibly all of Thailand, that’s what.
When most people think of elephants and Thailand, or most of Asia for that matter, they think of riding elephants. It is actually incredibly inhumane. Yes, it sounds like fun, but do a little research, and you’ll quickly change your tune. (Be a responsible traveler, not an uninformed tourist.)
Instead of putting them through the abuse of riding them, we went to one of the most famous elephant sanctuaries on the planet: Elephant Nature Park Chiang Mai.
We were picked up from our hostel at 8:30 am and joined 7 other people in a van for a short hour ride out of the city. We then transferred to a truck for another 30-40 minute ride up a mountain…full of hairpin turns, steep cliffs, and little teases of paved road. Did I mention I get car sick just driving on straight, smooth roads?
We got up to the top of the mountain and reached our camp for the day. (Which was also filled with puppies. I almost couldn’t even, but I evened.)
The views were absolutely breathtaking. I don’t think any photo I took did it any justice, but here goes nothing:
It looked “just like Texas,” our guide Ice joked. (He’s seen Texas in movies before.)
We changed into traditional Karen garb so we would be “clean” for the elephants. (And here I’m thinking, I didn’t even shower this morning but if this will get me clean…) The shirt reminded me of the old Stussy ponchos all the guys wore in high school, but as a crop top. The pants were big enough for a literal pants party. Super flattering. I don’t mean to brag, but we totally pulled off the look. (Yes, that’s sarcasm sneaking in there.)
Just as everyone was finished getting clean, our new friends walked up. I was in awe.
We went around to the road in front of the hut and started feeding the elephants (including mischievous 6- and 2-year-olds and two pregnant mamas). In reality, they just started using their trunks to try and dig into our bags. They loved to eat. (I didn’t realize I had so much in common with elephants.) Their trunks were surprisingly strong and they were not very shy about using them. Most of the time the elephants would grab food with their trunks and feed themselves, but sometimes they would open their mouths and you’d just lob a few (5 or so) cucumbers in.
They also loved to give big, wet, sloppy kisses. They brought new meaning to the term “suck face.”
After we emptied our bags into the elephants’ mouths, we hiked through the jungle with these beauties. They stopped to eat tree bark, dig up roots, knock whole trees over, oh and relieve themselves directly in front of you. Yummy.
After about an hour or so of walking (30 minutes? 45? I have no sense of time), we said goodbye so we could go eat lunch.
It was a delicious homemade traditional Thai lunch consisting of Masaman curry, vegetables in a red sweet and sour sauce and loads of fresh watermelon and pineapple.
After our lunch break, it was time for the good stuff. We hiked down to a mud pit at the bottom of our hut, climbed into a pool of mud and gave the elephants a mud bath.
Words can’t even describe how amazing it was to get so up close and personal with these guys. The baby would shower us with mud from his trunk while the bigger ones would just plop down where ever sending a tidal wave of muddy water our way. We threw mud balls at them, splashed them with muddy water, rubbed them down with mud and got a mud bath ourselves in the process thanks to our sweet guides. It was so much fun. I don’t have a ton of pictures for obvious reasons, but don’t you worry: I was wearing my trusty GoPro the entire time.
After we got nice and dirty, we hiked over to a beautiful waterfall and pool. Correction: freezing cold pool. We all had buckets and brushes and waited for our elephant friends to get in the water. Again, we splashed them, scrubbed their backs…and yes, got sprayed with water by the baby elephant. I did say he was mischievous, didn’t I? It was awesome. By the end of it, everyone was soaked and we had just given these elephants quite a spa treatment.
(Sorry, no photos. You’ll have to wait for the GoPro footage.)
Now that we were sopping wet (our clothes didn’t really repel water), we hiked back to the camp with the elephants, stopping to feed and pet them along the way. It was amazing to see how nimble these large animals were. They walked through tight spaces with ease (or just knocked down entire trees if they were in their way) and were pretty graceful the entire time (except when one stopped and simultaneously pooped and peed in front of us. I’ll save you from a picture…and the GoPro footage.).
Once we were back to camp, we “showered” and changed back to our dry clothes before enjoying some green tea and kumquats.
It was honestly the best day of my life. It’s going to be hard to top this one (yes, that means you, future kids).
At the beginning of the day, the elephants were a little scary just because they were so big and you don’t want to get accidentally stepped on, but by the end of our adventure, it was funny to think we were ever scared of them. They would randomly search our bags for food, gave great trunk hugs, and just loved to be petted.
The best part about the day was seeing how truly happy these animals were. They weren’t drugged or abused. They were just well-trained. It was amazing to watch their trainers work with them using just words and body language. Oh, and food. Lots of food.
Zebras have been my favorite animal for a long time, but I think elephants just took the top spot. (Sorry, guys.)
A few fun facts we learned along the way:
- Women elephants menstruate from their temples, while the males menstruate from their mouths. (suckas!)
- Elephants are pregnant for 18 months with baby girls and TWO YEARS for boys. (So thankful I’m not an elephant)
- Elephants can’t see directly in front of them.
If you’re going to Chiang Mai and looking for a great elephant experience, I can’t recommend Elephant Nature Park. All of these elephants were abused prior to coming to the camp by working as logging elephants, being used as riding elephants, or being paraded around the streets of Chiangmai begging for money by their previous owners. It was so refreshing to see them in a natural habitat and just happy.
I can go on and on about the experience, but I’ve got to get a little more shut-eye before our cooking class today.
Peace, love, and elephant dreams
Have you been on an ecotourism trip? What was your favorite one?
Average Traveler | Travel Guide 