2500 Year Old Buddha:

After tigers and elephants, can more temples still be exciting?

Afraid so. How can a visitor ignore more than 300 temples in Chiang Mai? I couldn't. Had to see at least three before I left, especially since each part of Thailand has its own historic treasures and Chiang Mai--being in the far North--has its own unique "flavor" of temples.

I was glad I decided to go temple-hopping again when I got up to Doi Suthep, another huge mountain--highest yet--with a magnificent temple complex on top. You can climb the steps or take a cable car to see it. I took the cable car up and hiked down.

But the best find was the 2500 year old Buddha down in the Old City of Chiang Mai. It came from India originally.

And one temple was as old as what I saw in Ayuthaya and is still functioning as a working temple. I hired a taxi driver named Tong to take me everywhere I wanted to go--that's how I got around. Just paid him for a full day one day and a half day another time. He was really great and suggested that these temples should not be missed.

He was right. Would be like going to Rome and skipping the Vatican.

Temple of the 2500 year old Buddha




Ancient crumbling elephant temple, also in the Old City.





Another beautiful reclining Buddha--though not as big as the one in Bangkok.



Donations help to support a temple's dog population.



Enormous ancient temple in the Old City.



Buddha in a side temple at Doi Suthep. No photos were allowed in the main temple and there was a lot of renovation going on as well. The place was jammed with devout visitors.

Fierce temple guard.

Steps at Doi Suthep

Elephant Owner for a Day:

Mae Mai and me.

My day as an elephant owner began with making friends with Mae Mai, one of the two biggest elephants at the Patara Elephant Farm. She's nineteen years old and about 15 months pregnant. If she delivers in three months it will be a girl. If it takes two more months (20 months in all), it will be a boy. That's the way of it for elephants.

Before I could make friends with her, I had to determine what mood she was in. If her ears were gently flapping and her tail swinging, she was in a good mood and ready to meet a new friend. If not, they would feed her and leave her alone for a couple of hours, then see if her mood had changed. If it hadn't, she would not have been put to work hauling me up and down a mountain.

Turned out she was happy, so I proceeded to feed her a basket of bananas, tamarinds and sugar cane stalks. I had to say "Bow! Bow", which means lift your trunk and open your mouth, so I could place the food directly inside her mouth.

When she did what I wanted, I said "Dee! Dee!" which means "good girl."

Thus began our relationship. I then had to check her out to make certain she was healthy and having no problems. First, I examined her ears and brows on both sides to see if there was dirt (there was) which meant she had gotten down on the ground and slept for the requisite 3-4 hours. Because of their great weight, elephants can't stay down long but they do need those few hours.

Then I checked her big toenails--five on the front feet, four on the back. They were supposed to have a ring of wetness--or sweat--arcing over each nail. This is the only place on their massive bodies that elephants sweat--and if they aren't sweating, they are ill. She was sweating on all four feet.

Finally, I had to check her poop. Healthy elephant poop consists of 6-8 large green balls. The mahout (or handler) must pick one up and break it open to see if its the right color inside and has lots of fibers. It should smell like sweet grass with no unpleasant odor and when you squeeze it, it should drip copiously. This indicates that the elephant is getting enough water to drink. Hard, dry or stinky balls mean a sick elephant.

Mae Mai passed all her tests.

So it was bath time. I grabbed her by the ear and said "Maa! Maa!" meaning "Come!" and lead her down to the river. This was no easy pouring of a few buckets. She had to be scrubbed with a brush and rinsed from head to tail before I could ride her or the dirt on her back would cause chafing for both of us.

Soon, it was time for our 1.5 hour ride to a waterfall and picnic lunch. We were taught the other commands we would need to know and wrote them in ballpoint pen on our forearms so we could remember them. Easy to forget a command once you're up on on elephant! They only "speak Thai" and some Karen hill tribe dialect. All the mahouts at the Patara elephant farm hail from the Karen hill tribe and are dedicated young men learning the newer, more gentle ways of handling elephants.



There are three ways to get up on an elephant. I chose the first, easiest way where the elephant kneels down and you just climb up it. Then I was told, "Oh, so sorry! Mae Mai pregnant so she cannot kneel."

