It's hard to describe how much an elephant EATS. They graze and feed constantly, preferring banana, lush greens, fruit, sugarcane & veggies like cucumbers. We saw it, yet again, yesterday and even after 18 years living in Thailand I am STILL incredulous at how much they can EAT!
For eons, elephants have been a lifestyle - a vocation - for their mahouts in Surin and, here in Northwestern Thailand, for the indigenouos Karen people. Enter the flood of American tourists after the Vietnam war and elephants suddenly became almost as lucrative as opium & ganja. Almost. 😆 And "elephant tourism" in Thailand was born. Previously revered by the Thai people and considered royal beings and an integral part of jungle mountain living, they became a means to leverage tourist revenue. And with that came elephant abuse, elephant rides, degrading elephant shows and more. Bullhooks and chains to subdue a regal power for the pleasure of a bored tourist.
The reaction to this out-of-control elephant abuse and capitalism has been the rise of elephant rescue & eco-tourism. Here, in Chiang Mai where I have lived for 17 years, we are now surrounded by elephant parks and elephant sanctuaries, specifically for retired, exhausted, abused and rescued elephants. 125 elephants at last official count. They have been domesticated to the point where they can never really return to the wild. The cost of feeding them and containing them in such a way as to co-exist with impoversihed farmers is astronomical. And so tourism has adapted and one can PAY for an exclusive elephant experience - swimming with them, washing them, feeding & hanging out with them - roaming free but with a trained mahout handy. What does a half day elelphant experience cost? About 1,500 THB - which is around USD $50.
FFWD to 2019 when Thailand had just on 40 million tourists. Elephant sancturies are having babies (cos there IS money here people!) and the business is brisk. If it has an elephant on it, it sells. Still.
And then Covid and a total closing of the tourist faucet. For now 7 brutal months.
Most people don't expect any return of tourists till November, and then it will be only 1,000 people per day for the whole country.
Chiang Mai has responded magnificently to it's starving and economically collapsed people population: we have had food queues and distribution, rent forgiveness, generosity beyond belief and a wonderful sense of collaboration and giving. This in a country with no pensions and no unemployment benefits. Ironically no one (except a few hardened western expats) is blaming the government.
But the elephants are hungry, their mahout families are broke and the local farmers are also doing it hard and not in a position to give away much.
And so the Mae Rim Elephant Sanctuary came up with a novel idea to suppport the local elephants: An Elephant Pool Party.
Being local and part of the world we live in, we went. Cos our family is more than just humans. To have a few beers by the pool (proceeds to the elephant food fund) and buy some hugely marked up local fruit and sugarcane, so that the profits could be used to help feed the elephants for another month. Getting masses of free social media promo for when we DO have tourists? my entrepreneurial self applauded their creativity and willingly obliged with facebook and twitter shares.
Sun on a hot hot day, a great pool, music, loads of people we knew, a BBQ (proceeds to the elephants), Chang beer (cos of the elephant logo) and a chance for my 16 year old daughter and her bestie to have some healthy, community based fun. And only 15 mins from home.
The elephants normally roam around and graze around the sanctuary, but given the number of people, they were kept contained for public safety reasons. A low fence and loads of contact - never forget these are NOT wild elephants and they're very accustomed to people. It was nice knowing some local farmer also got to sell all his old bananas and over-ripe pineapples.
And so we hung out poolside and relaxed. For the elephants. Sidebar: Vanessa - Ploi is loving & using your Converse bag LOL - hope your bday weekend in London was great.
But we REALLY came for feeding the elephants. Which we did rather a lot of, and very happily, knowing that the extra money they raised will keep these guys fed a bit longer.
Nicky, Ploi's bestie, was too scared to get close but it was a wonderful teachable moment to show her how gentle these huge animals can be. We had a GREAT talk poolsde about the consequences of domesticating wild animals, and our collective responsibility for the mistakes of those who came before. The girls loved knowing that there still are many wild elephants roaming in the Thai jungles, particularly in the huge national parks adjoining the Burmese border near Mae Salit and near Khlong Laan.
I had SUCH a sense during the afternoon of quiet acceptance from the elephants, much the same as an aging grandma might be annoyed by the irritating toddlers at her feet but KNOWS that in their exuberant carelessness, they really do love her.
And so it is.
When you are FINALLY able to return to Thailand as a tourist, we would invite you to visit one of the REAL elephant sanctuaries, where these magnificent Beings can live out their lives peacefully, without being ridden or turned into a sideshow. KNOW that the not inconsiderable sum you pay for this pleasure and privilege means they will have adequate food and veterinary care, and that their Karen mahout families who know no other way of life will also have enough to send their kids to school, put petrol in the motorbike and keep food on the table.
Do get in touch for a cuppa when you visit - we're just up the road.
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This seems like a really novel way to raise some funds, and for such a great cause too!
We've been to Thailand a few times and have always avoided the elephant attractions as we'd seen a few documentaries about their poor treatment and didn't want to support that; It seems these ones are really well cared for though, and it's good to see the local community getting behind them.
Great post and thanks for using the engage the weekend community!
