When my friend, Sonia, floated the idea of a girls’ trip to Southeast Asia, I was All IN—provided, I said, if I could be an elephant caretaker for the day in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Taking part in the daily ritual of an elephant has long been on my Wanderlist Bingo Card and the time had come—I was trembling in excitement at the possibilities. Yes, it’s a tourist thing….yes, there are a lot of photo ops….and yes, I got to spend some quality time with my elephant, Jenka.
Meet Jenka, my elephant for the day.
Morning came early, and after a quick breakfast, we changed into our day’s uniform: bathing suits, shorts, shirts and water shoes—plus gathered our extra change of clothing because we knew getting wet was not an option—it was happening.
Our guide, Tee, was waiting for us in the lobby and answered questions about the region as our SUV went up the mountain and through the fields and jungles of northern Thailand. I was fascinated with the Banana plants, meandering creeks, and small farms along the way. When we arrived to our Elephant Sanctuary, the camp leader cautioned us there was a little bae-bae running around—she was a bit “naughty,” he said. He asked us to *not* allow bae-bae to push us around, but rather, to just step out of the way….and sure enough she came barreling into our conversation attempting to throw her little baby ellie weight around. I didn’t expect her to be so fast!!!!!
We waived goodbye to Mama elephant and to Tee, and headed off with the expedition crew down a dirt road in a jeep…..watching for elephants as we bounced along the way.
Our Jeep came to a stop as we spied a pair of elephants (one with BIG tusks). The ellies came up to the SUV and put their trunks inside the windows looking for fruit treats…. It was a LOT to take in….and initially, I thought we were in a photo op situation. The crew handed me a heavy basket of fruit, and immediately, I was swarmed with two trunks asking….perhaps demanding a continuous supply of fruit. I couldn’t keep up—feeling a bit like I was on that I Love Lucy episode where she and Ethel couldn’t keep up with the chocolates coming down the conveyor belt…. I started laughing, which further slowed me down and the tusks (and giant feet) were precariously close…. Breathe, Becky, Breathe…
My heart was beating so fast. There were no guard rails—no fence between me and the elephant (and those tusks…and giant feet)…. I felt overwhelmed for a moment….and then….I remembered this was my dream….to be out in the wild with the elephants…on foot—not in a jeep… to experience being an elephant caretaker for the day…and I was able to say to myself: this is so freakin cool!!
As my fruit basket started to empty and the trunk requests got a bit more….impatient, Jenka’s for-real-Mahout (Thai for elephant caretaker) took a minute to introduce us and give me instructions about how to communicate with Jenka. When you wanted to walk, you gently tugged his ear and said Ma! (let’s go!), and when you wanted to stop, it sounded something like How. Dee-dee Jenka meant good boy. I was quite surprised when Jenka was indeed a listening good boy (as for Sonia’s older, female ellie….yeah she’s a different, headstrong story—that queen ran the show!).
As we walked down the mountain path, through creeks, and down hills, we created a nice walking pace. My eye was right at his eye and I swear he looked at me with curiosity and what I hope was a bit of fondness. My Mahout said I was too quiet (said no one else—EVER) and I needed to make my commands louder so he could hear it better. I could hear our footfalls down that dirt path and started to sing hiking songs in my head.
Did You Know?
Mahout is the Thai word for elephant caretaker — a centuries-old tradition in Southeast Asia.
As we walked into the creek and stood shin-deep into the water, our guides attempted to set up a memorable photo shoot. When he gave the command, both elephants dunked their trunks underwater, lifted them up and then on the next command, they were supposed to spray the water towards the camera for the perfect keepsake shot. Sonia’s girl, however, would hold her spray until after the camera took the picture, and then sprayed. On repeat–every.single.time. I loved her little act of ellie-defiance. She is, after all, the Queen.
After a long stroll, we stopped creekside and brushed the elephants’ backs off with young tree branches—knocking off all the dirt balls and leaves, which get itchy for a tall elephant. After checking the elephant over (feet, eyes, ears), we, walked into the creek where we scrubbed them with scrub brushes to get the day’s dirt off their backs, legs, tail, ears….rinsing them with buckets of the clear creek water. I was brought back in time to my young Arkansas self–wading in creeks looking for tadpoles and crawdads…splashing, laughing, and enjoying life.
The mahouts signaled to the elephants to lie down in the creek so we could reach all the places (which Jenka gladly did—and The Queen held court to the side). What a special experience to have an ellie lie down so you can bathe them…. When Jenka stood back up, I half expected him to shake the water off…..but instead, Jenka and The Queen strolled over to the dirt pile and flung fresh dirt over their backs as a thai fly repellent.
Sonia and I had a lovely luncheon next to the creek: local fruit, handmade pastries, satay, and other snacks while we dried off. Our pachydermic friends sauntered over and enjoyed our leftover vegetarian delights—a reward for taking care of two gringo American women on an adventure to see elephants and be an elephant caretaker for the day. And what a day it was. Would I recommend the experience?? 10/10 heck yes!!!
A Final Thought from Becky
Becky Lukovic is an adventure travel specialist living in Atlanta. Aside from her newly developed elephant caretaker skills, she loves to hike, play tennis, and collects wine. To join her on a small group adventure, check out the Ciao Amici page for yearly small group departures.