Rides, Rafts and Butterflies part 1...

Dateline: Thursday 8th January, somewhere in the jungle...
Another early start this morning as we head off up the 'motorway' and into the jungle.  There are no wild elephants left in Thailand but working elephants have been used for thousands of years both for domestic and military purposes.  I am visiting the 'Mae Taeng Elephant Park' north of Chiang Mai in Chiang Rai province. Do you know that they even preserve the elephant dung for a variety of purposes including making paper. The cardboard frames of the souvenir photos are made of this along with other functional gifts.

The sanctuary puts on a show, which I appreciate some may disagree with, but this helps to provide the sanctuary and protect the elephants.  The animals are well cared for and show off the various skills used in logging, used in this roll for centuries as the elephant could penetrate the dense jungle and perform the work of many men in the hot, humid conditions.

The elephants also have their own orchestra and art school too. The hand of the handler places the paint brush into the trunk of the elephant. The animal then follows the hand signals of the handler as far as I could tell but there is no physical contact between the two.

After this relaxing interlude we are treated to a football match as the elephants demonstrate their ball skills. Who needs Beckham if you have one of these on your team!

The show over and it is time to embark on my ride through the jungle. It is quite frightening how high you are on top of the elephant as it goes down an almost vertical bank side into the river.  These animals are very sure footed so I arrive on the far bank dry and safe though it is very difficult to take photographs. Try and ride with a partner as it is much easier to maintain balance.

Not to miss an opportunity to provide an income for their families, bananas are sold from platforms scattered in the trees along the trail affording a 'tip' for your ride as you move along.  It is an amazing way to see and hear the jungle around you from a completely different view point.  Wading along the fast flowing river is an experience not to be missed either.

We arrive at our destination, along the way we have passed people on elephants heading back to our departure point. It turns out that I will return to base on an ox cart, those arriving will ride our elephants back.

 I did not feel cheated as this was also a unique experience travelling on a local equivalent to a 4x4 it rounded off the trip perfectly travelling along through the varied landscape and local villages before depositing me at the restaurant for lunch. Fresh cool coconut milk straight from the nut was my drink of choice to accompany the vast buffet meal displayed before us.

This afternoon some rafting and a butterfly and orchid farm, though I was unaware of the latter at the time.

View my full 'Mae Taeng' elephant photo album