![Baan Chang Elephant Park Part 2: How To Train An Elephant (Or Try At Least)
After an awesome first day at Baan Chang, it was time for the “main event”!Time to train, trek and bathe with the elephaaaaants!! Gaaahh!
Now, I was wary about joining just any mahout training course because the last thing I wanted to do was help fund the inhumane treatment of elephants (similar to Mali’s case).
So, I tried to research as much as I could online, and I also wanted to talk to the Baan Chang tour coordinator in person to express my concern for the elephants’ well-being, and well, my power as a blogger (albeit not a super popular one, but still) to expose malicious acts to my readers. But you’ll never really know what they will be like until you get there.
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[With Dag, Michelle, Amy and Joe, waiting to be briefed in our not-so-fabulous mahout outfits]
[Feeding sugar cane to an elephant…yup, my hand’s in there somewhere. And they eat anywhere between 200-350 kilograms of food. Whut.]
The Use of Hooks / Weapons at Elephant Camps / Parks
After giving the elephants a morning snack, our head mahout Woody briefed us on proper elephant etiquette, and apologized in advance for the possibility of him using his hook on an elephant.
[Woody up front, with his hook, and other mahouts and their elephants in the background]
Woody explained that sometimes, some elephants do bad / naughty things to each other or to people, and the hook was used to discipline them. Sometimes, just showing them the hook would be enough to calm them down, and elephants have 3-inch thick skin, so it would have to take considerable force to hurt them.
I had also spoken to Tinar, the Baan Chang booking agent, about this, and she explained that sometimes, the use of the hook was necessary, and she felt better because Baan Chang was at least transparent about it, unlike other elephant camps who show the pretense of not using weapons on the elephants but concealing nails in their hands. :(
I am happy to report, however, that I did not see the mahouts use their hooks on their elephants, and I could feel that they really loved the elephant under their care.
[Elephant munching on bananas with his mahout resting on his back]
My Brief “Mahout” Stint
After being oriented, it was time! First, Woody taught us how to ride an elephant with the appropriate commands. I’m not sure I did it right though, but I think the elephant got it after a few times, and with the help of its mahout. :P
[Practicing alighting and disembarking from Tong-en :P]
[Trekking with Mae Hong something - I couldn’t quite catch what the mahout said the elephant’s name was. I shared an elephant with Jessica of England. You have to pay for 2 people if you want an elephant to yourself. :P]
After an all too brief trek (around 45 minutes - but it’s okay, we don’t want to overwork the elephants), it was time to bathe the elephants!
While I was looking forward to this fun activity, I was a bit worried about wading in a pond filled with elephant pee and floating chunks of poo. But it wasn’t nearly as foul-smelling as I thought it would be. Just be careful not to get the water in your eyes. :P
[Some humping action going on! Exhibitionist elephants :P]
[With our elephant’s mahout]
It was an awesome 2 days, and I would definitely do this again. :)View more pictures here.
Gotta rush off now!
Heading for Laos,Jen
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Baan Chang Elephant Park Part 2: How To Train An Elephant (Or Try At Least)
After an awesome first day at Baan Chang, it was time for the “main event”!
Time to train, trek and bathe with the elephaaaaants!! Gaaahh!
Now, I was wary about joining just any mahout training course because the last thing I wanted to do was help fund the inhumane treatment of elephants (similar to Mali’s case).
So, I tried to research as much as I could online, and I also wanted to talk to the Baan Chang tour coordinator in person to express my concern for the elephants’ well-being, and well, my power as a blogger (albeit not a super popular one, but still) to expose malicious acts to my readers. But you’ll never really know what they will be like until you get there.
![Baan Chang Elephant Park Part 1: Waterfalls, Rapids, Rafts & Lanterns
At $100 for only 2 days, this was the single most expensive thing I paid for in my trip so far, and I couldn’t be happier about the decision to push through with it.
I initially just wanted to take mahout training (elephant whispering), but when I saw Baan Chang’s packages, I figured I’d take 1 “adventure” day as well. Let me take you step by step through Day 1. :)
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First: Akha Village
There are a number of hill tribes advertised by different tour operators in Chiang Mai, and while I LOVE the idea of visiting hill tribes and seeing them in their beautifully woven traditional garbs (I love indigenous textiles), something about the other tours (particularly to the longneck tribes) made me feel like visiting them would be akin to visiting poor Mali in Manila Zoo, so I was quite put off by the idea and decided not to do something like that.
Akha Village didn’t feel zoo-like (though I noted how the ladies seemed rather desperate / dependent on tourists buying souvenirs).
