Chaing Mai - Day 3

Today was our final full day in Chiang Mai, I'm already missing it! We got up at 6AM to ride the elephants in the Nature Park, which is about an hour away from Chiang Mai. This park is one of the most humane parks in Thailand where they teach the elephant working jobs vs how to do circus tricks. We really loved seeing the elephants being treated well. These animals are magnificent. They are smart, loyal, and very sensitive.

Just a few fun elephant facts - they live to be about 75 years old and they are born weighing 40 pounds. When they are born they are taken away from their mother for a few days as she recovers from the pain. Instinctively another female elephant watches the baby while the mother is gone. Once the elephants

are adults they can eat up to 40 pounds of food a day and 200 liters of water!!!!! The bridge you see to the left was straight Indiana Jones Style, made out of bamboo! This was the bridge we took to walk over to the camp. Very creepy, as it swayed back and forth as we walked!

We had the unique opportunity to see the youngest elephant in Thailand - Mini. She is so cute and is only 6 weeks old. She was still with her mother. Generally the elephants roam free, but since she is still young she needs to be with her mother. Her mother also had to be chained because she can be very protective of her baby. That is Mini to the left....she was SO CUTE. All she wanted to do was play, play, play. Although we did catch her sleeping standing up right against her mothers back legs. I wanted to bring her home with me!

We rode for a full 45 minutes through the jungle, in the river, and up to visit the local Hill Tribe. There are 6 ethnic Hill Tribes in Thailand. These are tribes of people that live off the land, speak their own language, wear their own ceremonial robe, and very seldom venture down to Chiang Mai. Over the last few years, more and more of the Hill Tribe people have been trying to learn Thai and venture down to Chiang Mai to become educated. This is a big change from the past, when they were considered so different. These people literally live in the Hills, in leaf roofed homes, held up by bamboo walls and dirt floors. They have no electricity or the luxuries of modern life. Just a few years ago they got running water. They used to walk all the way down the hill to the river and collect water 3 times a day. The women generally stay home in the village and make local crafts, while the men work in the rice fields. The local craft of the "LISU" is embroidery. Isn't that little boy SO CUTE!!!!!! He's a 3 year old LISU boy and he was so happy when we gave him those clementimes!

On the way home from visiting the LISU, our elephant actually walked back through the deep river. This was pretty cool. We then proceeded to watch them be bathed, fed, and they performed a show to demonstrate their working skills, as well as their painting skills. They are very close to their trainers, which generally stay with them through their whole lives. They will only listen to their trainers, but love them and respect them.

This was a great experience and done in a humane and loving way. The elephants ranging from 35 all the way down to 6 weeks seemed happy and content in their natural surroundings. They only work till noon, then they are escorted up to the other side of the mountain where they can rest and be away from people. Many other camps work the elephants all day in the hot sun and teach them circus tricks. We really enjoyed today!

We leave tomorrow afternoon for an hour flight back to Bangkok where we will visit the Grand Palace...very exciting.