Day 4 Elephant camp and New Year's Eve
- Heike Panagoulias
- Nov 10, 2024
- 8 min read
Today, my plan was to visit an elephant camp. I definitely didn't want to ride elephants or visit other camps that were geared towards tourist attractions. So I opted for a small elephant camp founded by ancient elephant care families. Here they live in a relatively natural and species-appropriate way - as far as is naturally possible. Of course, we all know that this is far from species-appropriate. But here they are not chained and live together as a family in a herd. These former captive elephants cannot simply be released back into the wild, as captivity has broken up the social herd structures, for example. They are too accustomed to humans and would destroy fields and plantations in search of food, which would fuel the conflict between elephants and humans. These camps are therefore a good alternative. In the meantime, people have completely stopped offering elephant rides. Of course, these camps are still a long way from being species-appropriate. But they are moving in the right direction. The elephants are rescued elephant families, abandoned elephants in need of care, but also former working elephants, circus elephants or begging elephants. They live here peacefully in a protected space. For animal welfare activists, this is of course still not enough, but as I said, we are on the right track.
But let's start at the beginning.
Booked excursions in Thailand are absolute comfort for every tourist. You are picked up from your hotel and of course taken back again.
So I was picked up early in the morning by a small bus, a small luxurious van. Fully air-conditioned, leather armchairs and plenty of room to sit.
We were a nice little group of two French women, a Japanese man, a Spanish couple and me. We were later joined by a Singaporean family.
It was a drive of around 1.5 hours with a short break for coffee and snacks. Our guide, Mr. T, spoke excellent English and he told us a lot about elephants on the way. He was himself a member of these elephant families and was keen to give us as much information as possible. He was a walking elephant encyclopaedia.
Once we arrived, we were treated to some delicious Pad Thai and drinks. As a group, we chatted a bit and got to know each other. At the same time, we were given lots of information about the elephants in this camp and the history of these elephant families.
Afterwards, we all went to a small covered platform and had to put on a red top. The reason for this was that elephants like the color and the tops had a special scent that they really like. So they could definitely “smell” us, which made the first contact easier and the animals were not stressed by perfume or other unpleasant smells. We were also asked in advance not to use perfume on the day.
We were given instructions on how to behave, what we had to do and what we absolutely had to refrain from doing. It took a while before the elephants slowly came to us. We were shown how to feed them. First at a distance so that we could get used to the elephants, but above all so that the elephants could get used to us.
Of course the elephants liked us, as we fed them delicious food.
Little by little, we were allowed to get closer to them and touch them if they let us.
We were then allowed to get down from this platform and go straight to the elephants. There was also a baby elephant there, which let us stroke it from time to time. However, it was more interested in playing and romping around with one of the caretakers there.
At first, we didn't really dare to approach the larger elephants. But Mr. T encouraged us. The animals stood there calmly and ate something. We all had a huge amount of respect for them and tended to keep our distance and let them eat in peace. We all enjoyed the closeness and were fascinated. Hardly anyone spoke. It was more that we all took photos and videos of each other and treated the animals with respect.
Then we went to a large meadow where there were even more elephants, including a pregnant elephant cow. Some elephants followed us to this meadow. They must have known that there was more food there, hahaaaaa
It was impressive to see the herd together in the meadow. They were certainly stressed and on guard, after all, there was a little baby elephant with them.
A huge bull elephant walked past us just a few meters away.... omg! He was so big and that aura that bull had! Big Daddy
We just had respect
We were then shown how to make delicious snacks for the elephants. Some ingredients, including bananas and grains, were mashed into a mushy mass. We then formed them into small balls. We were then allowed to feed them again. But we had to get very close to them. We were all very excited and in the end not everyone dared.
Afterwards, we were told that we might be able to go swimming with elephants. We had all our swimming gear with us and changed, but of course put our red top back on. It wasn't clear whether it would work, as it was up to the elephants whether they wanted to or not.
It took quite a while, and then an elephant did get into the water and was really waiting for us and a spa treatment. He clearly enjoyed being doused by us with little buckets of water. It was incredible!
And when an elephant like that turns from one side to the other in the water... oh, we had such respect! But the elephant let us brush him and he seemed to enjoy it. Even the baby elephant joined in at some point and had fun with us and of course we did too.
