Day 4: Wednesday, April 30, 2008Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, Asian Elephant Hospital, Hotsprings & Homestay
Lampang to Homestay (near Chiang Mai)
The day started with a nice breakfast of french toast and fruit salad overlooking the river. The guesthouse was so relaxing and tropical that I didn't really want to leave it yet. The property was simple but so lush with plants and flowers that I truly felt like I was in a Thailand travel show. We packed up our stuff, took some pictures, avoided the annoying Brit and by 8:30am were in the songthaew on our way to see elephants.
After a 40 minute highway songthaew ride I was relieved to arrive at the Elephant Conservation Centre. We walked down a small hill and immediately found some elephants! My first encounter with them was when I emerged from the toilet to find one walking straight at me (with it's trainer, of course). I just froze as it passed close enough for me to touch (talk about dry skin...). The trainer thought my expression was hilarious as he laughed the entire time the elephant was walking by. I can't wait to get those pictures from Elspeth.
When researching trips in Thailand I had been wary of ones offering anything to do with elephants. I didn't want to participate in or encourage elephant circuses, shows, etc. When reading Intrepid's website I found out that this conservation centre is not one of those. Instead, they take elephants who have been used in logging, circuses or begging on the streets (can you imagine?!) and bring them here where they are cared for, get the proper diet, exercise, etc. An interesting fact about this centre that we heard while there - they let the elephants wander into the forests at night (there are something like 80 of them) and they all come back to the main centre in the morning!
The first event of the day at the centre is a bath in the river. As we stood by a whole bunch/herd/stampede of elephants and their Mahouts (trainers) ambled past and into the river. It was hilarious - the elephants seemed to really enjoy it. They also seemed to enjoy spraying the onlookers.
After they emerged from the river, all nice and clean, they let us stand by them and take some pictures touching their trunks. They are bizarrely wonderful creatures and I couldn't stop staring at their eyes, skin and all the things they can do with their trunks.
After the little photo-op they made a train (isn't that adorable?!) and walked up the path towards the ring/show area. One elephant started beating a drum and Elz and I almost freaked out. A taiko playing elephant = fantastic!
The elephant show was a bit circus-y but they also demonstrated us how they use elephants in the Thai logging industry. It's quite amazing how they can pick up logs, and stack, roll and drag them.
Next up was the elephant ride, which everyone was really excited about. Two to an elephant and we were off! Down the centre's streets and into the jungle. Our elephant's Mahout was a bit nutty but awesome. It had been raining earlier so he was decked out in a poncho he'd made of a plaid umbrella (he's removed the frame, and cut it open). He whistled and yelled and laughed hysterically. In other words, our Mahout rocked.
Our elephant decided that he would be a bad-ass. Not happy with just walking across the concrete path, he decided to walk down into the ditch and then across. I thought we were going to fall off for a minute. The elephants behind us decided this looked like fun and followed.
After lunch (and a rainstorm) we visited the dung paper factory. Ahhh, yes, the magical place where elephant poop gets transformed into brightly coloured paper products. Unfortunately, they weren't actually making any at the moment but we got to see the materials and final results.
After saying goodbye to the elephants at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, we headed down the street to the Asian Elephant Hospital. This hospital is not associated with the centre and relies on donations to operate. A woman started it to help an elephant who had been injured by a landmine. Now they help any elephant with severe medical problems or who is pregnant. This place is not very popular with logging people, etc and apparently has been the victim of arson attempts and vandals?
Our first stop was to visit the newest and youngest member of the hospital. This little guy stepped on a land mine and couldn't be reunited with his mother. His leg was amputated and eventually he'll be fitted with an artificial leg! It was so sad. He even looked sad...
This is the elephant that inspired the hospital (I can't remember it's name...darn). It also has a artificial leg (a kind of bag/brace filled with sand/sawdust) but is still experiencing problems and can't wear it until it heals.