We are VERY VOCAL about DISCOURAGING animal tourism. They are not toys!! And yet these animals can't be returned to the wild. WE love that they roam relatively freely and it is important to really study the ethics of the various elephant places. This one is run by Karen people we know and the elephants are respected, treasured and well cared for.
Next time you come let's aim for a Hive Meet up!!
Huge thanks for a great and vibrant community! Look forward to publishing the profile after HiveChat this week. 😊
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A Thailand hive meetup would be cool. The last time we came was for the wedding of a couple of friends from here. It was far cheaper to have their weeding there for them, and we all got a little holiday at the same time. We'll be back...We like Thailand.
Look forward to that! We can go off road - my Thai herbal business grows herbs with the Karen people along the Burmese border - promise it will be unique and very different from what you see in the cities. I speak fluent Thai and my daughter (as you can see) is half Thai too.
2021 is the year!! I can help you organize a Digital Nomad Hive Summit.
Come on 2021! I'll be glad to see the end of 2020 to be honest, it's been horrible for Faith and I. It sounds like a great plan and with you speaking the language...Even better as we'll have a less touristy experience!
We generally don't do tourist, except when we have pizza cravings 😆 Look forward to it. The Nomad Hive Summit is a serious offer btw. Thailand has just announced a new tourist visa - 3 months for 2,000 baht, renewable x2 for a total of 270 days. Might be long enough to have a jaunt into our village project in Burma. 😊 We are working with the Karen people in Hpa-An too. Now we just need this covid quarantine BS to stop....
That sounds interesting...We still work though so it's not possible to go for that long. We have some commitments here with Faith's mum at the moment too; A secondary cancer thing. It'll keep us here for a little while, but later ion 2021 I think we'll be looking for a break, and the covid thing might be subsiding by then. Hopefully.
ENGAGEtokens.That right there made my day. Seriously great writing.
I'm a back country sort of guy. I take great pains to fit in and not affect the inhabitants in any way. Well, except for the squirrels and rabbits that my dog searches for every day (and catches very few :)).
My brother owns a condominium near Bangkok. I don't know when they will get back, but I'll suggest he head towards you. Just because.
You're making me blush!! 😊
Thanks for such a rave review comment and stopping by - incredibly appreciated. Is your brother not here in TH right now? By all means tell him to come up North for a coffee... would be nice to meet him! Does he Hive too?
Back country people are the best - REAL people with no frills. 😍
Following you. !ENGAGE 25
No. My brother is more or less locked down (though they have been able to get their boat out and use it) they are hoping to be there in November or December.
He is a VP of a regional bank, so his official position is crypto=devil's toys, his personal is somewhat different, but no, he doesn't hive.
I'll let him know. They like the night life for a while, but the truth is they (we) are just back assed farm kids and it never takes them long to find regular folks. I'll let him know about this place...
Night life is fun for a while but it DOES get old! And yup - we back assed farm kids generally revert to type in the end.
Chiang Mai is NOT the place for vibrant nightliffe but we do have some... LOL. I think Nov-Dec is highly optimistic and we might be seeing him here next June. Maybe. Thailand is letting SOME tourists in Nov-Dec from "Covid Free countries" - which kinda leaves US tourism out in the cold for the forseeable future.
He will be welcome anytime.
ENGAGEtokens.I wish your project all the success of the world. It's the kind of thing that I'd do for animals I love.
The pictures were amazing, especially the closeup of one of the elephant's eye
Appreciating your support and so glad to hear there are people in the world who love animals. Where in the world are you located now @iamabby17?
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ENGAGEtokens.What a beautifully written and styled post. I love elephants but I have never had any contact with them whatsoever. And with all the negative tourism around it, I probably never will. I will meet them in the afterlife.
You may yet be surprised in this lifestime by a generous hearted, formerly-abused elephant who looks at you with the most soulful eyes you have ever encountered. I hope so. If you ever find oyur way to Chiang Mai I will introduce you to my gentle friends.
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ENGAGEtokens.Hiya, @lizanomadsoul here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #977.
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Hey @lizanomadsoul - sorry I missed seeing this! Urgh - crazy week. Much appreciate the Honorable Mention and off to give the Digest some Hive Love now.
Thank you.
No worries @artemislives! You are very welcome, it was well deserved 🙂👍
You know so many people are still in denial about how elephants are treated, when used by them for rides. I have tried to talk to some folk and most just don't want to hear it,but some were shocked also. We got to use our voices to spread awareness, thanks for writing this and helping to inform people, if they really want to see an elephant go to a sanctuary and help them. We need to move away from this idea that animals are ours to use. So lovely to see you and your daughter enjoying yourselves, Ploi is growing up to be a very beautiful young lady xxxx
I make it a point to educate people, one at a time, when they invariably come to Thailand looking for an elephant experience. There are some powerful videos out there and yes, I use them. And then direct people to sanctuaries needing their support. *Don't even start me on drugged tigers - Tiger Kingdom is 10 mins from here and it appals me what people will mentally sidestep in order for their epic selfie. Urgh.
Nice to see you recovering your mojo and back out in post-land. We have missed you. x
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