Our guide also took us around the village showing elevated bamboo houses with thatched roofs, which amused my western tour-mates, and reminded me a lot of traditional provincial homes in the Philippines.
And then we’re off.
Second: Trek to Waterfalls
Having never owned a pair of trekking / hiking shoes / sandals, I didn’t buy one specifically for this either. And I was okay with that. Even when early in the trek, I fell flat on my butt on account of the super slippery mud brought about by the rain (Mishi, you would have been happy to see this happen to me).
At this point, I am glad that Hariharalaya had got me accustomed to walking barefoot on the ground, and I continue some 45 minutes to the waterfalls on bare feet. :)
I was on the same tour as Welsh couple Joe and Amy, and Swedish-Canadian couple Dag and Michelle, and I appreciate the fact that they kept checking up on me and how I was doing (Michelle, in particular). It really is sweet how some strangers look out for you when you’re alone. :)
[With Michelle on the trail]
[Joe & Amy]
[See first photo in this post for waterfalls :)]
While I thought the Mapawa river trek and Iligan waterfalls (both in my beautiful country, The Philippines), which I had gone to on a Cagayan de Oro trip earlier this year, were more awesome than this, I was still happy to have gone on at least one trek in Thailand (:P), and with good company. But we were just getting warmed up for…
Third & Fourth: White Water and Bamboo-Rafting
I didn’t expect much from this either because I was told it would only be 45 minutes (as opposed to my 3-4 hour rafting adventure again in CDO), but we did have a couple of thrilling moments. I realized we don’t ALWAYS have to compare which one was the more adrenalin-pumping adventure. What really matters is that we have good fun either way, and it wasn’t hard with good company. :)
When the river’s excitement died down, we changed rafts to enjoy a more peaceful ride through the river.
[With my “arch-nemesis” Dag, and people from another group]
[Michelle & Amy]
…
Overnight at Baan Chang Elephant Park
After that, we head back to Baan Chang to get cleaned up. Since we booked a 2-day thing, we had accommodations at the park. And while the rooms were spartan, the surroundings were uh-mazing.
[Dag & Michelle by our baan / house]
Longan trees surrounded the place, and you were free to get as much as you could eat. They were big, sweet, and juicy too. My dear mother would have a field day here.
Later that night, we would have dinner. More than we could really eat. And even later that night, we would be in for a bigger surprise.
If you plan on going to Baan Chang for an overnight stay and be delighted by an activity that is not otherwise stated in their brochure / catalog, then DON’T READ ON.
I was happy that I didn’t see this coming.
After dinner, our guide Woody…
…created a bonfire, and he and the other mahouts would gather around singing their campfire songs of choice (Boyzone and other boy band-y songs, but good fun nonetheless) with a makeshift drum set from aluminum containers of oil.
They also roasted a couple of bamboo stalks, which we would later discover encased sticky rice with coconut milk and sugar (like the Filipino suman).
But the most delightful surprise was yet to come.
Woody later brought out these giant paper lanterns for us to send a wish to the heavens with.
Bye-bye, wish. Please come true.
Day 2 post on my mahout training coming up.
But hey, Day 1 and I already got more than I hoped for.So thank you, paper lantern.
Catching a falling star and putting it in her pocket,Jen
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Baan Chang Elephant Parkwww.baanchangelephantpark.com147/1 Rachadamnoen RoadMuang, Chiang Mai, Thailand+66 53 814174 / +66 89 6355206info@baanchangelephantpark.com - They reply efficiently!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m85qwaewHr1r0u81eo1_500.jpg)
Baan Chang Elephant Park Part 1: Waterfalls, Rapids, Rafts & Lanterns
At $100 for only 2 days, this was the single most expensive thing I paid for in my trip so far, and I couldn’t be happier about the decision to push through with it.
I initially just wanted to take mahout training (elephant whispering), but when I saw Baan Chang’s packages, I figured I’d take 1 “adventure” day as well. Let me take you step by step through Day 1. :)
![Spontaneous Joyride Up Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai
After catching a late lunch at Salad Concept, and getting coffee at one of the Wawee Coffees in Nimmanhaemin (which is also littered with a whole lot of other cafes), Ro suddenly suggested that we go to Mae Rim.
And before I knew it, off we were.
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Mae Rim is around 45 minutes from Chiang Mai. If I were to create an analogy for Filipinos to relate to, it’s sort of how Tagaytay might be to Metro Manila - a nearby mountain escape - but with even less people and establishments.