Okay, the second way involves the elephant lifting its foot so you can climb on its knee, grab an ear and a rope around its belly and pull yourself up to the top. (Easier said than done.)

The third means the elephant lowers its head and you sort of "jump" on it and climb up its trunk to its head where you then have to turn around and sit down.

I went with option #2 which seemed to me sort of like mounting a horse--except Mae Mai made for one VERY BIG HORSE. (I think it was sheer willpower and three mahouts pushing from below to get me up there. Oh, why did my beautiful big girl have to be pregnant?)

With knees spread wide apart, I perched on Mae Mai's head and tucked my feet behind her big flapping ears. I immediately knew it was gonna be a long hour and a half up to the waterfall.The only thing you have to "hold onto" is the rope somewhere behind you, which is awkward at best and excruciatingly painful at worst when a sudden lurch half pulls your shoulder out of its socket. (My impulse was to look for reins but there weren't any. And the position has almost nothing in common with riding a horse.)

Off we went steadily climbing, leaning forward on the ups and back on the downs to help balance our elephants on the trail.

The whole world looks different from on top of an elephant.

If you have any troubles, they are small and far away. You feel closer to heaven and the Almighty. (Until you look down, of course. Then it's easy to panic.)

I know from riding horses not to look down unless you want to go there, so I concentrated on looking ahead to where I was going and picking up Mae Mai's rhythm. On an elephant, a walk is a BIG motion--and I don't think I want to know what a run feels like. (Elephants can run as fast as 25 miles per hour.)

At the waterfall we dismounted on a handy ledge which saved me a moment's fear that now that I was up there, how in heck was I gonna get down!

My dear sweet Mae Mai angelically waited for me to figure it all out when we got to the ledge. Some of the younger, smaller elephants, eager to play in the water, were a little less well behaved so I didn't mind being higher up on a more sedate beast. (Each of us had our particular challenges!)

Picnic lunch

We enjoyed a delightful picnic lunch on a platform in the trees overlooking the waterfall and river. Some of the other "owners" went in the river with their elephants, sitting on them and trying to keep from getting tipped off as the beasts rolled and trumpeted and played. (I noticed all the elephant poop floating around in the water and thought better of it. Not sure I can balance on a wet, rolling elephant and didn't want to end up under one. Then I was told that Mae Mai wasn't going to be allowed to swim with the boisterous younger ones for fear she might get hurt. So it all worked out.)

Elephants playing in the river.

Swimming with elephants. A fellow rider from England.

After lunch and swimming, it was back on our elephants. I assumed we had faced the worst and it would be downhill from there. We all had shaky legs from using muscles we don't normally use. "Oh, no!" we were told. "Now we go climb rest of mountain!"

This translated into straight up the mountain on a trail so rugged no horse could ever make it. Dodging teak trees and branches, we went up and up the mountain on an old logging trail that proved why elephants are the only suitable animals on the planet for clearing forests in the mountains of Thailand. Even machines cannot handle the terrain as they tip too easily.

Going up actually eased my burning muscles because I could lean forward and rest on Mae Mai's head. It was when we finally reached the top and started descending that things got a bit difficult. For this, you must lean back. Way back. Five tons of pregnant elephant squeezing between trees, feeling for each step with her trunk, and climbing over boulders and toppled trees on extremely steep terrain gives new meaning to the word "adventure."

I had to cling to the rope behind me with one hand and brace my other hand on her hairy head to keep from diving head first down the mountain.

Oh, and I had to keep saying "Bai! Bai" to encourage her forward and "Dee! Dee"" when she kept going.

Several times, she stopped and gave a big elephant sigh, as if to say, "Why are we doing this again?" I quite agreed with her that this was a dumb idea even though elephants, even pregnant ones, need this kind of vigorous exercise to stay fit.

We forged a bond on this journey--brave, gentle Mae Mai and her thigh-quivering rider.

I love this elephant. We shared something on the mountain that will live with me forever. I trusted her completely and I think/hope she trusted me...and really, that's why I wanted to do this insane thing that left me hot, sweaty, dirty and hardly able to walk afterwards. (Wonder how long the sore muscles will last!)

