Elephant Trek - Thailand

In late March we had the unique opportunity to go on a trek in the jungle of northern Thailand to see semi-wild elephants.  Our friends generously included us in their plans which came about when a friend of theirs, who knew the founder of an elephant rescue program, facilitated a family trek.  I give this background because it meant that our two families were not one hundred percent sure what we had signed up for, but we had the sense that it was going to be an opportunity not to miss. Throwing being in control to the wind and gathering our sense of adventure the ten of us set off early from Chiang Mai to head four hours north into the mountains.

Our drive took us from the city streets of Chiang Mai to a small Karen village in northern Thailand. Karen people, or Kariang, are one of the largest hilltribes in Southeast Asia.  We broke up the drive with a stop at Doi Inthanon National park. There we took a lovely walk through the woods. A highlight, after the swinging vines, was coming upon strawberry fields in full bloom. In the middle of the fields was a family selling fresh strawberries from a hut on the side of the trail. The strawberries were delicious and I think reminded us all of home. Strawberry season in Nova Scotia is a favourite and it was an unexpected treat to have a taste of home. 

The vine swings were super fun.

Another country, another opportunity to sit on a rock and play with sticks.
I have countless pictures of him in this position, with sticks or rocks.

The adults are looking good and looking happy.
The adventure is off to a good start.
We are embracing the not knowing what we are getting into.

Walking through the strawberry fields.  It was like a mirage seeing the hut up ahead. 
Strawberries?  Fresh Strawberries.  No, it can't be.  In Thailand!?

After our break we kept driving way up into the hills, with the requisite twisty-turny mountain roads.  Finally, we arrived at the village.  What we knew about the plan was that we were going to stay in the village for the night and the next day we would head into the forest where the elephants live.  We would camp in the forest overnight and return to Chiang Mai the following day.   We also knew some loose information about the organization.  We knew that it usually organized volunteers for weeks to months working on projects with the elephants and the villagers. We knew that they were working to provide an alternative model of making money in tourism while treating elephants ethically. And we knew that there was an established homestay system in the village and we would be staying with some of those families. And so we arrived.

We had a meal in the chief's home.  (We were told he is called "Old Chief")
The food was very basic but plentiful. 
I am so proud of the six kids, all of whom were super gracious with trying and eating unusual foods in someone else's home.  The next morning the salty rice gruel was harder to swallow down for most of us, but again everyone (adults included) put their best selves forward.

The chief and his wife provided a blessing for all of us and tied white strings around our wrists. 
The blessing was for good luck in the forest and safe keeping.  A blessing to allow us to share in the elephants.

Our sleeping arrangements were simple.
I slept on this bed with two of the kids.  It was in its own little stand-alone hut and per the notes from prior volunteers in a guest log, the nicest one in the village.  Leo slept inside the family home with our eldest and the other family was with another host. 

Yet again the game of memory spans ages and languages.  This is our host's daughter. 
We had no shared words but enjoyed playing together.

This is the road into the village.  Most homes are built up so the livestock can live below.
Our friends' host home had a large, loud pig living below them.
When we returned to the village 36 hours later the big was no longer.
Most of the village was participating in the butchering and preparing the meat and making pork sausage.  It was like a boisterous, albeit bloody, party.
It was the real deal.

After a night of sleep, and our breakfast of salty rice gruel, we headed out to find the elephants.  The kids loved that they got to ride in the back of the pick up truck. That might have been enough excitement to call it a fun day right then and there.

We spent the next 24 hours in the dry Thai forest, just our two families and a few men from the village who work with the elephants and help set up camp.  Old chief was also on the scene.  He is one of the main Mahouts (a term for someone who works with or trains elephants) and spends his days in the forest with the elephants.

Old Chief

As I have said, we didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into and as it turns out, it was a lot of walking, slipping and sliding on dry leaves, scrambling down steep inclines, looking for elephants, waiting, and watching. Our walks looked a bit like this:

Waiting and watching.

We see them! 

Leo and I had some reservations about going on an elephant "trek", mostly around if it was a reputable organization or if we were unwittingly contributing to the dirty world of animal tourism.  I am still not sure what the answer is, or if there is a simple one.  But this is what I understand: Thailand has a long relationship of using elephants: in warfare, as modes of transport, and in the logging industry.  In 1989 logging was banned and elephant owners had to find new ways of making money with their captive elephants. (see excellent report on captive elephants in Asia: World Animal Protection Report ).  Most turned to the tourist industry, offering rides, elephant "shows" or begging on the streets.  The treatment of these captive elephants was/is mostly deplorable.  In recent years there has been a demand for more "humane" elephant ventures, but this is often not much better than the tourism of old, just with false pretenses.  At the same time, the demand for traditional tourist based experiences like elephant riding continues to increase, with a 2016 report suggesting a demand of up to 12.8 million elephant rides in Thailand that year! (World Animal Protection Report ). The conundrum is that to boycott all elephant camps would ignore the reality that there are more captive elephants in Thailand than wild and that the natural habitats for roaming have grossly shrunk or disappeared completely.  Moreover, the elephants in captivity still need to be cared for and those that do so need to make money.  The NGO, World Animal Protection, describes a truly elephant-friendly venue as purely observational for visitors and a true sanctuary would require a vast swath of protected land for elephants to roam free in a safe manner.  

