The drive was about 1 hour and when we finally arrived to the farm, we were amazed by all of the natural beauty. Looking out over rice fields, grains and large trees was beautiful, especially when we noticed the elephants off in the distance… wow!
We were first introduced to our guide for the day, Jack. He spoke very good English and gave us an introduction to the farm and their mission. The farm actually began 10 years ago in an effort to rescue abandoned and abused elephants and to help foster breeding success. The tours have only been offered for five years (I’m sure to offset the high costs of keeping elephants) so it’s nice to know that it was a rescue project before it became a tourist attraction.
Jack told us stories about how baby elephants are separated from their mothers and brought to markets as a tourist attraction. The owner will charge tourists money to touch and feed the baby elephant. This makes good money for the owner, but being around such huge crowds of people in a very urban setting can cause huge emotional damage to the elephant. Moreover, once the elephant gets older and bigger and can no longer fit into the truck that takes it to the market, the owner doesn’t want it anymore (too expensive to keep it and he’s not making any money off of it) so he abandons the elephant.
Other tragic stories included the demand for ivory that come from the tusks of elephants. Apparently only 60% of ivory is visible from the outside of the face, so many poachers will actually kill the whole elephant to dig into it’s head and take out the rest. It’s a horrible industry that needlessly kills beautiful elephants for nothing. This farm is an organization that helps rescue animals that have been hurt, helps facilitate breeding and puts elephants back into the wild. It was really neat to experience something that was more than a typical tourist attraction and actually had the main focus on helping the elephants.
After our information session, we were brought to a hut where we would be assigned an elephant. My elephant was Pangwon, she was a twenty year old female who had recently given birth to a little baby (who was so adorable!). Jessie’s elephant was Muhree, she was 46 years old and was slightly smaller than the rest. When we met the elephants, we were able to get on their good sides by feeding them. Each person got a basket filled with bananas, sugar cane and tamarind seeds to feed them. This was a very unique experience, because you actually have to put your hand in the mouth of the elephant to get the food in. I could feel Pangwon’s tongue and slobber while feeding her. At first, this was quite nasty, but after a while, it was pretty neat. Her little baby was also wanting food, so he would bump with his head and put his trunk up into my basket to try to find something… it was so cute!
Next, we got instructions on how to see if the elephants are healthy. Checking their skin for dirt to indicate that they slept lying down, checking to ensure that they’re sweating from their toes (the only place they sweat oddly enough) and finally, checking their poop! This wasn’t something I opted to do, but the guides explained that going through the poop and seeing that the digestive tracts are working well is a very important part of monitoring the health of an elephant.
After checking their health, we cleaned our elephants and gave them a bath in the river. We had little scrub brushes to clean their skin and we used buckets to splash water over them. My elephant would let me know if I wasn’t doing it right by spraying water over herself with her trunk. This was a pretty neat thing to do because it was when I actually started to interact with Pangwon. Her baby was nearby splashing around in the water… young elephants LOVE water and they’re always playing in it. The only negative thing about washing the elephants in the river was that every so often, I would see a chunk of poo and I had the unsettling realization of what I was standing in.
After cleaning our elephants, it was time to ride them. We were shown how to properly get onto an elephant and we were allowed to choose which method (out of 3) that we wanted to use. I opted to stand up on Pangwon’s trunk, which she then raised and I hopped onto her neck. This method requires you to swing yourself around then (because you’re facing backwards) so that was a bit scary, but I succeeded in doing it!
Riding Pangwon was an incredible experience. I was sitting so high from the ground and had nothing to hold on to except the small mounds on her head. Her skin was very rough and she had coarse hair covering her. At first, I was a little nervous as I got used to the sway of her body as she walked, but after a while I because used to her rhythm and it was ok. When riding an elephant, it’s best to keep your legs and knees up with your feet behind their ears. After a while, my hips became a bit sore, but I just stretched out my legs and they were ok again.
We rode the elephants for a good half hour along a trail that eventually led to a beautiful waterfall. Once there, there was a beautiful lunch waiting for us. After I got off of Pangwon, I walked down a steep gravel hill and I lost my footing and fell. I scraped up my arm and leg and later discovered that I broke my camera. I was pretty bummed that my camera is broken, but at least Jessie still has one.
Putting aside my little fall, Jessie and I went with the rest of our group to a beautiful buffet spread in a grass hut. There were assortments of sticky rice all wrapped in banana leaves, Thai pastries, fruit and fried chicken (it was so good!). We ate till our heart’s content… it was all so delicious. The food was spread out on banana leaves and all of the wrappings were natural as well, so once we were done eating, all of the food and leaves were wrapped up and we fed it to our elephants. So neat!
The last big thing on the tour was swimming with our elephants. Jessie and I got into our swim suits and went into the water (trying to forget about the ‘gifts’ the elephants were dropping). The baby elephants were jumping around and swimming so happily. It was so cute.
When we reached my elephant Pangwon, Jessie and I climbed on top of her and took some photos. We had to be careful to stay away from the babies, because they move so quickly and are so strong and heavy, they could do some serious damage (at 4 months old and 400 lbs, they’re a force to be reckoned with). It was a really rewarding experience to be able to soak in the water with these beautiful animals. They’re so peaceful and gentle.
After our swim, we were lead back to the camp on another 30 minute ride. This time, we went up and down a pretty steep mountain. I was scared to fall off of Pangwon, so I was clenching really hard with my legs. By the time I got off of her, my legs were so sore I could barely walk. By that time, I had had enough of elephants. It had been a great experience, but I was ready to walk with my own feet now.
We said goodbye to our guides and were driven back to our hotel. We got back around 4:30pm and were tired, stinky and dirty. Jessie and I both showered and went for a nap… what an awesome experience!!
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