She’s a certified elephant trainer…POW!

OK not really certified but as of today I can now add “able to train Asian elephants” to my resume as a skill that I possess. *sticks chest out*

When searching online for “things to do” in Chiang Mai I read that it was a MUST to do some form of elephant riding or training while you’re there. I had already turned down the chance to go to the Tiger Kingdom which allows you to take pictures with everything from a baby to a full grown tiger. After I saw photos of these obviously drugged massive creatures posed with green tourists who were grinning from ear to ear and hugging the darn things like they were stuffed animals I knew something didn’t seem kosher about that place.

With all that in the forefront of my mind I knew that if I went to an elephant camp I had to do my research and find one that actually took good care of the animals. The place I chose was reported to be an elephant sanctuary that rescued animals from horrible and abusive environments all over Thailand.

The day in a nutshell consisted of me feeding the elephants sugar cane and bananas. Then learning the commands in Thai for sit, walk, turn left/right, good job, and of course….STOP! I got to ride the elephant up and down a HUGE mountain for about an hour long trek. Lastly, I washed and scrubbed my elephant in a ~~filthy~~ man-made body of water.

While I truly enjoyed my overall experience as a trainer for a day I saw a few things going on at the camp that made me give the place a side-eye followed by the stink face. I so hate to see animals abused in any way which is one of the reasons why I became a vegetarian in the first place. I know the elephants are in a better situation than their previous homes but I don’t think everyone at the camp had their best interest at heart.

Well…the rest of the post needs no commentary. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy!