Walking with Elephants 

**Note: I drafted this post a couple of days ago, but didn’t have wifi to post. I will update this post with pictures once I have them!

Yesterday morning, I had an amazing experience with an elephant! I knew riding an elephant was something I wanted to try while I was in Southeast Asia, but I didn’t realize that this experience could involve so much more than just sitting in a saddle on an elephant’s back. At the start of this GEEO trip, our amazing guide had warned us that we needed to be careful when choosing where to ride elephants. He cautioned us against using big companies that see hundreds of tourists each day, and also against using places that put saddles on the elephants. He explained that the way the saddles are secured to the elephants restricts their breathing when going uphill. Also, big companies will put two or three people on one elephant, which is too much weight for the elephant to carry comfortably.

Our guide did have a recommendation of a place where we could ride elephants in a humane manner–Thai Elephant Home in Chiang Mai. He actually had a personal connection to this environmentally sustainable company, having spent some time training there himself. So about half of our group decided to give this a try.

We were picked up from our hotel at 7:30 am, and drove for an hour to the Thai Elephant Home. First we were given some denim pants and shirts to change into. This was the traditional outfit of elephant mahouts (elephant handlers) and would help the elephants recognize us. Then we learned some commands that we could use to direct our elephants. We were instructed on how to mount an elephant. There are three ways. The first is to have the elephant sit down, and then you jump on. The second way is the elephant raises one knee, which you step on to help boost you up. The third way involves being lifted by the elphant’s trunk.

Next, we made an offering of coconut and pineapple to Ganesh, the elephant god. This is a traditional practice prior to riding elephants.

We finally got to meet the elephants! Before we could ride, we fed the elephants bananas and sugar cane so that we could build a relationship with them. My elephant’s name was Booboo. Each of us had our own elphant to ride bareback, but we also had a trained mahout walking next to us to help us control the elephant. We don’t sit on the elephant’s back–we sit up on its neck, so it is sort of like having a piggyback ride. It is more comfortable there.

My elephant was really hungry and a bit ADHD. She kept wandering over to the tall grass to try to get more food. On the walk, there was a stand where we were able to buy more sugar cane. So I bought a couple of bunches to feed to Booboo.

We walked our elephants down to a river to bathe them. The elephants laid down and it was easy to slide down into the river. I got to help my mahout bathe Booboo, which basically involves splashing water on the elephant and rubbing off the grass and dirt. We all had time to play in the water with the elephants, splashing them and getting splashed back, and even being lifted up on the trunk for a great photo opportunity!

Then it was time to leave the river and make the journey back to the camp, traveling through banana and sugar cane farms. We noticed people riding in saddles on elephants from more touristy companies, and it didn’t look fun for the elephants or the people. I bought some more sugar cane for Booboo on the way back. She was still really hungry! She kept reaching her trunk up to get more sugar cane, and when I wouldn’t give her anymore, she snorted in my face! But she got me back safely (where I later realized I still had a piece of sugar cane in my bag–no wonder she was snorting at me!).

Our ride only lasted for two hours, but the Thai Elephant Home also has longer experiences. I wouldn’t mind trying that some day! Even in two hours, I felt like I had a greater understanding and appreciation of elephants. I would definitely recommend this as an experience for anyone visiting Thailand!