So I'm slacking a
little lately on this, sorry guys. I'm going to try to get caught up this week
as we have 5 flights in 10 days. Joy. After we very sadly left Cambodia, we
headed back to Thailand, but this time, in the north, to Chiang Mai. I was a
little stand offish after my Bangkok experience, but boy were we in for a
treat. It is such a cool place. Everyone, again, was insanely friendly, and I,
again, decided this was now my favorite place on the trip.On day one we went to meet the Tigers. Oh, the Tigers. So when you get to tiger kingdom there is like a list of tigers you can cuddle, from newborn to giant. Rob and I went for the "younger" instead of the newborn. (Anyone who knows me knows I'm terrified of a newborn anything......) We went and played with what I can only imagine
was the most adorable creature I've ever seen up close.
I was dying for a golden retriever puppy, but I've moved on to bigger and
better things. Tiger babies, here I come. (I'm sure one of you crazies knows a
guy who knows a guy. Put me in touch.) After playing with the baby, Rob and I
decided we hadn't quite had enough so we went to take a look at the giant
tigers, which are the full grown biggest tigers. We were starting to get
excited about cuddling them as well until they started "play
fighting." I can imagine them giggling and saying "I'm just going to
swat you with my 10 inch paw and then you can just nibble me with your razor
sharp teeth." All the while I'm watching this through a fence about 4
seconds away from peeing my pants. We decided that we wanted to live to see
Bora Bora, so we moved to the next biggest tigers. (A mere 350 lbs.) These had
just been fed and had that glaze over their eyes similar to the one I get
following a large Company Burger lunch on 
top of a champagne hangover. I know
how much effort it takes me to get off the couch to do absolutely anything at
that point, so it seemed like these tigers were the safer bet. We went into the
enclosure and they told us to rub the tummy of the sleeping one. Because why would
you not rub the tummy of a sleeping 350 pound, very full tiger? Much to my
surprise he did not maul my face off the moment I touched him. (Rob knows this
is not always the case when he awakes me from a full tummy slumber.) We
wandered through the enclosure with the three tigers (we were already
outnumbered by one 350 lb. tiger, but just to make sure, there were 3 in there)
and had our tummy rubs and cuddles with each and every one. It was one of the
most surreal experiences of my life. These creatures are so beautiful, and this
was one of those days I will absolutely never forget.
The next day, we
decided it was elephant day. (We were Steve Irwining the shit out of Chiang
Mai) We did ample research on the elephant farms around the city (there are
hundreds) and decided to go with an Elephant Sanctuary. It was one of the best
decisions we made. Just a little back story on this amazing place (disclaimer -
all stats are stolen from their website, and have not been independently
verified. #lawyered) -
15 years ago there were over 100,000 elephants in Thailand alone, and likely millions worldwide. The number of elephants in Thailand has dropped to between 2500-4000. The main reasons for this rapid decline are poaching, habitat loss and elephants dying faster due to mistreatment in the tourism industry. Currently 1 kg of ivory is sold on the black market in China for over $3000.It is estimated that 70-80% of the elephants in Thailand are used in the tourism industry - the other 20-30% are at risk of being poached.
The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary started in late
2014, with a mission to
provide as many elephants as possible with the good health, freedom and
happiness they truly deserve. They use an ethically responsible approach to elephant
eco-tourism as a platform to raise awareness and educate people from Thailand
and around the world. In the last 2 years the sanctuary has grown
from 3 to 38 elephants. They plan to continue
growing and rescue even more elephants over the next few years. The
hope is that they can lead by example, and contribute to a positive change
in the perception of elephants; to witness a future where elephants are not
ridden, poached, overworked, or abused, and are instead treated with care,
love, and respect.
The way the sanctuary is accomplishing this is by
convincing the mahouts (elephant owners) to bring their elephants to
the sanctuary rather then allow them to be ridden. Much of the money
they make from the tours is used to pay these owners the amount they would have
made had the elephants been working for them, and not living at the sanctuary.
Our guide explained that he hopes to one day buy the elephants from the owners,
but unfortunately this is very expensive, and they do not have the funds to do
that at this point. They have also partnered with the Karen Village people
(a local tribe) who also invest their time and effort into protecting the
elephants, which is creating a change in mentality of the way these
majestic creatures are being treated.
I'll get off my soapbox now, but if you want to learn more, or help this cause, please refer to the link below.
We decided to do a half day tour at the sanctuary and we
were picked up bright and early at 7 am. The sanctuary was about an hour and a
half outside of town in the mountains, and the vehicle we were transported in
was pretty phenomenal. It was a pick up truck, but they had created makeshift seats
in the bed and put a glorified tarp over it to keep us "cool." (FYI,
it's like 100 degrees everywhere. No one is ever not sweating. It's just our
way of life now.) I was really hoping to nap on the way there but surprisingly
riding on dirt roads, in the mountains, in the
back of a truck, isn't a great napping situation. Once we arrived at the camp
we were given a history of the elephants, and the people working there. They
gave us some VERY stylish (slash not so stylish) shirts to wear and then handed us huge bunches
of small bananas. The elephants at
the camp are free to roam wherever they'd
like but as soon as you have food, they are there. These elephants were hella
hungry. They would reach into your pockets and grab the food themselves if you
didn't go fast enough. We almost had a very unfortunate incident where the
GoPro was mistaken for a banana. (Luckily Rob has cat like reflexes) After we
fed them, we went down to a very muddy river and the elephants followed us in.
Apparently, everyone loves a good spa day. We gave them a bath, scrubbed
them down, and then rubbed mud all over them. (It seemed counter productive, but
apparently the mud helps with mosquitoes. So if you see us sitting on the front
porch on Napoleon, having some wine, covered in mud, you'll know what's up.)
The elephants wave their ears when they are excited and I was hit in the face
with elephant ears about 20 times throughout this mud bath situation. (Lucky for me, they don't stomp their feet when they get excited. This lady was a chunk.) And don't worry, we have about 10 videos of me getting wopped upside the head. One of the
elephants was really taken with Rob and me and stayed close most of the day. It
must have been our great maternal and paternal instincts. (Hahahhahaha. No.)
But it was pretty awesome because she was our personal elephant for the day. (FYI,
whoever finds the tiger guy, see if he does elephants as well.)
Although we were wiped after two days, we were able to
wander around the city and eat (shocker) at most of the yummy restaurants in
town. The local dish there is Khao Soi, which is a coconut curry soup with
fried and regular noodles and some type of meat scenario. (I mean. Yum.) We
have an addiction. We already tried to find it in the states and apparently
there is a legit Khao Soi place in Portland. Luckily, we're going to be there
next summer, and plan to eat there at least once a day. We were absolutely
heartbroken to leave such a unique place but feel so lucky to have experienced
it the way that we did. Thailand as a whole has been amazing, but this place
will always hold a special place in my heart. I have always been a beach
person, but not gonna lie, Chiang Mai may have changed me to mountains. (I'm
not about to throw a hammock up in the wild or anything. But I could handle a cabin. With a hot tub. And a bottle of champs.)
To all of our new
animal friends, it was an absolute pleasure. Thank you for letting us be a part
of your world, even just for a second. I will never forget it.
Much Love,
Anne and Rob
Cue the " Baby Elephant " song from the old Hatari movie .
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