One of the things I was most excited for when visiting Thailand was to see elephants up close and personal. When planning my trip I learned a lot about the importance of visiting a sanctuary or an orphanage and the ethics behind elephant’s safety. Many places around the world still treat elephant poorly, keeping them chained up or letting people ride them. Elephants should be allowed to live as naturally as possible so sanctuaries have been created to allow them to roam free in fields or forests nearby. I remember on my visit to Thailand sitting in the back of a taxi looking out the window and passing an elephant in a small enclosure with chains around their legs. The elephant looked so sad and I immediately felt so terrible for the way that it was being treated.
When visiting Koh Samui, a beautiful island off the coast of Thailand, my cousin and I visited the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. This was such an amazing experience because instead of riding the elephants we were able to interact with them in a much more personal way. Our visit included preparing foods to feed the elephants, meeting with them, watching them enjoy their mud bath and we even got to swim with them! We fed them basically entire watermelon chunks that they were able to chew up in just a bite or two. If you put your hand out the elephant would just gently grab it from your hand with its trunk and bring it right to its mouth. I was NERVOUS at first.. they are so massive and you don’t realize it until you’re standing right next to one of these amazing creatures. When we got to go into the swimming pit with them it made it even more real just how big they were. I remember being kind of nervous when we were swimming with them- I didn’t want my foot to get stepped on! BUT..it was an amazing experience. Being able to interact with them in a way that was very natural and safe for the elephants was an awesome feature.
This experience was a memory I still think about very vividly to this day. We booked our tour through the website and they provided the transportation to and from our accommodation, the guided visit with the elephants and a delicious Thai lunch there. This company has locations in Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya, and Samui. I recommend any opportunity that you can spend time with these gentle giants you should do it.
