elephant poo

today's my day to get up close to the elephant poo.  we are in a bit of a rush as they are taking the volunteers on a field trip to a local primary school and we need to finish quickly so there's an extra team on the chore this morning and it goes quite quickly.  it takes less than an hour for us to muck out 12 or so of the elephant pens.  the pens are the sleeping areas for the elephants.  they are concrete and have been built since my last trip when the elephants were chained by the foot at night inside a shelter so they would not roam off the property.  cleaning the pens is not so bad as the elephants are vegetarians and not so stinky.

we are off to the primary school to practice some english and it's a pretty  nice school.  they have chairs and desks and chalkboards as well as activities for the kids.  we make some bracelets together and learn a rope jumping game.  the children seem happy and well cared for.













we shoot back to the park for lunch.  did i mention the food here is fantastic.  everyone is loving the food even though it's all vegetarian.

next we head out for some afternoon chores.  they call it fertilizing but that's really just a nice way of saying we're bagging elephant poo for the other half of the volunteer team to spread around some newly planted trees.  it is really hot and humid and we fill three bags then sit in the shade for 5 minutes and repeat for about an hour when our coordinators set us free for the afternoon.

 Mae Jan Peng was born in 1945.  she is the oldest elephant at ENP.  she was rescued from a logging camp in 2010.  despite her age she is in good health.  she hangs out with her mahout most of the day and he puts a flower in the big hole in her ear to cover it up.  it makes her easy to spot and identify.

a naughty elephant named Faa Sai

 as i previously mentioned, Lek's team at the Elephant Nature Park [elephantnaturepark.org] uses 100 percent positive reinforcement in the training and management of the elephants.  each elephant has a mahout which is an elephant handler.  they typically develop deep bonds because they are with the elephants all day, every day.  the mahout makes sure the elephant is safe and fed well.  it's not always a love match as in this case.

Faa Sai is a very smart, highly trained elephant that was rescued from a performing circus.  over the last few days the elephant gossip in the park has been about how she doesn't like her new mahout and has been balking at going into her pen at night.  at 4PM when the mahouts start putting the elephants into their pens for the night i wander over to the main platform to get a front row seat.

sure enough, they are luring her with all kinds of treats, including a pickup truck filled with corn stalks [yeah, it's really yummy for the elephants and it's like a tea time snack].  she's not having any of it and eventually the mahouts have to ignore her.  she doesn't like that either so she wanders over to a bunch of trees.  i whip out my camera because i know she's going to be getting into some kind of trouble and i am not disappointed.

she wraps her trunk around one tree and gives it a tug but it doesn't move much.

she moves over to a smaller tree and gives that a tiny shake.

yep.  that one gives a little bit and so there's a big shake and a huge CRACK.

she finishes it off by stepping on it and comes crashing to the ground.

she dances around a bit, rips off a branch with her trunk and shakes it around.

Derrick [not a mahout] shows up and tells her she's naughty and gets her to push it out of the road.

which she does, sortof, with a bit of flamboyance.

Faa Sai is

NOT SORRY

she does a victory lap around the platform with one of branches.  it starts to rain [monsoon rain] and it takes about two hours to get her into her pen.  

it takes a ton of patience and heaps of love to do what the team at the Elephant Nature Park does and i am so happy that they are getting worldwide recognition for their devotion.

the elephant debate

it's my second day and i'm ready to work.  we report at 8AM to the meeting point where our chores are posted on the board.  i'm assigned to the elephant kitchen crew this morning.  it's the 'easy' job.  the other chores include cutting corn stalks or bamboo leaves on village farms, mucking the pens [shoveling elephant poo] and cleaning up the park [again, shoveling elephant poo].  when i signed up to be a volunteer i knew exactly what i was getting into and expected that i'd be shoveling elephant poo every day so to get a day in the kitchen was a bonus.

let's talk about the 'easy job'.  we start with moving pumpkins from the shelves to the washing area.   all the fruit/vegetables that the elephants eat need to be washed to remove any chemicals that may have been applied.  we form a line and hand them person to person until they get put into the washing bin.  there are spiders and broken, rotting pumpkins but everyone is in a good mood and we rock the pumpkins into the wash bin pretty quickly.  next, we wash the pumpkins.  the staff will chop them up and put them in the baskets along with bananas and watermelon that will be fed to the elephants off the platform.

 a truck filled with watermelon arrives so after a second line to move pumpkins and wash them we move over to unload the truck.  it's crazy to see how much food is required to feed these elephants.  when i was here before there were about 20 elephants and that number has doubled in just four years.  it takes us about an hour to unload the watermelon truck but our coordinators put on some music and the time goes very quickly.  we finish morning chores by 10AM and have free time until lunch at 11:30 so i hang out with some volunteers on the platform and we watch the day visitors feeding the elephants and work on getting to know the family and social groups of the herd.