I wanted to experience "elephant-ness." And if I were lucky, to touch and be touched in the most elemental, heart-felt way by one of the most magnificent creatures ever to make the earth shake wherever she walks.

Mae Mai, I'll never forget you...

Wish I could have given you more than just a basket of bananas when we got back to the farm. You deserve it, girl.

Mae Mai and E-lah, her mahout.



At day's end, a male elephant comes over to say hello!

At least, I know that Mae Mai will be well cared for here at Patara--and so will her "little" one. He or she will help to ensure the survival of this fabulous, amazing species.

Like Lek, Pat and Dao, the hands-on owners of the Patara Elephant Farm are a beacon of hope for Thailand's elephants. They are finding ways to make it possible for elephants to co-exist in the modern world with mankind.

Thais really do love their elephants and most have no idea that the old ways were often cruel and violent. Mahouts give their entire lives to their elephants, living side by side with them--one mahout, one elephant. Many grow up believing that painful early training is "the only way" to break an elephant to service--but after that, they will care for it meticulously and love it like an only child.

Happily, the old ways are slowly changing and Patara Elephant Farm is leading the way. Happy, healthy, fit elephants--loved by mahouts and visitors alike--are the goal. Elephants cannot simply be turned out to live in the wild though this might seem to be solution. (The government tried this once and it was a disaster.)

Domesticated elephants are like cats and dogs. You can't just say, "Sorry, Fido. No more Alpo for you. Your ancestors were wolves, so go out and make your own way again."

Elephant-tourism offers new opportunities not just for elephants but for folks like me who cherish a chance to get to know these majestic animals one-on-one.

Goodbye, Mae Mai. Long may your kind endure!





Footnote: I took very few photos on this wonderful day because I was just too busy--and because a photographer was getting it all for a DVD. We were supposed to get the DVD the next morning delivered to our hotels. Mine never got there before I left but I have asked to have it sent to me if possible. If/when I get it, I'll post whatever shows me actually riding Mae Mai. Would like to see that myself!

Snake Show:

Dancing King cobras, the most poisonous snakes in Thailand.

You kind of have to go to a snake show when it's right down the road from where you are staying and you pass it all the time going back and forth. For 200 baht (about $6.) I decided to give it a try.

The snakes are quite beautiful, as I figured they would be. Thailand has many species of poisonous snakes and it also has a variety of pythons. At my resort (which has lovely grounds but has probably seen better days) there's a sign telling guests to please not walk in the tall grass due to snakes.

The King cobra is probably the most feared snake in Thailand. "Snake charmers" showed how they are "milked" for their venom.

The English at the program was scanty so I didn't learn as much as I would have liked to learn about King cobras--except that they don't eat but maybe once a week. Or maybe that's the pythons.

In the back of the compound is an enclosure full of rabbits. I didn't need a translator to guess what they were for.

Snake charmer provoking cobras to get a reaction.



Showing off King cobra.



Expelling venom into a glass.


Displaying fangs.


Huge python checking things out.


I couldn't say no, now could I? (If I can do tigers, I can do snakes.)

It felt smooth, warm and heavy.

He didn't just stick this snake in his mouth, he "caught" it between his teeth as it slithered around.

Pretty little snake on a picnic basket. Not sure if you want to invite it to your next picnic though.

Elephants!

This is what is known as being "kissed by an elephant." Actually, it's more like being kissed by a vacuum cleaner.

I was able to feel the suction from several inches away!

Oh, no! Here he comes again! And he's all slobbery, too!



The name of the elephant who kissed me (and kept trying to kiss me again) is "Naughty Boy."

He has to wear a bell around his neck because he's constantly getting into trouble. He seemed to have an affinity for me--how weird is that? (I really had to laugh when I heard his name--if you've been reading along this far in the blog, you know about my Naughty Boys!)



My first day with the elephants was spent at the Elephant Nature Park, a rescue center for abused and abandoned elephants. It is run by a woman named Lek, which means "small" but she is anything but small in character (though small in physical size.) She started with two baby elephants whose mothers were killed by angry villagers when, desperate for food, they raided the village crops.

