All about the Elephants

 

Our night train arrived in Chiang Mai a little after 7:30 this morning and we were ready to go see some elephants!  

We had breakfast in a nice courtyard at a hotel near the train station and were able to use the washrooms there as we could not on the train.  Then we boarded our bus and headed to the jungles!!  Once at the elephant sanctuary, we started our tour by watching them bath some of the elephants in the river.  They really seemed to enjoy the water.  

Next on the agenda was the elephant show where they taught us about the elephants and what they could do.  They showed us how they train the elephants to work dragging logs and helping to stack wood.  Some of the elephants painted for us and then they sell the paintings to raise money for an elephant hospital to care not only for the elephants at the sanctuary, but also the elephants in the wild.  It was pretty interesting to see how they paint - and they said they learn from just starting with a straight line and then memorize the picture and can reproduce the images.  They were really good at drawing elephants and trees.  One of the elephants even played a little soccer and was pretty good with penalty kicks and had some trick moves as well.  

After the show - we took the opportunity to feed some of the elephants bananas and sugar cane.  Then it was off to go for a ride through the jungle on one of these magnificent creatures.  It was quite a pleasant walk - although you could slip around in the seat when going down hill.  

After our walk, we got to take some photos with a couple of the elephants that they had brought over to us - something that none of the other guests at the park had the opportunity to do.  Pretty cool to be so up close and personal with them.  

We then boarded our bamboo rafts for a ride through the river through the jungle where we got the chance to try our hand at paddling.  Kat C was offered a job as a guide - working 8-4 daily for the equivalent of $6 for the day.  She politely declined and will be returning home with us!  

We had lunch at an orchid and butterfly farm and were able to walk around the grounds.  There were many different types of orchids, different shapes and colors.  All very pretty.    

From there we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest before heading back out for dinner, some traditional dancing performed for us and then a quick stop at the night market.  We are now back at the hotel and getting ready to zip line tomorrow morning.