We then headed to Baan Mon Muan, Ro’s favorite spot in Mae Rim, where he goes roughly twice a week when in Chiang Mai.
[Ro on the left, Jane on the right]
[One of the cozy seating areas at the entrance of Baan Mon Muan]
[Quirky design details]
[Walkways around the Baan]
We hung out for a while, appreciating our surroundings, over tea for me, Heinekens for Jane, and mostly water for Ro. :P
[With my accidental host via the Chiang Mai sleeper train, and my accidental “driver” (:P) via my accidental host]
…’til dark.
It’s nice how the universe works sometimes and conspires to bring people like Hanne and Ro & Jane to me in my travels, who in turn give me a lot of awesome travel experiences I might not have had on my own.
Cheers to strangers who don’t stay strangers!Really looking forward to their visit to the Philippines so I can give back to them as well. :)
Grateful,Jen
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Spontaneous Joyride Up Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai
After catching a late lunch at Salad Concept, and getting coffee at one of the Wawee Coffees in Nimmanhaemin (which is also littered with a whole lot of other cafes), Ro suddenly suggested that we go to Mae Rim.
And before I knew it, off we were.
![Cheap Vegetarian Eats in Chiang Mai, Thailand
A pleasant surprise I’ve come to realize on this trip is that it really isn’t that hard to maintain a vegetarian diet while traveling. You can always find yummy vegetable dishes or salads, and you can always ask people to omit the meat in your Phad Thai or replace it with veg-friendly tofu.
I’ve also found that vegetarian dining can be the easiest to your pocket, and that was especially true for me in Chiang Mai.
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Clean food, dirt cheap
As mentioned in my post about my guesthouse in Chiang Mai, there was a ridiculously cheap Chinese vegetarian resto located literally a minute away (along Prapokklao Rd.), selling real cheap food.
How cheap?20THB - 1 viand + 1 rice ~ yep, that’s $0.66 or 26PHP25THB - 2 viands + 1 rice ~ WTF
But even before I found that, I actually accidentally discovered this other Chinese vegetarian resto (located along Rachadamnoen Rd.) right before meditation with Tiko at Wat Sri Gerd.
And yup, they sell their food at the same price as Tein Seng (resto in 1st photo). And both establishments provide free water to diners. Honestly, I don’t know how they still make money.
Clever take on salad
When you’re feeling a little fancy, you can also shuffle on down to Nimmanhaemin Rd. on the west side of Chiang Mai and pay a visit to Salad Concept.
For only 50THB - 65PHP or $1.66 (and this is also relatively cheap in Thai standards considering the ambiance of the place), you get a base of greens along with 5 free toppings and your choice of salad dressing. They also have more premium toppings that you have to pay a little extra for, but still.
It was hard to decide but I wound up getting a salad of 1) tomato, 2) broccoli, 3) asparagus, 4) grilled mushroom (yum!), 5) red bean (for protein), and got and add-on of tofu (20THB ~ 26PHP or $0.66), all to be enjoyed with my delicious tamarind sesame dressing (though I would have loved to try the passion fruit dressing too!).
I also decided to go all out and order a shiitake mushroom soup (69THB ~ 91PHP or $2.33 - ironically more expensive than the salad), which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Stevie approved of my order too. It really wasn’t one of those tiny, tiny salads you might get in the Philippines for the same price.
I loved the restaurant design as well, both indoors…
…and outdoors.
It always adds extra pogi points when a business cares about the earth, and uses funky wall decals too.
I was later joined by Ro, the Thai guy I met on the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, and his friend Jane, who would both unexpectedly take me to one of the prettiest places near Chiang Mai. But more on that in a succeeding post.
But yeah, bottom line, traveling as a vegetarian is fun! :)
Leafy greens,Jen
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Cheap Vegetarian Eats in Chiang Mai, Thailand
A pleasant surprise I’ve come to realize on this trip is that it really isn’t that hard to maintain a vegetarian diet while traveling. You can always find yummy vegetable dishes or salads, and you can always ask people to omit the meat in your Phad Thai or replace it with veg-friendly tofu.
I’ve also found that vegetarian dining can be the easiest to your pocket, and that was especially true for me in Chiang Mai.
![Clarity & Disillusionment with Monk Chats & Meditation in Chiang Mai, Thailand
One of the “things to do” in Chiang Mai is to engage in monk chats or go on meditation retreats.
Having had enough difficulty with 1-hour of sitting meditation (actually, no, 10 minutes alone is hard enough), I thought it would be better for me to look for one-hour meditation sessions around the city instead of doing on 2-, 3- or even 10-day meditation retreats, and engage in 1 to 2-hour monk chats.
