I’m going to do my best to describe the most amazing
experience have ever had. I’m so blessed (read spoiled) to have done some truly
amazing things in my life – swim with Stingrays, dolphins, giant sea turtles,
play with tigers, hold monkeys and see some of the most beautiful beaches and
places in the world. Absolutely none of those things compares to what I got to
do today. Truly an experience I can never forget. Part of my excitement and
reason I wanted to try Thailand was this day in Chiang Mai. Spending a day with
these magnificent creatures, and knowing I was doing it in a way that was
supporting rehabilitation and caring for these animals. It exceeded every
expectation I had. At the hostels, everyone talks about what their plans are
and how much each other are paying – great way to make sure you aren’t getting
duped. My elephant experience was nearly double everyone else, but I was
confident after extensive research that this is the one I wanted to do I got
noses turned up at me by everyone because I was unwilling to cancel and try
another. Thru this post I’ll explain why this one was worth it (and it was only
$150US by the way.)
When I arrived, there were immediately 5 elephants playing
and eating. 1 Male, two females, and two babies (6 months and 10 days). That’s right
– a 10 day old elephant. He was stumbling around the whole time, and even
nursing from the mother. The trainers walk you over and immediately let you
interact with the babies, who are curious and playful. The 6 month old loved to
wrestle. Mind you, this 6 month old was stronger than I am, and outweighed me
by atleast 50lbs. He went from sugar cane, to playing in the water, getting a
drink from the hose, then charging at you to play around. As long as you were
standing and pushing back, he would continue to play. If you want to give up,
just lay down, and he immediately laid right on top of you, grabbed your hand
with his trunk, and made you rub his belly. This first 45 minutes would have
been worth the entire price itself. I was totally convinced of that as soon as
that short session was done.
The owner of the farm gathered the group of 18 people– the
most they will accommodate in a day is 24. The owner of the farm spent the next
hour teaching us about the farm and the work they do. Patara rescues elephants
from bad situations – broken legs, abuse, mental health issues, etc – and brings
them to this huge plot of land where they stabilize, rehabilitate, then
encourage them to begin interacting with humans in a positive way. No chains,
no hooks – unless there is an absolute medical need for one. For example, one
of the elephants lost a toe nail, which he showed us, while healing, they had
to keep him from walking for a bit until it begins to heal. Each of their 61 elephants,
has a dedicated caregiver that spends 12 – 14 hours a day with the elephant,
and the hours they are not with them, a watchman is placed with each group to
ensure they are safe, and not being poached. They form a bond that is very
obvious. I would compare it to a loyal dog. If he can’t see where you are at,
he will get up and move to where he can see you and be with you. Seeing that
connection was amazing. The money we spent goes to paying these folks, and
stocking money to buy elephants out of other bad situations. 100 people
currently work on the farm. After the lesson we were split in groups of 6 and
taken to meet our caregivers and our own elephant for the day. One Person,
atleast one elephant (two if the mom has a baby that is still young (under 4
years). I was paired with Blayku, a 28 year old girl, who worked in Cambodia
hauling logs, until she stopped working and became very aggressive to humans,
was sold as “trash” to Patara (Funny story after the rehabilitation, the old
owner came back and wanted to buy her back again, seeing she was happy and
interacting again. The Farm said absolutely not.) In order to gain trust we
first fed them bananas, bamboo shoots and sugar cane. When you told her to “open
up” she would let you put the snack right in her mouth, and we would drag huge
shoots of bamboo over for her to eat as she wanted. Perfect, trust built. Then
it was time to clean them.
First, elephants have a ton of dirt on them to protect their
skin from sun, exfoliate, and moisturize. We had to dust them off before giving
them a bath. Right after the dusting, like clockwork, all the elephants took a
nice poo. We each had to get down and dirty then, tearing apart their poop
ensuring it was the right color and moisture. Then we needed to check eyes –
elephants don’t have tear ducts, so the water flows down their face. As long as
they were wet around eyes, they were in good shape. Crying elephants are
actually a good thing. Last was checking their sweat glands, which only exist
around their nails. We had to make sure each foot was moist around the nails.
Next was the bath. We all hopped in the water with them and scrubbed them down,
and even jumped on their back to get the tough places. I actually did a lot of
work today! We let them dry off and grab some food and water before heading out
on our trek.
We learned that elephants moving is key to their health, so
the elephants are led to different areas everyday, so they experience a different
place to roam. The group naturally forms into herds and they stay together in
each area. We hopped up on their backs for an hour trek to the next space. Note
that we were riding with no saddle or basket. Our guides showed us that saddles/baskets
have large hooks that dig in to their backs to keep it stable. For obvious
reasons, this isn’t good for them, but they can easily support one or two
people on their back and it makes no difference to them. They did tie a rope
around them though, as a support for us. Doesn’t hurt them, very loose and is
more of an “o crap” handle for us. Riding them was tough. Very good balance was
required. There were a couple points where I thought I may come off, but Blayku
would adjust me herself with her trunk if I wasn’t where she thought I needed
to be. After getting to the next area we hopped off for lunch and the elephants
went swimming again.
All the pics above are of Blayku
So why is Patara the place to do this?
- 1.One on one with the elephant, you aren’t sharing
one elephant with 8 people – and you all know I don’t share well J
- It’s all centered around caring for them. The
owner told us that everyone comes thinking riding will be the highlight, but
they will come out thinking differently. I completely agree now. The experience
of caring for them and getting to know them was amazing. No kooks, no chains,
no hurting them.
- They have babies!!!! Over the past 10 years, 35
babies have been born at the farm, but why does that matter. Elephants won’t be
fertile if they are unhappy. So more babies, means happier elephants! Many
other farms who claim they are there for conservation – don’t have babies, so
something isn’t right there.
- 2 staff members per visitor. Not only do you
have a dedicated mahout (caregiver), but there are 4 other staff members,
preparing the sugar cane, bath materials, etc, so the mahout can focus on you
and the elephant. Then a head guide who takes care of you – food drink etc, and
then a photographer dedicated to your group of 6.
Hope you enjoyed! It was an amazing experience for me and I hope
it shows! I can't wait to show you all the professional photos when I'm back.
