The Day of Pukboom!

I knew before I moved home from the Asia-Pacific region that I wanted to revisit Thailand. It's relatively close to Australia (only a 9-hour flight!) and is such a beautiful country with the kindest people in the world. I visited briefly in August 2011, and saw Bangkok and Ko Samui. This time, when I decided to return (luckily with my BFF Christian), I set my sights on two new places - Chiang Mai and the Phuket/Ko Phi Phi areas.


Chiang Mai was our first stop. After the 9-hour flight from Sydney to Bangkok, I made my way across the airport (which seemed to be 1 million kilometers wide) and stood in line for hours to pass through a chaotic immigration area to greet Christian for the first time in 6 months and then quickly board our flight to Chiang Mai (only 70 min from Bangkok). Chiang Mai is located in Northern Thailand and was founded in 1296. It was surrounded by a moat and large fortress-like wall (parts of which still remain today) to protect it from Burma. To me, Chiang Mai felt like a very small version of Bangkok with none of the tourist traps and more of an authentic local feel.


We arrived on Saturday night. After a walk around to get our bearings and a dinner across the street, we settled into the charming Tamarind Village boutique hotel for a good night sleep as we had a BIG day ahead the next day.  The next day was truly one of the most memorable of my life. 


Sunday began with a 7am wake-up call and a jaunt across the road for a quick iced latte before hitting the road to head an hour north of Chiang Mai to the Thai Elephant Home. The Home is an "eco-sanctuary" which rescues elephants from poor treatment and raises them in a small area of the jungle and along the river - an area which resembles their natural habitat. I loved this sanctuary as it is rather small compared to the others in the area - only 9 elephants, two of whom are never ridden. All proceeds go into caring for the elephants and improving the jungle surroundings within which they live. We did a lot of research before embarking on the experience to ensure we chose a sanctuary that truly is just that for the animals.

Making friends through banana bribes

We started the day by being welcomed by the friendly faces of Joe and the local mahouts (elephant keepers) and learning about the sanctuary itself. We changed into a sweet baggy denim outfit reminiscent of the....I don't even know what actually....and then met the elephants by feeding them bananas in one of their play areas. (while we were there, a group of volunteers was finishing a new fence to enclose the area and allow for the elephants to roam more freely when at the camp itself.) The cutest part of feeding the elephants was how picky some were. Lulu, who would end up being Christian's elephant, only liked the ripest yellow bananas. She would discard any that weren't to her liking! Once the elephants were comfortable with us, we did a practice ride around the play area so we could get used to sitting on top of them. Let me tell you - it takes some getting used to. They are huge and majestic and peaceful. And huge. Did I say huge?

Our test run

I think I've got the hang of it!

Prayers and offerings to Ganesh

After praying to Ganesh and making an offering of incense and more bananas, we set off on our 5-hour trek through the mountainous jungle and across the river. My elephant's name is Pakboom. (As an aside, that was pretty remarkable given my catchphrase at work is "boom". It was truly a match made in heaven.) There were only 6 of us in the group, and we each had the privilege of riding (bareback) our own elephant all day. As we crossed the river and trekked up the mountain on the back of these wonderful creatures, I was taken by how nimble they were. The trails were tiny, and they certainly knew their way around them and responded instantaneously to their mahout's commands. ("How!" means stop, "Hue!" means go.)


We stopped at the top of the mountain to allow the elephants (and us) to rest. We enjoyed a lunch of pad thai prepared in banana leaves while the elephants cooled off, drank water, rolled in mud and sprayed us with water from their trunks. They really loved it....it was easy to tell how happy they were. It was then our turn to join them in the mud, which is a very rich, dark grey clay that is healthy for their skin. We jumped in the mud pools with them, massaged them with mud and sprayed them with water. I have never been dirtier in my life. Or happier. (It is worth noting that when you are deep in mud, it is impossible to distinguish between mud, clay and elephant poo....if Christian and I walked away without some rare, animal-based communicable disease, we are damn lucky.)

Well, hello there!

Can you spot the massive elephant in the mud!?

Mud is fun!

Full of mud, we climbed back on the elephants and trekked back down the mountain to the river. On the backs of the elephants, we washed and rolled and played in the river together. Lulu lifted me by her trunk on to her back, where I stood and rejoiced! It was amazing. At one point, Pukboom swam (with me on her back) a bit away from the pack. It was just far enough for me to feel completely alone. I took that moment to reflect and feel grateful. Grateful to have this experience in a foreign charming land with one of my best friends in a year full of change and risk and discovery for me. I shouted to Christian "This is pure joy! I am happy." I felt so at peace and happy. 

Feeding Pukboom sugar cane stalks 

An elephant kiss...and it wasn't that gross

Christian and Lulu

On the way back to the sanctuary, we were all quietly enjoying the ride while feeding sugar cane to our new friends. I think all 6 of us knew that the day we'd just had was one we would never forget. I know I won't.


Until next time (and stories of the Chiang Mai Sunday night street markets),
xoxo