Riding Elephants in Thailand, A Once In A Lifetime Experience
A few years ago, when I booked my trip to Thailand, I knew I would have a one-of-a-kind travel experience, especially if the journey included riding an elephant! Sounds frightening, right? But your girl here enjoys adventure, and nothing screams more adventure to me than getting close to the largest land animal on Earth, a majestic creature that many of us got to know about thanks to the animated movie Dumbo. The beautiful story of a baby elephant who showed us the importance of loving ourselves and embracing our differences made me grow fond of this intelligent and caring creature.
When I decided to travel to Thailand, I knew that this trip had to include this animal as elephants are the National symbol of this country, and riding one of them in this country would have been the highlight of my trip. I wanted to experience what it meant to be close to an animal of this size, and I wanted to do it within a place where this creature has such a reputation for being a symbol of strength and intelligence. And who would agree and accommodate my crazy self if not my sister? She is the one I can trust the most, so obviously, I had to take her with me on this journey, and she was ready! We decided to book a tour that included a jungle trek within the Thai forest with nearly half an hour of elephant ride. Through this tour, we would get to see the habitat of different animal species in addition to some sprinkles of wildlife that we had to include in our trip. We found several websites offering this type of tour, but we had to carefully choose one that was close to where we were staying and provide us with a one-of-a-kind experience. We chose thaiadventureclub to purchase and it provided a pickup service from Amari hotel, lunch, and activities that we would have enjoyed once we reached our destination.
After we got to Thailand and enjoyed some days of sightseeing, the long-awaited day, the one my sister and I were looking forward to, was finally here. After a healthy and not-so-heavy breakfast (you never know what can happen when riding an elephant), our car was at the hotel, on time, ready to pick us up. We drove through the entire city and passed modern buildings till we finally reached the green and humid Thai forests. Our mahout was awaiting us, and I was getting more and more excited about starting this journey. My favorite animal was nowhere to be seen yet, which made me even more eager for our elephant ride.
It was a very hot day, but luckily, my sister and I were wearing some lightweight clothes and shoes because we knew we would have had to walk for quite some time. Plus, when you know that you are going to get on top of an elephant, you certainly want to be as comfortable as you can.
Our guides explained how our day would have proceeded and after a short briefing which included other mahouts, us, and other groups of friends, we were ready to start our trekking adventure. After nearly one hour of walking and exploring the surrounding flora and fauna, we finally reached a pond where the elephants were waiting for us! Some of them were relaxing, and others were so cute as they were getting fed bananas from other guides and mahouts. The symbol of power and wisdom, the key symbol of many Asian countries, was there enjoying the freshness of the air near the water. Once it was time for us to start our ride, our guide began to walk towards the group of elephants with whom we would have spent our time, and my happiness and excitement just kept on growing. Before the ride, we took some pictures by standing close to them, and the guide asked if we wanted to feed them for a fee. We agreed and paid for the food, and the guide handed my sister and me some bananas and sugarcane, and we started to feed them. Well, it was kind of scary at first as these animals are massive, nothing that I ever thought I would have imagined seeing so close. I saw elephants at the zoo, but believe me, when I say that standing so close, you do realize how big they are. I handed my banana, and it was terrific yet frightening to see its trunk taking it from my hand and, just like that, disappearing in its mouth. Well, that was unique!
After we fed them other bananas and sugarcanes and took some pictures with the animals, it was time for our ride. A few minutes later, the mahout showed us how to ride the elephants and what we should do to get on top of their backs. First of all, we had to approach from their right side so they could see us and not get frightened, then once our mahout made the elephant, the one my sister and I would ride, kneel, we were ready to mount on it.
Well, it was time to make my dream come true! Your girl held all the courage she had and went for it. I grabbed its ear and put my feet on its bent knee as I was getting closer to reach its back. I am sure I looked weird doing all this as I could hear my sister laughing while taking so many pictures of my goofiness. Finally, I was able to sit in the howdah, the small carriage on the back of the elephant that would host us two, and it was my turn to take a picture of my sister getting on top of the animal. Now I understand why she was laughing. She did look goofy doing it.
We managed to sit, and before we could leave for our ride, the mahout took other pictures of the entire group and us, then he handed us both a basket of bananas and sugarcanes, and eventually, it was time for the elephant to stand up.Here we were, ready for our one-of-a-kind beautiful adventure! Our mahout was riding with us as well, as he mounted the elephant on his neck before he would direct the elephant to get up and start moving. At first, it felt like being on a rollercoaster, but afterward, it just felt amazing! Walking in the middle of the Thai jungle with my sister on the back of an elephant was something I did not think I would have ever done. The mahout would often descend from the animal to take pictures of us and the surroundings, and let me tell you that we are glad he did! The most beautiful way to remember a trip is definitely through pictures, and believe me when I say we took many! And what I could say other than it was like nothing else.
After our ride, we came back to the pond where we took other pictures while still on the elephant, and afterward, when we got off. The activity looked very fun and easy, perfect for those people with kids as for sure it was something less scary compared to our ride. I also saw some people who were enjoying a bath with some elephants. Now that I think about it, some tours we checked had the bathing instead of the trekking activity, and if I get to travel back to Thailand, I might go back to bathe with the elephants. I mean, can you think about bathing with these enormous animals and being splashed with water? Just that makes me laugh, plus elephants are known to enjoy water and swimming. Yeah, for sure, I am going to go back and enjoy this lighter experience.
After spending our last few minutes with these animals, we had to say our goodbyes and walk back to where we started our walk. From there, we would have gone to another place to enjoy water rafting. I tried to make the most of my time during the last moments in the presence of the elephants as I was feeling so happy to finally be able to live this once-in-a-lifetime thing with my sister. I had the chance to spend time with my favorite animal while creating memorable moments with a family member, and I couldn’t desire more than this. The overall experience and the countless pictures and videos we took that day made us talk about it for a long time. Today, while I write about it, I cannot hide the smile that I get every time I remember this adventurous experience made in Thailand.