Category: Thailand

You will come across it sooner or later on a Thailand trip: Elephant riding. Almost at every corner excursions to elephant camps are offered – and clueless as I was, I participated in one. When do you ever see an elephant up close? And may even touch him? Riding an elephant? And that riding elephants should be cruelty to animals did not even occur to me. Why should you? Horses are ridden, too, and no one cries out for cruelty to animals.

Riding elephants in Thailand: this is how it really is.

But maybe I should have looked into the issue beforehand or inquired about the differences in each provider…. I just imagined how I could spend a day with elephants in Thailand, in one of the many elephant camps, feeding them, stroking them a bit and seeing such a big animal up close. And riding an elephant – although in retrospect I actually ask myself whether that really has to be done. But more on that in a moment.

So I took an organized tour, recommended by the owners of my accommodation in Chiang Mai, to an elephant camp outside Chiang Mai. I trusted the judgment of my hosts, a young, cosmopolitan Thai couple. After all, they had even invited me to lunch once without any ulterior motives because they wanted to show me a great insider tip in Chiang Mai and we simply got on well.

But as it is so often, sometimes locals have a different view on things or certain topics are not so prominent in everyday life. I asked if this tour was one of the “good” ones – yes, yes, no problem, you can bathe with the elephants there and everything is a bit touristy, but that’s the way it is.

Elephants in Thailand: life in elephant camps

Unfortunately, the first impression was already telling. The camp itself was manageable, sandwiched between mountains and neighboring farmers. Kind of funny, I thought. There you go in the middle of the wilderness, and yet there is no room for the animals there. Elephants are not exactly small, they need to run around, don’t they?

In general, I was overcome by a strange feeling of confinement when I saw the first elephant swaying strangely absent-mindedly back and forth with not exactly comfortable-looking anklets. He didn’t look happy. Okay, I put what I had seen aside for the moment. After all, there were elephants here. All free! (Haha. I thought so later.)

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Dealing with elephants as a mahout: The language of elephants

We slipped into the mahout outfits we’d rented there. A mahout is an elephant trainer who uses body language to tell the elephant what to do. Oh, how wonderful, I thought. You can make friends with an elephant just through body language. They’re really nice to the animals here in Thailand. (Haha, again.)

First, there was an introduction to elephant language. Things like “Sit,” “Down,” and “Give me your trunk.” It was absolutely adorable—until the first hook came into play: If an elephant didn’t move, one of the handlers would pull out a long, pointed metal hook, and that’s when things got rough for the elephant. I was a little shocked. Our guide was apparently already familiar with that look of disbelief from startled tourists and immediately explained that it didn’t bother the elephants at all—they don’t feel a thing because of their thick skin. I pushed the thought of animal cruelty aside.

Bathing with elephants: An unforgettable experience.

What can I say? Part of me actually wanted to believe him, because what followed was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me: I rode barefoot, with nothing on, on an elephant! I went swimming with “my” elephant! I was so fascinated by the size and calmness of such a huge animal! It was amazing.

Elephants in Thailand: The negative side

But I just couldn’t shake those negative impressions. I felt as if I had been part of something not so nice and had played a part in causing such wonderful animals to suffer. Because something wasn’t right at that camp. Even though I’m no elephant expert, I know that happy animals look different. That metal hook that was constantly used, the anklets, the sad elephant eyes, the abraded skin….

And do you really have to be right on an animal’s neck just because you want to ride it for a few meters? For those in my group who didn’t want to ride the elephant without any support, a rickety metal chair was strapped onto the elephant’s back—a contraption that didn’t exactly look comfortable for the elephant either. Later, I found out that these chairs cause serious injuries to the elephants.

How can I see elephants in Thailand without a guilty conscience?

I would not want to miss this experience, yet my memory of this day will also always be associated with shame. I would advise anyone not to be as foolish and ignorant as I was and go on a trip like that. There are said to be elephant camps that take much better care of their elephants.

You don’t ride the elephants there either—but then again, there’s no need to. You won’t find that terrible catch either; at least, it isn’t obviously used. And yet you can still enjoy being up close to these amazing animals!

How to find “good” elephant camps in Thailand

“Good” Elephant camps, however, are hard to find. Because meanwhile also the operators know that ever more tourists insist on a kind-fair attitude – and the black sheep under the elephant camps fib quite beautifully and arrange superficially total animal love.

Therefore, do not be impressed by low prices! In these camps, less is invested in the animals, and even though people don’t ride them there, they are still marketed as a tourist attraction and are sometimes secretly kept in check with hooks and other devices.