Hello guys! It’s officially been a year since I was travelling in South East Asia and it was one of the most incredible experience’s. I’ve decided to share with you bit by bit all the beautiful places I saw and some little tips and all the must do’s whilst travelling, and I will start by telling you about one of the best days of my life. Whilst I was in Chiang Mai I was extremely lucky that I got to spend the day with the most beautiful animals ever.
This baby elephant was the sweetest.
I’m sure many of you know some of the disturbing truths about Elephant cruelty thats goes on around the world and that many are exploited by forcing them into a life of walking for hours a day with a horrible chair that digs into their sides. The tourists that sit on their backs are usually unaware about all the cruetly that goes on within this industry. Lets just say I strongly disagree with these beautiful animals being used so that tourists can watch them do tricks, or ride on their backs. One of the hidden truths is that these beautiful creatures have to be tamed to be able to be ridden and this process can be extremely brutal.
Whilst I was in Chiang Mai in Thailand, I knew I wanted to see these amazing animals. I wanted to go to an Elephant Sanctuary, a place where they are cared for and no longer in pain and somewhere I could contribute to support their new lives. After much research, we decided to go to Happy Elephant Home, where we could spend the day with these gentle giants. There were four rescue elephants that had been overridden and abused in the trekking and circus industry. However after years of injuries and abuse, they were finally rescued and brought to this safe place, where they are now able to roam free and play in the nearby river and eat a lot of bananas and sugar cane.
It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I loved being surrounded by such beautiful and gentle animals and I can’t even begin to put into words how amazing they were. We spent the morning listening to the owners tell us their stories about where each of the four elephants and the new little baby one had come from. It was heartbreaking hearing about how awful their past experiences had been. One of the lovely female elephants, Molo, had been in the treking industry and still had wounds that still hadn’t healed even though she had been with Happy Elephant Home for a year and a half, (which you may be able to see in some of the photos). She suffered so many awful cuts which left scars and I felt heartbroken hearing about her story. It was hard to understand how anyone could cause these animals such pain. We spent that afternoon having a mud bath with the elephants, which was great fun and I loved playing in the mud and being completely covered from head to toe with them. I know now how much elephants love to throw mud all over themselves… Lets just say everyone got covered!
We then spent the rest of the afternoon bathing in a cold river with them, splashing them with water and rubbing their backs. I remember, I slipped over at one point, and thought I’d stepped on a snake but Molo had just wrapped her trunk around my leg, which allowed me to not fall.
It is difficult to put it all into words how amazing it is to be surrounded by them, so if you ever get the chance I seriously recommend going and meeting them. I know one day I’ll be going back.
Thank you happy Elephant home for an amazing experience.
If you’d like to book with them heres their website: http://www.happyelephanthome.com
love, India Moon