each elephant has a story and it's always a very sad story of abuse.  some elephants have spent their time as street beggars.  some were abused and drugged to work in illegal logging business.  others were blinded because they refused to work.  four of the elephants have serious injuries because of land mines.  the thing about land mines is they don't kill the elephants - the mines just blow off part of their foot leaving them unable to work and in need of extensive medical care and rehabilitation.  the tourist and trekking industry has also produced casualties as babies are forced to follow their mothers on treks or are separated too early from their mothers.  another common injury in these elephants is dislocated legs - sometimes from being hit by cars or trucks while being used in the street begging for tourists or as logs have rolled down onto them in logging operations.

the elephants rescued by Lek will live out their lives [elephants in captivity can live 60+ years] at the  park, enjoying the freedom Lek has purchased for them.  by the work she has done to create this elephant sanctuary she has created a spotlight on the treatment of asian elephants.  the debate is getting heated.  one one side is Lek's team who use positive reinforcement and the other side is using traditional training techniques that involve a stick with a hook.  everyone who knows me knows where i come down on this issue.   let me try to explain the debate...

one side support the use of traditional training methods.  so here's the hook used by elephant handlers of domestic elephants exploited by the tourism industry [trekking, elephant riding, street begging and circuses].  it's a crude wooden stick with a metal hook on the end.  it begins with a breaking process called a 'phajaan' or 'crushing'.  here's a link to video of what is involved.  http://phajaan.webs.com/   it's not an easy video to watch.  all the domesticated elephants go through this process to break their spirit.  when you see the elephants with tattered ears at the sanctuary it makes you cry to know the holes in their ears are from repeated torture and poking of the hook.  to see the baby elephants at the park whose 'spirit has not been broken' is pure joy.  they are loving and playful and sometimes naughty but all controllable.

the other side is taking a non exploitative approach like Lek's which is positive reinforcement and a focus on the elephant, not the tourist.  it is not without it challenges.  it requires a lot of love and tons of patience.  more of this on my next post about a very, very smart and highly trained elephant who is acting a bit naughty.  the elephants who are born at the sanctuary never go through the breaking process.

Tubtim is the newest arrival at the park and has just been here for a week.  not a lot of her history is known but she has immediately taken on a nanny/auntie role with one of the baby elephants.

"Since Tubtim arrived at the park and adopted Navann [one of the baby elephants] Lek has followed her every day to observe how she react and over protection of Navann. We are now seeking for her history and family tree and want to find out what happened with all of her babies in the past. Daily to see Tubtim always alert on Navann her eyes keep focus of his movement , it makes Lek want to find out more. Normally most captive elephant when they have baby , the calf will take away from the mother to train and then sell to the other owner when some of them was very young still nurse . We are now still on the work to researching of Tubtim’s background soon when we have all confirm then we will give you more update."

get an update on Tubtime here .... http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/category/elephant-herd/

the Elephant Nature Park

the Elephant Nature Park is an elephant rescue and rehabilitation center in Northern Thailand where you can visit or volunteer.  they have been involved in dozens of rescues which have created a thriving elephant herd. the park provides a natural environment for elephants, dogs, cats, buffaloes and a few other animals. volunteers and visitors contribute to the healing while learning about elephants.  there are projects in Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar and visits can be arranged to any location.  all the revenue from the ads on this site for this month will be donated to the ENP to support their work.

there are many places in SE Asia where you can get up close to elephants.  i've chosen to go to the ENP because of the phenomenal work they do there.  it is 100% funded through private donors and it is the first sanctuary for elephants in Thailand.  i visited in 2010 and always planned to return when i had a week to spend as a volunteer.  i get asked a lot about the favorite places i've visited and since 2010 i've always replied 'Elephant Nature Park'.  

the park van picks me up at my hotel and up until this point i wasn't sure i had been booked correctly. there is another volunteer going a day late and they put us in the van with a few overnight guests.  the volunteer program runs Monday through Sunday but they are quite flexible about people showing up late or leaving early.  they have day trips from Chiang Mai so it's easy to get back and forth to the city if needed.

volunteering in SE Asia comes in a lot of flavors.  there is a bit of an industry around volunteering and research needs to be done in advance to be sure it's a good match.  in general i'm not a fan of paying to do volunteer work but in this case the charge covers food, housing, insurance and volunteer coordinator costs.  there are plenty of organizations that do not charge and some even provide room/board or a stipend to volunteers.


back to the elephants.  on the ride out to the park which is about an hour we watch a safety video because the elephants roam freely on the property and it's important to understand and respect their space.  we arrive at the park in time for the morning feeding.  the elephants are fed twice a day from the platform area.  the first day at the park is an orientation day so there aren't any assigned chores.  after the feeding we get a tour of the health clinic and meet a few elephants before lunch.  