Elephants are the symbol of Thailand but are in pretty bad shape across the country. For centuries, the Asian elephant has been the work horse of Thailand. In warfare, it functioned like a tank.Rare white elephants were regarded as sacred and could only belong to the King. In 1989, after two thirds of the magnificent teak forests had been logged out, the government banned logging--and put 100,000 elephants out of work.

Today, their numbers could be as low as 3,000 domestic and 1,000 still in the wild. Most are reduced to begging and lead miserable lives as they are totally unsuited to the streets of Bangkok and other cities where their delicate feet cannot withstand hot, hard pavement.

Due to Lek's efforts, 33 elephants have been rescued and now live at the center. She is waging a one-woman battle to have elephant-begging banned and to help owners realize that elephants can be better used in the tourist trade living naturally, doing what elephants do, which is fascinating enough to satisfy visitors.

A 10,000 pound animal that needs 350-400 pounds of fruits and veggies per day, plus medical care, bathing, etc. is no easy animal to keep as a pet. It has to "earn a living" somehow.

At the center, visitors are expected to pitch in with feeding and bathing the huge animals. We also watched a DVD showing the ancient, still-used method of "training" elephants. As weanling babies, they are wrenched from their mothers, chained in stocks for 4-7 days without food, water or sleep and beaten round the clock with nail-studded poles. The idea is break their spirits and make them submit totally to man. Some refuse to give in and die, while others become rogue elephants at heart, awaiting their chance to wreak revenge. Most just succumb and try to learn whatever they need to just to avoid pain.

Today, a growing number of trainers are using positive reinforcement instead of negative punishment to train elephants--and I will spend the day at one place on Sunday. It is also a breeding facility.

Each elephant at Lek's park has a wrenching story to tell. One was kept on amphetamines (And nearly died of toxicity) so that it could work round the clock logging without ever needing to rest. Another has a ruined leg from a chain that was never removed as it grew bigger. It was amazing to see how these horrendously abused but magnificent-hearted animals have rebounded and come to trust humans again when shown love, instead of pain.

May favorite elephant was named Jokia. Jokia is blind. Pregnant and about to give birth, she was forced to work in an illegal logging operation. She gave birth but was not permitted to stop working and assist her calf in getting out of its birth sack. The calf died. A grieving Jokia refused to work any longer. As punishment, they used a sling shot to cast rocks at her. She was blinded in one eye. When she still refused to haul any more logs, they blinded her in the other so she would be completely helpless and dependent upon her mahout (handler). When Lek finally got hold of her and brought her to the rescue center, she was depressed, alone and very skinny. Another elephant adopted her to serve as "her eyes." And today, she is happy, fat and free--no more chains or whippings.




Jokia did a lot of this in hopes that someone would feed her! It must have been a trick she learned once long ago. And a blind elephant has to use any tool she can to communicate her needs.

Hey, what about me?

After the elephants eat, it's time for a bath.


"Shall we go in--or do you think it's too cold?"


" Think he's getting ready to spray us with water.


I knew I wasn't going to stay dry doing this! And I didn't.

Elephants love bath time.







Me and my clean elephant.

These elephants are living the good life with their own river to play in and the chance to walk around completely free. Few Asian elephants get this opportunity.

What does an elephant do after its bath? If you've ever had horses, you know the answer!

Elephants are social creatures and devoted to their herd mates. Keeping an elephant separate from other elephants, as so many single elephant owners do, is torturing the animal just by itself.




A juvenile checks me out.


You can't help but love a curious, mischievous baby elephant. You do have to be careful around them, however. If they should squeal suddenly, every elephant in the herd--some 30 of them here--will come running to see what's wrong. They will totally surround the little one to protect it. And you do NOT want to be in the way.

Mother love...

Baby elephant learning how to sit down and get up again!

When you've got an itch, you need a good scratch!

At night, the elephants either have to be enclosed or chained up because they eat 18 hours per day and sleep very little. This means they would be roaming the countryside eating everything in sight--including crops. That's why large wilderness areas are essential to maintain them in the wild.

Lek tending to a baby elephant. This diminutive woman is the last hope for so many elephants!

Looking forward to Sunday which will be even more hands on than here at the center!