Elephants!!!!
Hello Everyone,
Amy and I have had a great few days in Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, punctuated by an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime, eye-opening, educational day at the Elephant Nature Park.
But first things first. We arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand's cultural capital and a popular tourist destination, and immediately hit the streets. Crowded street markets and bazaars abound, and there's a lot going on. Tons of people and bright colors everywhere. Fresh fruit, food frying on wheeled bbqs, tuk-tuks (three-wheeled taxi-bike), sawngthaws (truck taxi), tailors with professional alterations for $2, etc.
We spent an afternoon at a Thai cooking class, which was very nice. After having a wonderful time making and eating shrimp soup, veggie stir-fry, pad thai, and curry--a thoroughly enjoyable process resulting in one of the tastiest meals yet--we headed to our guest house, where stomachs began to rumble. Amy spent a less than enjoyable night with curry coming out of both ends. Guess that's part of coming to Thailand. As they say, "When you're driving in a Chevy...."
Anyway, the trip turned GREAT again yesterday when we visited a unique and wonderful place called Elephant Nautre Park. Elephants are huge in Thailand, and not just because they're big and tall. They're revered as the national symbol, and everyone, King included, worships them. They're also integral to the tourism economy; companies run elephant treks (day-long rides on elephants) and elephant shows (where elaphants paint and do other trivial tricks). Hundreds of elephants also walk the streets in Bangkok, where their owners take money for photos and fruit to feed the elephants. This is the side of elephant tourism that bombards every traveler here, but what most people never find out is that this system is terrible for the elephants themselves and is running them towards extinction.
In order to "train" elephants for trekking, shows, and city-walking, handlers use a tradition called "pajang," in which an elephant is caged, tied up, and beat into submission until it begins to obey commands (which usually come in the form of more beating, often with a metal hook on the end of a bamboo pole; it looks just like an ice ax). As you can image, it's pretty horrible. Elephants are smart animals, and they're an endangered species. Although the country reveres them, no regulations protect them.
While searching for volunteering opportunities for us, Amy stumbled upon Elephant Nature Park, and we went to see it yesterday. Wow! Feeding elephants, walking with them, bathing them (we actually got in the river and scrubbed them!), playing with babies, and enjoying their presence made for an amazing day; much better than the elephant ride that most tourists do, unkowingly supporting a grotesque system. Equally fulfilling was gaining an education on the behind-the-scenes system here that perpetuates brutality against elephants, a system that will make them extinct within 100 years if not changed.
Anyway, I could go on and on (it was a very powerful day), but you'll learn more by checking out www.elephantnaturepark.org. If you have a moment, please visit the website; you'll learn a lot in two minutes. If you have a few extra bucks, www.elephantnaturefoundation.org is a good place to put them. A few thousand USD allows the Park to buy an elephant from an owner who is abusing it (many of the animals are on the verge of death when they arrive, and the stories are heart-wrenching). If you go to Thailand, you MUST go to the Park; seeing elephant families (and they are families indeed, complete with babies, mothers, fathers, aunts, and 90-year-old grannies..no joke!) in a wild setting is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We cant's get the photos to work right now, but please check back for elephant pictures because they're amazing.
We're off to Chiang Dao today; pushing futher north into the mountains.
Lots of Love,
T and A
Amy and I have had a great few days in Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, punctuated by an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime, eye-opening, educational day at the Elephant Nature Park.
But first things first. We arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand's cultural capital and a popular tourist destination, and immediately hit the streets. Crowded street markets and bazaars abound, and there's a lot going on. Tons of people and bright colors everywhere. Fresh fruit, food frying on wheeled bbqs, tuk-tuks (three-wheeled taxi-bike), sawngthaws (truck taxi), tailors with professional alterations for $2, etc.
We spent an afternoon at a Thai cooking class, which was very nice. After having a wonderful time making and eating shrimp soup, veggie stir-fry, pad thai, and curry--a thoroughly enjoyable process resulting in one of the tastiest meals yet--we headed to our guest house, where stomachs began to rumble. Amy spent a less than enjoyable night with curry coming out of both ends. Guess that's part of coming to Thailand. As they say, "When you're driving in a Chevy...."
Anyway, the trip turned GREAT again yesterday when we visited a unique and wonderful place called Elephant Nautre Park. Elephants are huge in Thailand, and not just because they're big and tall. They're revered as the national symbol, and everyone, King included, worships them. They're also integral to the tourism economy; companies run elephant treks (day-long rides on elephants) and elephant shows (where elaphants paint and do other trivial tricks). Hundreds of elephants also walk the streets in Bangkok, where their owners take money for photos and fruit to feed the elephants. This is the side of elephant tourism that bombards every traveler here, but what most people never find out is that this system is terrible for the elephants themselves and is running them towards extinction.
In order to "train" elephants for trekking, shows, and city-walking, handlers use a tradition called "pajang," in which an elephant is caged, tied up, and beat into submission until it begins to obey commands (which usually come in the form of more beating, often with a metal hook on the end of a bamboo pole; it looks just like an ice ax). As you can image, it's pretty horrible. Elephants are smart animals, and they're an endangered species. Although the country reveres them, no regulations protect them.
While searching for volunteering opportunities for us, Amy stumbled upon Elephant Nature Park, and we went to see it yesterday. Wow! Feeding elephants, walking with them, bathing them (we actually got in the river and scrubbed them!), playing with babies, and enjoying their presence made for an amazing day; much better than the elephant ride that most tourists do, unkowingly supporting a grotesque system. Equally fulfilling was gaining an education on the behind-the-scenes system here that perpetuates brutality against elephants, a system that will make them extinct within 100 years if not changed.
Anyway, I could go on and on (it was a very powerful day), but you'll learn more by checking out www.elephantnaturepark.org. If you have a moment, please visit the website; you'll learn a lot in two minutes. If you have a few extra bucks, www.elephantnaturefoundation.org is a good place to put them. A few thousand USD allows the Park to buy an elephant from an owner who is abusing it (many of the animals are on the verge of death when they arrive, and the stories are heart-wrenching). If you go to Thailand, you MUST go to the Park; seeing elephant families (and they are families indeed, complete with babies, mothers, fathers, aunts, and 90-year-old grannies..no joke!) in a wild setting is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We cant's get the photos to work right now, but please check back for elephant pictures because they're amazing.
We're off to Chiang Dao today; pushing futher north into the mountains.
Lots of Love,
T and A
posted by Amy and Trav at 8:23 PM
1 Comments:
I knew i recognized those pictuers... we took the same cooking class in chiang mai! But i didn't have the same result as Amy with the green curry... sorry about that!
Sounds like you two are enjoying yourselves. Thailand is awesome eh?
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