Special Blog - Elephants

We began the day at 8am, I was picked up via minivan from my hotel. I chose Baan Chang (Elephant home) Elephant park. We were introduced to the owner and he told us of his company. It’s pretty obvious about how much he cares for his park. The elephants are rescued from all over Thailand from logging plants, football, sightseeing tours and begging. There are seventeen as of yet, each one with a mahout caretaker. The mahouts are some of the hardest working people I’ve ever seen. They don’t get holidays or even days off, and start every day at four in the morning. The elephants are their children, and each is cared for and thoroughly checked every day for ticks or disease.

After the introduction, we got changed into mahout clothes, sort of thick blue cotton long shorts and shirt. We also got a pretty sweet hat to keep the sun off, though it’s not replacing the Trilby.

I can rock mahout clothing

We began feeding them, bananas and sugar cane. You could either reach out and let them grab it with a trunk, or pop it straight in their mouths. There was a massive variation in elephants, of both sexes. Some where a few years, others my age, some where even as old as my dad. There were a couple of babies, both three year old males and a few pregnant ones. Elephants gestate for about two years, one was twenty months in. She was huge.

They were pretty affectionate

We then began basic commands, first only lie down “lng nohn” and then how to climb. You stand on one of the legs, grab the tough top ridge of the ear and swing yourself up.

Many people have vaulted fences, I vaulted an elephant. We got used to how to sit, on the neck with legs around the neck and how to dismount. Same in reverse. 

Then if got interesting, we learned go – bai, stop – how, and turn – gaway (whilst gripping with the directional leg).

We did a couple of walks around some nearby trees, and honestly, the elephants just follow the one in front. So, it would suck to be the front elephant.

After this we had lunch of sweet and sour chicken, fried chicken and vegetable soup. With rice of course. Saying a Thai meal has rice is like saying a slut has a tramp stamp. It’s just expected. We were then assigned animals, as the biggest guy there, I got the biggest animal there. The heavily pregnant one at the front, her name was Kannikan.

She was grumpy, wilful and very itchy. She tried to scratch herself on almost every single tree. Even if my leg was there, she wouldn’t care. It’s a very literal rock and a hard place, I had to ballerina style flip my leg up every time she eyed a tree meaningfully. But whilst I was doing this, I couldn’t look around. I’d flip my leg and avoid a tree to be slapped by a low hanging branch. 

She also enjoyed the scenic route. Constantly foraging for food, taking the wrong path or simply stopping to admire the scenery. I had to shout “bai” every couple of seconds. It wasn’t just me, the mahouts were continuously cajoling her in an attempt to not hold up the elephant convoy.

Still, I liked her independent “fuck the man” spirit. I even got to learn her body language, by the end I could tell when she was going for a tree, about to head off a different road or start moving. What disturbed me was the way she growled at me whenever I did something that annoyed her. For example, asking her to move, go in the right direction or stop trying to eat that mahout’s hat. For those who don’t know, the T-Rex from Jurassic Park’s roar and growl are based on elephants. It was like my nightmares throughout the 90s brought to life. I was close to just allowing her free reign and running to a leaf-roofed bathroom.

Considering I’ve never ridden a horse, or have any desire to, the elephant was a challenge. My long legs allowed me to grip her neck tightly, so when she ducked her head to eat or scratch I was able to stay on easily enough. There are no saddles (or howdahs) to use, just her neck. My legs were a little achy, but I think a combination of strong cyclist’s legs and a lot of stretching made it a lot easier to handle.

The two hour trek ended with a trip to the local pond to wash them. They were led in, all collapsed in happiness, and we trooped in with brushes and buckets to attend their daily needs.

I think we spent twenty minutes in there, in God knows what infested water scratching off biting flies and dirt and then polishing them to a high shine. 

It was great, I was brave enough to climb onto her back to really wash her neck and head. She even joined in, blasting me with her trunk every time I felt a little too dry or comfortable. 

After the lead mahout politely but firmly asked us to get out of the lake and stop molesting his elephants, we got showered and enjoyed a well earned break.

After a pick-me-up of tea and bananas it was time to leave. We said a fond farewell to the elephants and their keepers and boarded the minivan home.

The day was 4200B, but you can do two or even three day treks. It included food, clothing, training and transport and was an unforgettable experience. I felt happy knowing my money was helping support the 250KG of food every day the elephants need, and the work of Baan Chang. I had an amazing day, check it out if you’re in the area.