Chai Lai Café had something for everyone; Sam had his favourite dish, French fries. Ada and Amanda had Thai dishes, Ryan had a drink and Heather and I went with dessert. After lunch we were told the local group had not informed Chai Lai that they had planned a tour with the elephants so we would have to wait for our turn. We were bummed to find out that the elephants were shared between both companies knowing that the other group uses harnesses. One of the partners of Chai Lai explained to us that the elephants are shared but they all sleep freely under the pavilions at Chai Lai. The local, family-run elephant business doesn't see the harnesses as bad things because elephants are so strong but both groups treat the elephants well. It put a slight downer on the feeling of the day but after getting to know everyone at Chai Lai all morning I decided that I would still ride the elephants. My hope is that as more tourists use companies like Chai Lai that provide only bareback rides, other companies will see that you do not need to provide a harness for tourist rides. I'm sure it will take a while but fingers crossed. Heather, Amanda and I went to feed the elephants while we waited.
When the elephants came back they removed their harnesses so we could head out on our bareback ride. Ada decided she was too sad about the fact the elephants are harnessed and she did not want to ride so she stayed at the café. I respect her choice and conviction but because I had good feeling about the practices at Chai Lai I went ahead with the ride.
Four of us headed out to meet our elephants. I had the largest elephant in the herd who is actually the mama of the cute baby elephant. Heather had the older, bigger sister of the baby. Our elephants wandered away to munch on the vegetation while Amanda and Sam got on their elephants. The atmosphere is very laid back at Chai Lai (so much so that I hadn't actually paid for any of my food yet). The mahouts were a little too calm with the fact our elephants were doing their own thing for my comfort! Heather and I had no idea if this grassy patch was even on the right route! Reader, I'm not sure if you've ever ridden an elephant. If you have, you may know the nerve wrecking feeling that you might fall off as your elephant heads down a steep, muddy hill. If you haven't... think about how it would feel not knowing if you're about to fall off an animal that's almost as tall as a small building and not knowing where you'll land in relation to its very large and powerful feet. I think you get the picture.
Anyways, it turns out our elephants were right which I should have known. They probably walk this same route every time and an elephant never forgets. It also turns out that we had the hungriest elephants. Thanks to the 'stop and snack' philosophy of our elephants, Amanda and Sam overtook us in no time. My mama elephant wouldn't go too far ahead of her baby, Tom Po. If Tom Po stopped for a snack we waited. Such dedicated parenting.
Despite their bulky build, elephants are amazingly graceful creatures. At one point I witnessed Heather's elephant walk up a muddy bank by balancing on tree roots! Tom Po hasn't quite mastered the art of gracefulness. One of the mahouts had to help her up the bank with a push! It was funny to watch. Tom Po often sat on her bottom to scoot down small hills as if they were slides.
As we approached the river I realised what was about to happen. I can't speak Thai mahout orders but I understood - they told the elephants to sit! I tried my best to stay dry and I actually did a pretty good job. Perhaps it was too good of a job because my mahout came over and splashed me until I looked like I had fallen in the water. Oh well, so much for the dry part of the day. After the elephants had cooled off we rode them back up to the pavilion. Our songtaew driver was waiting; my time with the elephants was up. We cleaned up and checked our bills before heading back to the city. The internet was down for the moment so Chai Lai couldn't process payment with cards but the lady gave our driver a list of who owed what and instructions to stop at a bank atm. That worked out fine. As the mountains faded from our view, we talked about our day and looked at each other's photos.
All in all, I could not think of a better way to spend my day in Chiang Mai. I am truly grateful to have had this opportunity to get to know the gentle giants I have always loved from afar. After today, elephants will forever hold a bigger place in my heart.
When the elephants came back they removed their harnesses so we could head out on our bareback ride. Ada decided she was too sad about the fact the elephants are harnessed and she did not want to ride so she stayed at the café. I respect her choice and conviction but because I had good feeling about the practices at Chai Lai I went ahead with the ride.
Four of us headed out to meet our elephants. I had the largest elephant in the herd who is actually the mama of the cute baby elephant. Heather had the older, bigger sister of the baby. Our elephants wandered away to munch on the vegetation while Amanda and Sam got on their elephants. The atmosphere is very laid back at Chai Lai (so much so that I hadn't actually paid for any of my food yet). The mahouts were a little too calm with the fact our elephants were doing their own thing for my comfort! Heather and I had no idea if this grassy patch was even on the right route! Reader, I'm not sure if you've ever ridden an elephant. If you have, you may know the nerve wrecking feeling that you might fall off as your elephant heads down a steep, muddy hill. If you haven't... think about how it would feel not knowing if you're about to fall off an animal that's almost as tall as a small building and not knowing where you'll land in relation to its very large and powerful feet. I think you get the picture.
Anyways, it turns out our elephants were right which I should have known. They probably walk this same route every time and an elephant never forgets. It also turns out that we had the hungriest elephants. Thanks to the 'stop and snack' philosophy of our elephants, Amanda and Sam overtook us in no time. My mama elephant wouldn't go too far ahead of her baby, Tom Po. If Tom Po stopped for a snack we waited. Such dedicated parenting.
Despite their bulky build, elephants are amazingly graceful creatures. At one point I witnessed Heather's elephant walk up a muddy bank by balancing on tree roots! Tom Po hasn't quite mastered the art of gracefulness. One of the mahouts had to help her up the bank with a push! It was funny to watch. Tom Po often sat on her bottom to scoot down small hills as if they were slides.
As we approached the river I realised what was about to happen. I can't speak Thai mahout orders but I understood - they told the elephants to sit! I tried my best to stay dry and I actually did a pretty good job. Perhaps it was too good of a job because my mahout came over and splashed me until I looked like I had fallen in the water. Oh well, so much for the dry part of the day. After the elephants had cooled off we rode them back up to the pavilion. Our songtaew driver was waiting; my time with the elephants was up. We cleaned up and checked our bills before heading back to the city. The internet was down for the moment so Chai Lai couldn't process payment with cards but the lady gave our driver a list of who owed what and instructions to stop at a bank atm. That worked out fine. As the mountains faded from our view, we talked about our day and looked at each other's photos.
All in all, I could not think of a better way to spend my day in Chiang Mai. I am truly grateful to have had this opportunity to get to know the gentle giants I have always loved from afar. After today, elephants will forever hold a bigger place in my heart.
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