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Fortunately, after my mishap morning on July 23rd, it was uphill from there. I was able to find a nice guesthouse for the duration of my stay in Chiang Mai, be on time for something that day, be in a calmer state of mind, and be clearer on some things in my life, thanks to my first meditation with a monk, which I write a bit about here.
At Wat Sri Gerd [Mondays at 3pm]
So as not to be redundant with my post that glosses over my first encounter with Tiko, the monk who leads meditation at Wat Sri Gerd along Rachadamnoen Rd. every Monday at 3pm, read this post first.
I think Tiko is the first monk I have ever really spoken to. When I see monks, I always feel like I shouldn’t talk to them (whether I am female or not, but more so because I am female), but we do have a lot of unfounded assumptions about these things, so it seems.
Tiko can seem a lot like how one might expect a monk to be, calm, gentle, at peace. I feel he guided the group through meditation because he is a calming presence himself. At the same time, he broke down a lot of other preconceptions I had of monks. When telling stories or sharing scenarios, he would use the expression “what the hell” or “shut up”, but never in an offensive way, just in a “hahaha I can’t believe a monk said that” way. Prior to being a monk, he was also into advertising and traveled around the world, yet somehow, he finally found his place as a monk back in his country Thailand.
[With Tiko, who oddly brings to mind a less kinesthetic version of Jackie Chan]
At Wat Suan Dok [M-W-F, 5-7pm]
A couple of days after meeting Tiko, I decided to check out another monk chat at Wat Suan Dok along Suthep Rd. Having experienced the meditation and chat with Tiko, I thought that this chat would somehow be conducted in a similar manner.
When I got there, I was surprised to find three tables with several monks (or novices) each. The monks outnumbered the visitors there, and I found myself in a table with 3-6 monks (some came later, some got up and left) and only 1 other visitor.
I was a bit flustered and pressured to come up with my questions because I initially planned to come and listen to the monks (or novices) and hear whatever questions the other visitors had, and well, my fellow visitor didn’t ask them very much, and instead, he asked ME more questions (where I was from, how long I’ve been in Thailand, and other regular fare of questions people ask fellow tourists/travelers).
So anyway, I go and ask my questions, and I find an ego battle going on between 2 of the monks in my table, am horrified by the experience and can’t wait ‘til it’s over. Luckily, one of the supervising monks brings another monk to the table for me to talk more sensibly with, and he keeps the peace.
While it had a relatively pleasant ending, I was still disturbed by the whole ordeal and sought to visit Tiko for some elucidation at Wat Sri Gerd the next day. At least I got some photos of Wat Suan Dok (which is prettier than Wat Sri Gerd).
Getting rid of junk mail
Being the modern-day monk that he is, Tiko has a calling card with his mobile number and email address, where he makes himself available for questions regarding meditation. I sent him an email and a text message about meeting him the following day. I opted not to call for fear of disturbing him while meditating or whatnot.
I get no reply.
So I just decide to go to Wat Sri Gerd and see if he’s around.
He’s nowhere to be found.
I decide to stay there and meditate for 10-20 minutes, in hopes of understanding why some monks were the way they were, and if they couldn’t find peace, what hope did normal people have?
I don’t meditate very well at all, but I tried. And when I gave up on encountering Tiko in the wat, I defeatedly decided to go home to Mint House.
When I get out, I find Tiko. Maybe meditation helps after all, not in the way I had intended, but still.
He humored me for some Q&A, but when I started talking about these other monks (or novices), he reminded me about his spiel about junk mail, how there’s too much of it in our lives and how we still choose to ingest all this garbage anyway.
It doesn’t matter that that monk (or novice) had a disturbing approach to buddhism, or that two monks (or novices) were dissing each other, all that matters is that I weed out what helps me in my life, cultivate a personal practice for myself, or even better, that my life itself be an entire exercise in meditation, and that I be in the here and now without having to close my eyes or be in a quiet place.
Empty trash.
Jen
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Clarity & Disillusionment with Monk Chats & Meditation in Chiang Mai, Thailand
One of the “things to do” in Chiang Mai is to engage in monk chats or go on meditation retreats.
Having had enough difficulty with 1-hour of sitting meditation (actually, no, 10 minutes alone is hard enough), I thought it would be better for me to look for one-hour meditation sessions around the city instead of doing on 2-, 3- or even 10-day meditation retreats, and engage in 1 to 2-hour monk chats.
