No trip to Chiang Mai in Thailand is complete without a visit to see the Elephants. Elephants have been a working part of Thai culture forever. Private elephants farms in the area advertise all over the place, but we didn't want to just pick a place at random. My friends Graciela and Klem, who lived in Thailand for a few months, had a couple of recommendations for us, but unfortunately they were booked up.
There are many, many locations to choose from, but we wanted to support a farm that actually cares for the animals. Some places treat the elephants like circus performers, making them play soccer or draw pictures. Others use hooks and chains to essentially torture the animal into behaving. Amy and I focused our search on rescue facilities that truly care for the animals. In addition, given the heat and humidity, we wanted to limit ourselves to a half day program.
That search led us to the Ran-Tong Elephant Center. This is a truly wonderful place, that provides a loving and caring home for Elephants. One elephant in particular had broken a leg doing brutal, illegal forestry work. It now spends its day as a step-mom for another orphaned baby elephant. Ran-tong is cruelty-free, using only voice commands and the personal relationship between the elephant and its Mahout, or trainer. The Mahout forms a personal, one-on-one relationship with the elephant that lasts for many years.
We were met at the park by a retired Swedish gentleman, who gave us a brief history of the park, described our day to us, and gave us some advice about riding the elephants. We learned 6 voice commands, as you can see below. I memorized all of them, and forgot them all about 30 seconds after we climbed aboard. Fortunately Amy remembered, although to be honest I don't think our elephant actually cared what we said.
Mae Noi (pronounced may-NOY) our 9,000 pound female elephant, was far and away the largest of the elephants in our group. To be perfectly honest, I was pretty terrified after climbing aboard. Amy sat up front, and I sat behind with no saddle, just the top of a rope to hold on to. Amy felt pretty comfortable, having ridden horses as a child. I hadn't sat on top of an animal since I got rid of my rocking horse as a child.
The animals are gentle, but have a mind of their own. They may decide that it's time for a grass break, or that they'd rather go left than right, or maybe they just want to take a break. Our remonstrations to "Pai, Pai" were typically ignored, but the Mahout, having spent years with Mai Noi, had the right touch. The first couple of times she decided to veer off-course I though "Oh crap, this is where I die..."
We followed a well-worn trail that meandered up a hillside and back around to the watering hole. Going uphill was intimidating, forcing us to hold on in order to not slide backward. Downhill was scarier, with the sensation that we would fall right over the front of her head. However, after awhile I was able to follow our Swedish guide's advice and actually relax. By the time we had completed the circuit I was actually comfortable being 10 feet up in the air on the back of a 9,000 pound animal.
We made our way to the watering hole, which Mae Noi entered with us on her back. She then "Melong"ed, and allowed us to hop off. After a bath in the watering hole, and a hose-off at the garden hose
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