after lunch we watch a short video about the sanctuary then head down to the river for a swim and elephant bath.  in the afternoon we do another elephant walk to meet more of the herd and run into Lek, the founder, down by the river.  we have a short chat and i ask for a photo.  i've only just arrived but already i can see that there has been so much work done in the last four years.   it's blazing hot and after we are back at the main platform we are handed over to the volunteer coordinators.  we get moved into our rooms and they are a little bit scary.  i'm in the original volunteer housing which probably hasn't been updated since it was built.  it's a block of rooms - two beds per room - with a row of shared toilet/showers.  we affectionately refer to this housing as the ghetto.

there's a volunteer meeting before dinner and Q&A with Jodie.  Jodie is from Detroit and has been with the project since 2003.  she is an elephant nerd for sure and because she's a westerner she is the go to person for asking questions about culture, etiquette, etc..  she talks more about safety.  there are elephants here who have hurt and killed humans so it's important to be aware at all times when around them of the potential dangers. 

dinner and a short introduction to Thai culture by the volunteer coordinators.  topics include Thai Royalty [loved and respected - no chance a woman can be monarch], Feet & Head [keep your hands off Thai heads and your feet off the furniture], Wai [appropriate Thai greeting], Clothes [women need to cover their shoulders and knees - men don't need to bother] and lastly a brief tutorial on Thai language.  turns out there are 42 letters in the alphabet, and multiple tones, which means 1] the same word can have a very different meaning based on the tone used and 2] there is a diminishing possibility i will ever learn this language.

that's the end of the first day.  i crawl under the mosquito net and try to sleep but the bed is rock hard and i keep waking up.  still, i am so happy to be here and looking forward to seeing more of the elephants.

We women foundation

i spent the day at We women foundation.  it's an NGO focused on providing educational opportunities for marginalized women from Burma.  the founder is from Holland and the organization has an office there as well as in Chiang Mai.  they do a fantastic job with the resources they have and plan to release a documentary about their work at the end of the year.

http://wewomenfoundation.org/

The We women foundation is dedicated to empowering women from marginalized ethnic areas in Burma. By providing professional and educational opportunities to the strong women of Burma, the We women foundation strives to build capacity within the marginalized communities in Burma so that women can make and influence policy decisions which are too often made by outsiders.  

i've sorted out the reservation to the Elephant Nature Park and the hotel insists there is no problem with my reservation so i'm really excited to be spending the next week with the elephants.

three days in pai

i had 3 - 4 nights that i could do some thing outside of Chiang Mai and i chose Pai.  the last time i  was in Chiang Mai i really wanted to go there but did not have time.  the trip started with a very windy 3 hour minivan ride over the mountains.  thirty years ago the reviewer for LP said 'there was only one place to rent rooms, a two storey teakwood building with six rooms, a shared toilet and shower and a one-room opium den out back'.

well it's a little bit bigger than that now with closer to 500 accommodations scattered in town and along the river.  the minibus station is in town which is four streets in a square and some alleys running inbetween.  there are a few stoplights that are completely unnecessary but are good for orienting.  as soon as you step out of the minivan you are approached by touts for tours and of course it's the hottest part of the day so i grab my bag and a free map and navigate my way over to the yoga studio [via the longest possible route].  i wanted to spend a few days at one of the yoga spa/retreats outside of town but i didn't plan far enough ahead for that and so i go to scout out the local option, Mam Yoga.

Mam is the spunky 69 year old woman who runs and teaches yoga.  she is a force to be sure.  she is Hindu and starts each yoga class with a 30 minute meditation.  on the second day i was there one of the temple dogs followed us to yoga and stayed through the whole class.  her yoga is a very gentle yoga with more stretching than sweating.  it was perfect for me since i was out of practice and after three days i was feeling more flexible.  there are tons of organized activities and one afternoon i join an Australian for a two hour river float on tubes. in the two hours we saw only one other person, a fisherman.

the following day after yoga, it was my birthday so i booked in for a two hour massage and then met up with some new friends for cocktails and dinner.  the massage school is tucked away off the street but they give great massages and the two hours cost $10.81US.  one of the girls i met at yoga is doing a three day course in Thai massage which would be a great way to spend a few mornings.  next time i'll try to schedule a class because i can definitely see myself coming back to Pai.

the next day we hit up the hot springs after yoga and wandered down the walking street [in a lot of the tourist areas they close down a street to traffic and turn it into a market at night].  they way i pick a food cart is to see which ones are most crowded because people tend to return to the carts that have the best food.  another vegetarian pointed out this cart to me and the food was fantastic.  the woman makes each spring roll on demand so there is always a line.  everything is super fresh and at 30 Baht [$1US] a very good dinner.


