Elephant Camp at Mae Ta Marn
Written: Aug 15 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great education and great fun
Cons: Hot and humid, on a hot animals back
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| onequest's Full Review: Chiang Mai |
During my visit to Chiang Mai in 1998, my mother and I had an opportunity to visit the Elephant camp at Mae Ta Marn. This camp offered elephant rides, ox cart rides, bamboo raft rides, and an elephant training show.
We started our adventure by climbing up a platform, so that we could easily mount the elephant. A capable handler was aboard the elephant’s head, and kept control of the beast at all times. The ride took us through the light bamboo jungle. Most of the time, the animal walked through the soft mud of a small creek.
Our guide explained to us that by walking in the cool creek waters, the elephant was staying cool and not taxing its joints. Along the way, it continually pulled at the bright green bamboo leaves with its enormous trunk. About ½ hour into our journey, we stopped at a banana vendor to give our ride a treat. It lifted its trunk and grabbed the bananas from us very gently.
When we finished our ride, we tipped the handler, and boarded an oxcard for a ride back to the training grounds. The oxcart ride was uneventful, but much more comfortable than walking back in the sweltering heat and humidity.
We attended the elephant training camp show, where animals of all ages showed us how they lifted and pulled large teak logs, the way it is still done in parts of Southeast Asia. Elephants are generally very bright. Full-grown elephants are said to have the IQ of an 8 year old child. These animals and their trainers also become very attached to one another. At the better elephant camps, each trainer stays with an individual elephant throughout its working life. It is said that when the trainers die, the elephants also die of sadness.
After the show, the elephants headed off for their baths in the river. They seemed to enjoy this activity even more than eating the bananas! During the rides and the show, it was obvious that the elephant was serving the trainer. However, during the bath, the roles were reversed, and the trainer was serving the elephant, by scrubbing its back and head, washing it thoroughly.
For the end of our adventure, we took a simple bamboo raft through the creek, to our bus. I would have enjoyed it more if the ride was a bit shorter and if it wasn’t so hot and humid that day.
If you are unable to make it to the Mae Ta Marn elephant camp, I recommend that you still get to know these interesting creatures during your trip to Thailand. If you choose to ride an elephant, be sure that the path is along soft dirt or silt, because walking on cement hurts their legs and feet.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
onequest
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Member: Monique Littlejohn
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Reviews written: 45
Trusted by: 19 members
About Me:
My journals are on my travel adventures and on products that I have tested.
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