Had breakfast downstairs before our ride arrived for our day of Elephant training. Our ride is one of the pickup truck taxis! We stop at two other hotels and pick up a couple from Barcelona and a couple with 2 year old daughter from Holland. Our driver, Frame, speaks English well and our driver is a small but strong Thai Boxer.
We wind our way through ChiangMai and into the suburbs and finally the countryside. Many rice fields, along with some corn, fruit trees and other vegetables. The population quickly becomes rural and we see an oxcart and workers in the fields. Fresh air! Lots of banana trees, mangos, papayas and guava.
First stop is PooPooPaper Park which turns out to be a nice operation with lovely grounds. They use elephant dung to make colorful paper. (Elephants eat quite a lot of fibrous plants!).
Another half hour and the roads are getting smaller and the villages fewer. Soon we bounce along a dirt road and arrive at the elephant camp. We have an engaging guide who talks to us about elephants, how to approach them, their care, safety, how to feed them, etc. We all change into our "elephant wear" which is more like prison or POW wear! Then comes a mahout with a 12-yr old male elephant named Dodo.
We learn commands in hill tribe dialect to get the elephant to go, stop, lay down, raise its trunk, turn, etc. about 10 commands. Then we begin to practice. First we feed Dodo bananas and touch him a bit. Next we all get a bit of a massage and a big wet kiss! Amazing how something so huge can be so gentle! Then we learn how to mount him using his bent leg as a step! Yep, we are riding bareback! Some funny positions as we learn what to do, and Greg and I require a bit of a boost but make it! Once mounted, we get the elephant to turn and walk a short way, then come back and get down so that we can dismount. Some practice mounting over the head, using the trunk as a step and clambering onto his back.
Our guide has the elephant lay down and we examine and feel his skin, his feet, his tail, etc.
Greg and I get Dodo and we manage to get aboard! We all head down the road, up a hill and around. Everyone manages to stay seated though comfortable is not a word to describe how any of us feel! We arrive at the river and dismount.
The mahouts take the elephants down to the river while we clamber down an embankment and meet them. The elephants pretty obviously enjoy the water and we all toss water on them and do a little scrubbing. The baby seems especially happy to play.
They spout water periodically (and on command) so pictures are taken and everyone is pretty wet but having a ball.
The elephants head back with their mahouts and the people climb in the truck and head for an area with showers and toilets. Then we board the truck for the long ride back to town. At least the benches were a little padded!
We arrive around 5:00 and pick up our laundry which is beautifully laundered and folded. We walk for a while and come across a small restaurant called We's, which turns out to be perhaps the best we've had yet! Khao Soi, a famous northern Thai dish and other Thai dishes. We will return to this spot!
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