The afternoon starts with a relaxing trip down the River Sok …. we didn’t even have to paddle ourselves.
And then the fun starts … at the Elephant Camp
There are 12 Asian elephants being looked after by their mahoots. Most of the elephants are in their 50s but includes a ‘grandma’ of 78. A retirement home for elephants 😊
But only female elephants as they are easier to control.
The elephants used to be working elephants from the north of Thailand. After the government stopped logging, lots of these domesticated elephants (and their handlers) found themselves jobless.
As an elephant is expensive to keep, eating more than 280 kg of food a day, many elephants ended up as tourist attractions without their welfare in mind. There are still a lot of dubious organisations around but a lot more awareness of tourists – all the better for the elephants.
We had the pleasure of showering and scrubbing ‘our’ elephant. Elephants love water – so it was fun for them and us.
After shower is feeding (or better) snacking time. We prepared a little snack of banana, pineapple, sugar cane and tamarind.
Feeding time is over quickly and it’s time to get ourselves fed back at the camp.
It was a very enjoyable and light hearted day and we did learn a lot about elephant conservation, habits as well as the role of the elephant in Thai society.
Something to look back on in the months to come …
The Travels of Birgit 