Monday, July 10, 2023 – One of our main reasons for traveling to Chiang Mai was to go to an elephant preserve. Although they only host and take care of 4 elephants, our day at the Happy Elephant Home was amazing.
@HappyElephantHome is about an hour outside of Chiang Mai. We were picked up at our hotel and transported with several other people to Happy Elephant Home. Along the way we passed several other elephant preserves. Unfortunately, there are many places that still mistreat elephants today. In some cases the elephants were not abused, but not able to be cared for when the owner lost work during the pandemic. Happy Elephant Home has tried to buy additional elephants, but the price can be 2 Million Thai Baht or more.
When we arrived we were given our “Karen clothes” for the day: one size fits all loose pants and a shirt to put over our bathing suits so we won’t get our own clothes dirty. Then out to the elephants with a shoulder bag full of bananas. All of the visitors for the day (17 for the morning) were divided into four groups. We had an opportunity to meet, feed, and get to know each of the four elephants. Elephants love bananas!
After providing the elephants with their morning snack, we led them on a walk down to the river where they could cool off and bathe. Karen got in on the action with her bucket. After a rocky entrance into the river she had fun helping to give an elephant a bath.
We then took another casual walk back to Happy Home (elephants take their time walking) where the elephants could graze while we had our lunch.
Several members of the group left after lunch, but we stayed for the full day experience. One of the elephants at Elephants Happy Home is a little undernourished so our afternoon started with making a mixture of bananas, corn powder, and salt. After smashing these ingredients together with a lever mortar and pestle, we took handfuls to make large “meatballs” that we could feed to this elephant. The trick was to hold the food up to the elephants eye so she could see what you had, and then pop it right onto her open mouth.
Our last chore for the day was to lead the elephants to a big pit for an afternoon mud bath. Fortunately, a man in our group and his 11 year old daughter volunteered to go down into the mud pit to assist with the process so the rest of us could watch and enjoy the elephants waiting their turn. Once in the mud the helpers covered the elephant bellies with mud. Some of the elephants used their trunks to throw mud and dirt on their backs. The mud acts as sunscreen and insect repellent until they bathe in the river the next day.
We thoroughly enjoyed our Happy Elephant Home experience, lifetime memories for sure. After a van ride back to the hotel (at breakneck speed…driving is very different here) we had a little down time at our hotel pool before some time at the spa and dinner.
Hammond Adventures 