Just like it says on the tin: Elephant Trekking in Pai. Need I say more? Not really… but just try and stop me!
This is high on my list of recommendations when friends travel to Thailand, although one must always be careful of using a reputable company that treats its elephants well.
We booked the night before and turned up first thing after a night of sleepless excitement. Trekking! On elephants! The four of us were loaded into the back of a pick-up and driven up into the jungle- it gets pretty wild right up there in the north, pretty bumpy too.
There were no elephants to be seen when we first arrived; they were led round the corner after a few minutes. I’ll never forget the leap my stomach took when I first saw them. It sounds ridiculous to say, but they were just so BIG.
The scariest point was walking from the platform onto their huge backs. It was as if we weren’t even there, they didn’t even flinch.
Our guides led us up into the nearby hills. I discovered muscles I didn’t know I had from all the gripping that was needed to stay on! The two hours passed in a flash
At the end of the tour, having chatted to the guides all the way round, they asked us if we’d like to carry on for a bit. Yes’s all round. We went down to the river and, with barely time to leave our cameras on the bank, the elephants ploughed right in- this was obviously their favourite bit too!
I’ve never laughed so much as when the elephant carrying the others rolled over onto his side and threw them into the water. Of course, at a little nudge from our guide, ours did exactly the same. In the water, I remember standing near our elephant’s head and feeling this snake-like thing curling round my leg; his trunk of course, but goodness me I jumped!
We all clambered back onto the elephants (it’s not easy), and were set to go, when exactly the same thing happened again! They rolled and we were thrown, with very little dignity, back into the water! Again and again they did it. It felt very much like they were enjoying the joke as much as the rest of us.
Finally, as we headed back to the centre, we walked through a grove of tall fruit trees, which we picked and shared with our new friends, humans and animals alike. A very special experience.
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Comments
Hugo says...
Wow. A special experience indeed. Makes me wonder what I am doing behind a computer screen!
Posted 991 days ago.
shar1406 says...
wow, enjoyed the picture and the elephants in water..must have been great fun!
Posted 985 days ago.
Hannah says...
I did this is Pai and again in Kanchanaburi because I loved it so much! So funny. Did the elephants squirt water at you through their trunks?
Posted 976 days ago.
amyeperez says...
Wow! Yes, I see that two other people have started their comments that way, but it is the first word that comes to mind. This looks like so much fun, what an adventure. Elephants are surprisingly gentle aren't they? And they also do have great and individual personalities!
Posted 961 days ago.
Alexandra says...
That's amazing! A week or two working at the elephant orphanage is right at the top of my travel 'to do' list, so I can get chucked in the water every day!
Posted 926 days ago.
DanaPalamara says...
What a lovely story. Alexandra - there is a really nice and ethical elephant reserve just out of Chiang Mai in Thailand where you can visit elephants or spend the night and learn how to care for the animals from some of the mahouts. Its called the Elephant Nature Park - you need to apply in avance to stay there. Its a fab place - a little sad because many of the elephants have been rescued, but bath time is still as delightful
Posted 857 days ago.
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Posted 810 days ago.
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