![Mint House: My Home in Chiang Mai, Thailand
July 23
When I parted with my sleeper train friends and one-night-only Chiang Mai roommates, Justine & Michael, I proceeded with a series of failed attempts at attending a yoga class and felt more lost and dejected than ever in my entire trip.
Little did I know that my arduous yoga-seeking trek would land me not too far away from what would be my home in Chiang Mai.
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[With Nui & Thai, the warm and friendly staff of Mint House]
Not to sound too new age-y or self-help-y, but sometimes, failed attempts at getting to a certain point really can be what bring you to better things, things that you really need instead.
First Time Dorming
Since the dorm wasn’t co-ed, I decided it would be safe enough, and while there were no lockers for belongings, I did have a lock for my bag (which I always secured upon leaving). I would also later find out that my roommates didn’t really care much for my stuff, and we can be overly paranoid about these things (but better to be overly paranoid than otherwise). But I think people really opt not to touch other people’s stuff out of respect and desire for their own stuff not to be touched either (rules of karma at work).
I forgot to take a picture of the room before leaving :| Suffice it to stay that it was a very basic room, but clean, with decent mattresses and pillows. And the dorm’s shared bathroom was really clean too. (And they provide 1 roll of toilet paper every day - the little things matter)
Living Cheaply in Chiang Mai
Saw the above photo? Yep, those are the prices for Mint House’s rooms, and as you now know, I chose the cheapest one. FYI, it’s 30THB to $1 and 1THB to 1.33PHP. So, my 100THB room can be converted to $3.33 or 133PHP. Because I stayed about a week, I was even able to haggle it down to 90THB. :D
They also provide hot and cold drinking water (which 1.5L of costs 13THB at 7-11), and a common fridge you can keep stuff in.
About a minute away from Mint House, you can also score unbelievably cheap vegetarian meals from here:
How cheap?20THB - 1 viand + 1 rice ~ yep, that’s $0.66 or 26PHP25THB - 2 viands + 1 rice ~ WTF
If you want to “splurge”, you can also get a 50THB breakfast across the above cheap-ass Chinese resto.
Productivity-conducive workspace
They didn’t pay me for this post, but I could really picture myself staying there a while especially for my airy and green rooftop workspace…
…where I also opted to do cost-free yoga instead with my Made for Movement yoga travel mat (because I was usually the only one maximizing the rooftop - I found this hard to believe, but appreciated the fact).
I also met a few people there, who I sadly didn’t get to talk to until the latter part of my stay.
[My Chinese roommate April]
[Neil, Nui’s english tutor :)]
So yeah, great price, clean rooms and facilities, hospitable staff (unlike the unpleasant woman at my previous Chiang Mai guesthouse), free water, tour/bus arrangements (they took care of booking my trip to Pai), awesome workspace, proximity to cheap eateries and other “places to go”…and a really soft and fluffy house cat, Latte. There’s absolutely no way you could go wrong here.
When I pay Chiang Mai another visit, Mint House will be my obvious choice for accommodations. And I hope to be witness to Nui’s improved english by then. :)
Missing the people at Mint House,Jen
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Mint House Guesthouse & Restaurantwww.chiangmaiminthouse.com (I don’t think this is really updated though)80-82 Prapokklao Road (Soi 5)Pra Sing, Muang, Chiang Mai(+66) 87-9303110, (+66) 86-2531743, (+66) 82-6941421info@chiangmaiminthouse.com](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8257lQ0ws1r0u81eo1_1280.jpg)
Mint House: My Home in Chiang Mai, Thailand
July 23
When I parted with my sleeper train friends and one-night-only Chiang Mai roommates, Justine & Michael, I proceeded with a series of failed attempts at attending a yoga class and felt more lost and dejected than ever in my entire trip.
Little did I know that my arduous yoga-seeking trek would land me not too far away from what would be my home in Chiang Mai.
My First Day of “Loneliness” - Losing The Now
July 23
After a day in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and when I had parted ways with my single-serving roommates, Justine and Michael, I was alone again.
Crossing Borders, Breaking Barriers: 31 Hours from Battambang, Cambodia to Chiang Mai, Thailand
I’ve got some backlog on my experiences in Siem Reap and Battambang in Cambodia, but I felt the need to post this first just because this is more than just an account of places to see, or things to do. :P
Traveling Solo Again
I did my first border crossing (and also my first and only solo traveling until now) back in October or November 2006, when I took a really lousy train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. And that did nothing to make me any less anxious about crossing over to Thailand from Cambodia.