That is the context in which the villagers we stayed with are living.  They had, for generations, made a living with elephants, first in logging and then through tourism.  Now, the program that is working with the Karen village of Huay Pakkoot is trying to provide another alternative.  The organization helps the Mahouts and their families transition to a more elephant-centric approach.  The elephants take the lead.  During the day they wander the forest area that belongs to the village.  The Mahouts follow them, like shepherds in the hills with a flock of grazing sheep.  Except the sheep are multi-ton animals that can destroy a field of crops in one night.  The elephants are kept on a long chain at night because the Mahouts return to their village and families, and there is simply not enough territory for the elephants to roam free.  They would crash through crops, roads and villages if left to fully roam.  So the elephants are not free, but they seem to operate within a maximum degree of independence.  Tourists, like ourselves, come to observe the elephants in their natural surroundings, but not to interfere.  In fact, we as a family group there for only a day, are the anomaly for the program as most of the people who come are volunteers who stay for extended periods of time.  A good description of the program can be found at: Elephant Project

So, is it perfect?  Probably not.  I don't know that we can have perfect.  There isn't enough habitat left for the elephants to roam free. Tourism is a main economic industry in Thailand and the mahouts and their families would have to make a major shift in their way of life to transition to a livelihood without elephants.  But still, it seems like the elephants run the show.  We had to wait for them.  We had to get out of their way.  They were tromping through the forest at their own pace, pulling up grasses and knocking over branches.  The chain around the ankle was disconcerting.  It was not tethered and they dragged it along behind them.  I'm not sure if it bothered them, but it sure did bother us.  We all asked at different times why they needed it, and couldn't the Mahouts just put it on and off at night?  The answer was, not so easily.  And because the Mahouts never know where the elephants are going to end up at dusk, they can't simply leave the chain in one spot.  Hmmmph. Not totally satisfactory but there is some logic to the answer.  

Getting up close and personal.  This is a younger elephant.

Our lovely guide is also a member of the village.  He works with the elephants as well, but while with us was focused on getting us through the forest safely.

I love the next series of pictures because it tells so much about V when he is at his most shiny.  Similar to our trek in Vietnam, he is right up next to the guide, soaking it all in and one hundred percent tuned it, patient and committed to the adventure.  I think, because we have had some challenges with behaviour when cooped up in an apartment or when missing home, these photos remind me of all the times he has shone on this big year of ever changing unfamiliarity. It has been a lot for a six year old, but he loves learning and loves being out in nature and this is where he shines:

Our camp was basic.  We arrived at a clearing, of sorts, or perhaps it is more accurate to say simply at a flat-ish spot at the base of the hill.  It was dusty and dry.  We weren't sure who was doing what, but soon enough a couple of the Karen men pulled out some camping gear and started setting it up.  There were hammocks for the kids to sleep in and two little tents that weren't quite long enough for the six foot plus Canadians to lie straight in.  The kids were excited to sleep in the hammocks.  The dads both independent of each other had the same thought of F-this, I'm heading back to the village.  Ultimately, there wasn't much more in the village.  Plus, this is what we were here to do.  It was an "adventure." So we all stuck it out.

The food was another experience all together.  We have done a lot of cooking in the wilderness and a lot of eating outside.  Dirt doesn't bother me.  Inelegantly cooked meals aren't a big deal.  Fresh air is a wonderful aperitif.  Except, it just wasn't really enough to get us excited about eating.  It might have been the flies, it might have been the definite difference in food handling standards, it might just have been the food.  Whatever it was, meals were not their usual Lacalejo-BirdMorisson exuberant experience.  But that is okay.  A little bit of mild temporary adversity for the ridiculously fortunate clan is healthy, informative and unifying.  Plus, everyone continued to be gracious and well mannered.  Go team!

The highlight was, right before we left, the cook whips out a bag of kernels and made popcorn over the open flames.  What!?  There was popcorn!? Glorious!

Beautiful girls.  After 24 hours in the jungle.

We spent hours walking through the forest, looking for the elephants.  We slipped and slid and cursed our way down and up the steep banks.  We were patient.  We saw them, but often in places that were too steep for us to get close.  As I said, the Mahouts follow, the elephants lead.  But on our last morning, as we were packing up, Old Chief, who had arrived back in camp soon after sunrise and quickly disappeared into the trees in search of his elephants, shows up over the crest of a hill with elephants quickly making their way to a drinking hole near our camp.  It was a wonderful treat to be able to see the elephants close up.

Here come the elephants over the crest of the hill and barreling down towards the water (and us).

Soon after we made our way back to the village to gather our bags and then we made the long drive back to Chiang Mai where warm showers and fresh Pad Thai awaited.  It was an unforgettable 48 hours.  This was definitely a "memory making" experience.  I think it was elephant tourism done right by the elephants. I feel like it is a good alternative for elephants that are already in captivity.  I am not sure how I feel about seeing young elephants as part of the herd.  It feels like we are continuing a cycle of exploitation rather then helping phase it out.  But perhaps the what's next is just not clear yet.  Or maybe there is no elephant birth control.  As with so many experiences on this trip, nay life, there is no clear cut "right" answer.  Certainly the experience gave us lots to think about and talk about and a unique point of reference for future discussions and reflections about our role as tourists and consumers and animal well being. And it is pretty darn cool to say, yup, we did indeed camp in a Thai forest with elephants!