How am I every going to go back to a normal life?
I haven’t blogged in a bit because I’ve been traveling around Thailand with one of my best friends, Lisa. I am so lucky to have her as friend and am thankful she came out to play. I had SOO much fun and now have a ton of memories to add to our list.
Our first trip was to elephant camp.
The elephant is the symbol of Thailand. Elephants have played a big role in Thailand’s history by fighting in wars, transporting kings, and building cities. Most recently, the elephants from the camp we stayed at assisted in recovering bodies after the 2004 tsunami. They were able to reach places that were otherwise unreachable and bring victims back to their families.
Historically, elephants worked in the logging industry, however since logging has been banned their primary source of work is in tourism. Elephants are very expensive- they eat a ton so being able to bring in income is important. The wild population has dramatically decreased over the years mostly due to loss of land.
Mahouts are elephant handlers. We were learning about what it takes to be a mahout- how to care for an elephant by riding, bathing, feeding, and cleaning them. In the pictures, you will see the mahouts sitting behind us during the elephant rides. Although we were taught the commands, the mahout was ultimately in charge- thank goodness because I think was saying go when I meant stop (the commands were in Thai)! Huah = go. How = stop. That’s all I remember.
Elephant stay is a nonprofit organization. They have many programs. As you will see their breeding program seems very successful- baby elephants were not in short supply. The organization rescues and rehabilitates abused or unwanted elephants- in many cases paying a huge amount of money to save the elephant.
You can find out more here: http://www.elephantstay.com/