After making some donations and watching a video, we hopped back into the songthaews and we off to a Thai hotsprings. The ride was brutal. It smelled like exhaust and was really dusty. I started getting claustrophobic and really wanted to get there. FINALLY we arrived and I felt better after getting some air.
At the hotsprings we had the option of going swimming or just sticking our feet in the foot hotspring. I'm not a fan of swimming in hot water and since it was so hot already I decided the footspring would suffice. It started to pour as soon as we sat down and we spent the next hour sitting under a snack shack, eating ice cream and talking.
We arrived at our local guide, Aoi's home, where we discovered the girls had the whole top floor of the main building. We unloaded our packs and relaxed after our day of elephants and songthaew rides. Downstairs, the local kids practiced their instruments in preparation for their performance during dinner.
Before dinner a few of us went for a little walk. We stopped by a field and got some cool pictures of a rain storm passing by. Then it was back to the house for delicious food and music!
The last event of the night was sending a paper kite into sky to bring good luck (I think). It's usually done at new years but they wanted to show it to us. It floated higher and higher until I couldn't see it anymore.
(rambutans - I'd seen these in TO's Chinatown before. They're subtle...with a hint of lychee sweetness)
(BRING ON THE FRUIT! After living in Japan for two years, where an apple tastes like crap (but looks perfect) and costs $2, I was in absolute heaven in Thailand!)
After a 40 minute highway songthaew ride I was relieved to arrive at the Elephant Conservation Centre. We walked down a small hill and immediately found some elephants! My first encounter with them was when I emerged from the toilet to find one walking straight at me (with it's trainer, of course). I just froze as it passed close enough for me to touch (talk about dry skin...). The trainer thought my expression was hilarious as he laughed the entire time the elephant was walking by. I can't wait to get those pictures from Elspeth.
When researching trips in Thailand I had been wary of ones offering anything to do with elephants. I didn't want to participate in or encourage elephant circuses, shows, etc. When reading Intrepid's website I found out that this conservation centre is not one of those. Instead, they take elephants who have been used in logging, circuses or begging on the streets (can you imagine?!) and bring them here where they are cared for, get the proper diet, exercise, etc. An interesting fact about this centre that we heard while there - they let the elephants wander into the forests at night (there are something like 80 of them) and they all come back to the main centre in the morning!
(bathtime!)
After they emerged from the river, all nice and clean, they let us stand by them and take some pictures touching their trunks. They are bizarrely wonderful creatures and I couldn't stop staring at their eyes, skin and all the things they can do with their trunks. 
After the little photo-op they made a train (isn't that adorable?!) and walked up the path towards the ring/show area. One elephant started beating a drum and Elz and I almost freaked out. A taiko playing elephant = fantastic!
The elephant show was a bit circus-y but they also demonstrated us how they use elephants in the Thai logging industry. It's quite amazing how they can pick up logs, and stack, roll and drag them.
(check this one out - who knew that they could tightrope-log walk?)
(They also paint. There was a 'gallery' of the elephants' work. I think a few people bought some.)
(Show's done? Snack time! People fed the elephants corn. They went nuts for it)
Next up was the elephant ride, which everyone was really excited about. Two to an elephant and we were off! Down the centre's streets and into the jungle. Our elephant's Mahout was a bit nutty but awesome. It had been raining earlier so he was decked out in a poncho he'd made of a plaid umbrella (he's removed the frame, and cut it open). He whistled and yelled and laughed hysterically. In other words, our Mahout rocked.
(It's really hard to take pictures or video on a rocking, swaying elephant! Sorry!)
Our elephant decided that he would be a bad-ass. Not happy with just walking across the concrete path, he decided to walk down into the ditch and then across. I thought we were going to fall off for a minute. The elephants behind us decided this looked like fun and followed.
After lunch (and a rainstorm) we visited the dung paper factory. Ahhh, yes, the magical place where elephant poop gets transformed into brightly coloured paper products. Unfortunately, they weren't actually making any at the moment but we got to see the materials and final results.
After saying goodbye to the elephants at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, we headed down the street to the Asian Elephant Hospital. This hospital is not associated with the centre and relies on donations to operate. A woman started it to help an elephant who had been injured by a landmine. Now they help any elephant with severe medical problems or who is pregnant. This place is not very popular with logging people, etc and apparently has been the victim of arson attempts and vandals?
Our first stop was to visit the newest and youngest member of the hospital. This little guy stepped on a land mine and couldn't be reunited with his mother. His leg was amputated and eventually he'll be fitted with an artificial leg! It was so sad. He even looked sad... 
(This mother elephant was here to give birth to her very energetic and curious baby)
This is the elephant that inspired the hospital (I can't remember it's name...darn). It also has a artificial leg (a kind of bag/brace filled with sand/sawdust) but is still experiencing problems and can't wear it until it heals.
After making some donations and watching a video, we hopped back into the songthaews and we off to a Thai hotsprings. The ride was brutal. It smelled like exhaust and was really dusty. I started getting claustrophobic and really wanted to get there. FINALLY we arrived and I felt better after getting some air. 
At the hotsprings we had the option of going swimming or just sticking our feet in the foot hotspring. I'm not a fan of swimming in hot water and since it was so hot already I decided the footspring would suffice. It started to pour as soon as we sat down and we spent the next hour sitting under a snack shack, eating ice cream and talking. 
(The water was hot...but I'll stick to Japanese onsens)
Then it was back into the songthaews for a quick ride to the homestay. I was really looking forward to this part of the tour and I wasn't disappointed. It was something that I could never have arranged on my own.
Before dinner a few of us went for a little walk. We stopped by a field and got some cool pictures of a rain storm passing by. Then it was back to the house for delicious food and music!
(Here's video of our dinner performance. I loved the little boy sitting behind the teacher. He was so not impressed with us. Later he tried to teach me how to play a guitar-like instrument and seemed bewildered that anyone could be so bad at it)
(Elz rocked the xylophone instrument)
After dinner we headed out into the garden, where we got to watch the boys of the family perform a Thai style of dancing that is part dance, part fighting. When they finished they picked people to join them and try to kick their butts (literally). I sucked as this game too and almost broke my toe on a rock that was hiding under the carpets.
Some little girls also did a dance with long finger accessories (think of Thai dance photos) and finally two girls did a candle dance. We were all given candles and told to join in. When our candles were lit, they turned off the main building lamps and almost instantly we were attacked by flying ant-bugs. They were attracted by the light of the candles and there were thousands of them. It was hilarious and terrifying at the same time. I wanted to laugh but bugs were trying to crawl into my mouth, nose and eyes. The little girls leading the dance didn't know what to do...they tried to continue but eventually we all just resorted to waving and jumping up and down trying to get rid of the bugs.
The last event of the night was sending a paper kite into sky to bring good luck (I think). It's usually done at new years but they wanted to show it to us. It floated higher and higher until I couldn't see it anymore.
Some people had a connect4 tournament, others planned day trips in Chiang Mai and eventually we made terrifying trips to the outdoor toilets (the walls were covered in bugs and fire ants attacked your legs) and then got into our mosquito net covered beds. I slept really well but Elz was troubled by phantom fire ants who wouldn't leave her alone...
what a day!
3 comments:
Jealousy abounds. That is all (almost).
Fil
Ps. Finished my course! And when are you free for a skype?
Elephants! Awesome! I was watching the first of the Blue Planet DVDs (so pretty on Bluray!), and they had a whole segment on elephants in Africa. They look so sweet and soulful (though I'm sure you'd not want to get caught in a stampede). That trip to the conservation was really a once in a lifetime experience!
As was the creepy bug story as well. I remember encountering fire ants in Orlando when I was little... yikes! Don't envy you that, but I'd have gladly swapped places for the rest of your Thai adventure!
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