tl;dr I got to chill with elephants all day – 3 activities
Activity 1 – Care for Elephants, Elephant Nature Park:
There are many elephant experiences around Chiang Mai, but not all are created equal. Many experiences are for pure entertainment purposes (elephant painting, kicking a soccer ball, throwing things, etc.) and most of the time these elephants are treated poorly. There are also experiences where you get to ride elephants in a saddle – again not good for the elephants. I chose the Elephant Nature Park because it treats elephants with respect and does not use pain as motivation; there are no ‘hooks’ or chains used by the Mahouts (elephant trainers/caretakers). Also, there is no elephant riding. The majority of the elephants have been ‘rescued’ from labor (e.g., street begging, logging, performing, etc.). There are separate morality/ethical issues regarding ‘rescue’ and the role these organizations play in the elephant labor industry – but that’s up to you to research.
I get picked up early in the morning and join a van with four other people. We take an 1hr + ride to the the starting point. During the ride, I meet the four other participants – two girls from Mexico and a couple from Spain. Throughout the day, I got to work on my Spanish – added treat for me. We are also given a guide who speaks great English and is constantly teaching us about elephants and their usage in Thailand.
We meet our elephants – three of them, one is a 4yr old boy named lucky. We discovered that he is a bit naughty as he would often run off in his own direction or walk backwards. We start by feeding the elephants – placing pineapples and watermelons in/on their trunk. We also got a brief lesson on the difference between African and Asian elephants and how to walk with the elephants.
We leave our stuff at the camp and take with us only our camera and water bottles. We grab a bag filled with bananas and start walking down the path with the elephants. I initially walk with Pookie and she and I develop a bit of a friendship. She would let me know when she was ready for more food, which was always, by putting her trunk near my face. I had her all to myself since the other two groups each took their own elephant.
We walked for about an hour, stopping every once in a while when the elephants wanted to eat some grass. We saw some cows and elephants from other camps along the walk. Along the way, we re-stocked our food bags since we all ran through them pretty quickly.
Already, it was time for lunch. We said goodbye to the elephants and hiked about 10 minutes to a hut with an amazing view overlooking the river and forest around us. Lunch is prepared for us and we grab as much as we want. Dogs from the camp use this opportunity to eat the scraps that fall from our plates and lounge around (three dogs from the camp followed us the entire time). We hung out here for a while and the five of us got to know each other.
One of the amazing things about this program (vs. the other options) was that it is limited to 6 people, meaning that it equates to one elephant for every two people.
After lunch, it’s time to bathe the elephants. It had been raining a lot as of late, so the river current was actually very strong, but we were still able to get in. Lucky was the first one in (I was second). All of a sudden I am swimming/standing in a river splashing water on an elephant!!! The other two elephants, three of the four participants, and a couple of the mahouts hop into the water. This was an absolute highlight of my trip. The elephants were having so much fun in the muddy water – randomly rolling around and submerging themselves.
I could have hung out with the elephants in the river for hours, but we had other activities to do. We get out of the water and wash off the mud and start our trek back to camp. I step into a puddle and when I bring my foot out my flip flop is broken (and not in a fixable way). It got stuck in mud and the middle piece ripped. I end up walking all the way back to camp with one flip flop on (not fun). The guide and mahouts offered me their sandals, but I declined. We continued to feed the elephants as we walked back (they eat a ton, well literally almost a ton per day).
Once back at camp, it was time to say goodbye to the elephants for good. We hop on the bus and head to the Elephant Nature Park itself. They have many programs here, from elephants to dog and cat rehabilitation. I bought new (cheap) flip flops so that I can comfortably get around. We get to feed a bunch of other elephants and see a 2yr old baby. We also see a blind elephant (blinded by her mahout for not listening – before the Park rescued her) and elephants that have dislocated hips and other injuries.
Around 4pm we hop back on the bus to head back to Chiang Mai. The Elephant Nature Park – Care for Elephants program was truly an amazing and valuable experience.
Activity 2 – Chiang Mai Night Bazar:
The Night Bazar is a must see activity in Chiang Mai – granted it is like most other markets. I stop by this one side area that has a bunch of food carts and live music. I find a noodle spot and a rice bun spot and chow down. As you can imagine, the food was delicious.
I explore the rest of the market before heading back to the original area for ice cream.
Activity 3 – Zoe in Yellow:
Time to check out the nightlife in Chiang Mai – even though it is a Tuesday. Zoe in Yellow seems to be the backpacker’s hangout. Pretty much all foreigners. Zoe in Yellow officially has a few different bars/restaurants in the same area, but I generally hung out in two of them. One has more of a club feel, while the other has plays great music to dance to, but is more of an open patio (street).
Bars in Chiang Mai old city close at midnight, so before I knew it, I was on my way back to my hotel.
Andrew's Activities 