there isn't a lot of stuff in the markets that i wanted or would carry around but i did find these rings and at $2US each i decided i should have them.  it was after all my birthday weekend.  as we were walking down the street we stopped to discuss something and a guy invited us down a hall way to a lounge.  it was dark with some low light colored light bulbs, reclining seats around low tables with privacy screens in between and an open fire in the center of the room.  it was surreal, we didn't stay long enough to look at the menu but i'm pretty sure we found the opium den that was mentioned by the original lp reviewer.

i stayed at a great place in Pai, the LiLu Hotel.  it was super clean, with a very contemporary feel.  it is still the low season so it was a great deal at $15 a night.  the staff was great with a small misunderstanding on the last day.  it was just two blocks to the bus station so i walked over to catch the 10AM minivan back to Chiang Mai.  the maid from the hotel roars up on her scooter and starts shaking a paper at me and although i didn't understand a word of the Thai she was speaking i knew exactly what she was saying.  as i was leaving the hotel room i knocked over a basket that held a blow dryer and some other items.  i was already half out the door so i didn't stop to pick it up and the blow dryer had fallen behind the safe.  she assumed i had stolen it and chased me down to the bus station to recover it.  enter the tourist politce who fortunately spoke english, but unfortunately wasn't of any help to me.  so i hop on the back of the maid's scooter, go back to the hotel room and show her where the blow dryer is.  she thinks this is really funny and laughing and smiling tells the front desk that i have not after all stolen the blow dryer.  i make her give me a ride back to the bus station where she explains to the tourist police and everyone else that i am not a thief and it's ok for me to leave.  in the moment i was put out by the whole situation but in the end i was leaving and she having made an idiot of herself would be living there.


here are some random signs i found in Pai.  they do not allow car taxis in town and most everyone gets around on scooters or motor bikes which you can rent at one of the many bike shops.

the unintended result is there are a lot of tourists riding around who don't have enough experience on two wheels and you see a lot of crazy things.  the bandage on the calf is pretty common not just here but everywhere in SE Asia.  i thought this was kinda cute because this couple had matching burns.

oh, and remember the booking nightmare using my credit card?  well i contacted the Elephant Nature Park via email to schedule my arrival one day late because i set up a meeting with a Chiang Mai NGO called We women foundation.  they said they never take bookings over the phone and have no reservation for me so i'll be sorting that out when i get back to Chiang Mai.

credit cards in SE Asia

i need to book the reservation to the Elephant Nature Park but online it says the week is full so i can't get the reservation to go through. i get the girl at the hotel desk to call them and it is just a disaster because no one at the ENP office speaks english well.  i understand them to say give my card and the phone to the hotel staff and i do.  the next thing i know they are taking pictures of my card, front and back, and texting to the ENP office.  but apparently that wasn't enough and i watch the staff swiping my card through the machine.  not once or twice but like fifteen times.  i'm sitting calmly but freaking out on the inside as red flags are wagging in my head.  i do trust both the ENP and the hotel staff but i make them delete the pictures off their phone.... it's not like texts last forever and can be forwarded around, right?  i have a chase explorer card which has really good protections against illegal activity so i relax a little knowing the worst that could happen is that i would need to arrange to get a replacement card.

that night i checked my account and had only been charged once so it all worked out in the end although this is the perfect example of why using a credit card in Asia is never an easy transaction.  something that would have taken me two minutes online was a tense, twenty minute transaction when a Thai is presented with a credit card.  to be fair, i did see someone use a credit card in a store yesterday and it went through really easily so some merchants have it figured out.  i mostly use cash because there is usually a 3 percent charge by the merchants for using cards.

i make a mental note that this could have been avoided by better planning and i vow to myself that i will plan better in the future.

elephant pants

the elephant pants are just a must have for every tourist in Thailand at the moment.  young, old,  male, female, thin, fat - they are one size fits anyone and with elastic at the top and bottom they look like clown pants.  these are everywhere and yes, the cost is around $3US a little more or little less depending on the moment but they aren't flattering on anyone.  i hope this is a fad that burns out  quickly.

a rare wine bar

the climate and lack of refrigeration makes SE Asia not a good place for wine.  i found a HOW - its' the House of Wine in Chiang Mai.

laundry day

... there's always a special excitement when you pick up your laundry and know all your clothes are clean ... tonight I went to pick up my laundry and the woman picked up my bag with a huge smile, gave it a big sniff and then offered me a chance to smell it as well.  I was expecting that clean clothes smell but no, somehow she made it smell like bubblegum, on purpose!  I just couldn't be rude in the face of what she obviously felt was a huge favor so now I have my laundry strung around the room hoping the smell will go away quickly.