Elephant care

The big kids went off on a scuba diving day so we planned an activity for the ones who weren’t old enough (or who were too chicken to test the limits of their ears {me}).

Elephants and Thailand go hand in hand, but as a tourist, the relationship is complicated, since many of the places to interact with elephants are for the benefit of the tourists and not the elephants, especially places that offer rides.

We heard about this place called the Elephant Care Center and decided to give it a try. Pay to feed and wash an elephant and support humane care? We thought we’d give it a go.

We had an 8:30 pickup and they were right on time. We piled in the back of an open pickup truck with bench seats along the side and a sunshade over the top, feeling like we were heading off on safari in Jurassic Park.

About 45 minutes later, much longer than we expected, as we headed away from the jungle and into the center of town, we wondered how there could be an elephant sanctuary on the same street as a Muy Thai gym and a scooter mechanic shop. Hmmm.

We pulled into a parking lot and 4 more people piled in the back of the truck. The driver gave us each a sticker with the number 42 written on it so we could find the right vehicle later. I guess for the ride home? As he closed the back gate he said, “next stop: Grandmother and Grandfather Rock.” Say what now? Another stop on the way to the Elephant Care center? I guess we’re getting a bonus sightseeing stop on the way.

Until we arrived in a parking lot and saw several other trucks all unloading to hike out to the beach to view the rocks — my friend, who has a 5 month old baby and was not inclined to hike out to see some rocks that look vaguely like private parts, called the driver over and said, “Wait a minute. We are signed up for the elephants.”

“Ohhh! That’s a different tour! Hold on a minute. We will call.” Five minutes later we were back on the road, bouncing our way back toward the hills to see the elephants, laughing hysterically at how we had no idea what we were doing and hoping the driver did.

When we got to the elephants we were an hour late, so we missed posed photos with the elephants (no big loss), but came just in time to cook for and feed the elephants. It was really fun and even if they aren’t quite free, they appear to be well cared for and they get bathed twice a day by well meaning tourists.

Mixing up rice and squash so it can be stuffed inside a banana.

Elephant mouths are big, sticky suction cups — hurry and toss in the bananas! (The guy kept telling us to feed her faster — maybe she gets mad if she has to wait?)

After eating its bath time: first the elephants get mud rubbed on their skin, then it gets scrubbed down with a bristle brush. The elephants lie down with the end of their trunks above water level, like a snorkel. The guides called out “hey coconut!” when the elephants pooped in the water and one lady picked it up, thinking it was a floating coconut. Then they had the elephants suck up water and spray it at people, catching us all by surprise.

After elephant care and a few episodes of When Animals (almost) Attack (some of the people were way too comfortable with these gigantic wild animals), it was time for lunch (included with the tour). The guy said we would move over to the restaurant for a cooking show and lunch, but then the trucks appeared and all the elephant people started waving goodbye. I guess we were driving over to a Thai restaurant in town?

30 minutes later as we were traversing up the side of a mountain with the truck hugging one side of the road and then the other to avoid huge potholes and washed out areas of road we were a bit concerned, but laughing so hard it hurt. What kind of restaurant would be up in the middle of nowhere? This is all we could see upon arrival. It was very beautiful, but very remote.

We had no idea where this restaurant was … all we could see were trees. And Sarah was taking a photo of my pants that I put on inside out after elephant baths. The entire morning was a comedy of errors.

All’s well that ends with good Thai food! We must have been at someone’s house, in their garden. I still can’t believe they drove us all the way out there just to eat. Our elephant care crew!

We headed home, hoping our driver knew where to take us since he said “hotel,” we said, “no, villa. Not a hotel” and he laughed. Thankfully he knew the way and we made it home without any detours. And it started pouring on the drive home. Normally that might be a downer, but it was perfect because we had a cover overhead and only got a little wet. All of us desert dwellers love a surprise rain shower.