We just enjoyed it, there's not much more you can say.
By now it was late afternoon and it was time to head home. We all made an extra donation because the family convinced us all of their commitment to elephants. We all enjoyed it so much, we felt comfortable and were full of input about elephants.
One really incredibly emotional moment for me was on the way back when Mr. T turned on the music in the van. We were all quiet and lost in thought, everyone had to let what they had experienced today sink in. The guide was certainly aware of this when he decided on the song. Sailing by Rod Stewart. What he didn't know was that it was a song that had been with me my whole life and had taken on a special meaning after Leon's death. I just let the camera roll at that moment, hoping I could somehow capture the moment. It was a moment that made my heart burst. Anyone who knew Leon knows how big his heart was for animals. He was certainly very critical of many aspects of animal husbandry. I don't know what he would have thought of this camp. But I think, like me, he would have thought it was a good thing that they were doing the best they could, which might also be possible here. But I'm also sure that he would have been just as touched by these experiences today and would have found them unique. Feeding, touching and stroking such large, impressive animals
So I turned on the camera and walked through the night market with a few interested people. The question after an hour, how long is the market actually... I just replied, we are definitely still not at the end in this one direction. We could turn around and go back, but then we still wouldn't have seen even a quarter of it... One stall after another with all kinds of things to buy, food stalls as far as the eye could see.
There were so many wonderful souvenirs, T-shirts, pictures and I don't know what else to buy and I was here in Thailand with my backpack! With a full backpack! My heart was bleeding. I bought myself a Chiang Mai T-shirt in the hope that it would somehow still fit in...
I walked with my followers towards the east gate.
Probably everyone who was in Chiang Mai at the time was here in this square. Music was playing on a stage and there was something going on everywhere. More and more people came towards us with a lantern. A young couple, me and my followers online, got together to find out where these lanterns are sold. They are actually banned. After countless clues, such as in the store you have to buy 3 Chang beer, then you get one, or there is an elderly lady sitting on a cart at the back of this alley who also sells lanterns... I can only say it was adventurous!
But we eventually found an illegal sales outlet and bought a lantern. You unfold it and write wishes on it. Then you light a ring at the bottom of the lantern until it has filled with warm air and then you let it take off by giving it a little push into the sky.
So much for the theory!
No pen, no lighter... great!
But that was no obstacle. I simply chatted to all sorts of people until someone had a pen, helped me light it and was finally able to send the lantern off.
While I was standing there, two young women suddenly came towards me. We couldn't believe it. They were the two French women from the elephant camp. What a coincidence! There were sooooo many people here and we of all people meet again in the middle of this huge crowd. It was unbelievable!
The loudspeakers counted down and then it was time! Happy New Year!
I felt at ease. There was no hint of worry about spending this moment here “alone”. I mean, I was standing in an incredibly large crowd and everyone was shouting Happy New Year to each other. A young woman was standing next to me, she seemed quite upset to be here alone. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. I simply hugged her. It was an emotional moment. I, who had thought about this moment myself beforehand, gave her comfort and made her feel at ease.
Who would have thought that... at least not myself!
But I'm sure it makes a difference whether I was sitting alone on the sofa at home or, of course, here far away in strange surroundings. Flashed by all the great experiences of the last few days here, nothing and nobody seemed to stop me from enjoying my time here. Of course, it was also an absolute highlight for me personally. A milestone. The realization that I am very good at being alone with myself. Taking these moments with me in a positive way. It just felt good!
I enjoyed the exuberant atmosphere here in this square for a while in the midst of all these people and then eventually made my way towards the hostel. The night market was just packing up and clearing out. Many other tourists and locals were leisurely walking home through the alleyways. I was tired, my legs were aching from the many kilometers of the past days and the time change. Tomorrow was my chill day, no excursion. Just sleep in and relax and enjoy a few more sights in Chiang Mai. I was looking forward to it, but most of all I was looking forward to my bed!
Conclusion of the day:
Sometimes you think too much in advance. We worry too much. We live too much in the past and too much in the future. We should focus much more on the here and now. This is the life that is happening right now. To say it like in our absolute favorite family movie with Oogway's words:
Live in the moment!
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