Elephant Camps

Our second day in Chiang Mai we went to see some elephants - our main purpose for coming to the city. We decided to arrange a private car to take us, as it was made economic sense and also cut things out that we didn't need to do on a tour (snake farm or orchid farm). The big decision was which camp.

I had originally wanted to go to the Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, but in speaking with several travel offices, it seemed more difficult and expensive to do. Instead, the one that every office had tours to is called Maesa Elephant Camp. My concern was that the Maesa camp was geared only towards tourists and didn't care as much for the elephants - something I didn't want my money supporting. Lampang is the national conservation center and is the main hospital for all elephants to go to. But the ease of getting to Maesa (20km vs 70 km) couldn't be ignored.

Jeremy indulged me, and we stopped into an internet cafe to do some impromptu research on the Maesa camp. From a few different websites I was satisfied that the camp treated the animals well and that they were concerned with their welfare.

So, back to the story at hand.

Our driver took us to the elephant camp, where we arrived before many of the tour groups. Since the first "show" started at 9:40am, and it was 9am, we decided to go for a 30 minute elephant ride. There is a two-seater bench strapped to the top of the elephant. At first I was a little hesitant as we got going - the ride takes you through the surrounding jungle, so the path is very muddy, making the ride rocky. But I quickly became used to it. Our elephant, a 33 year old female named Mae Khammee, was rather graceful. Our mahout hopped off at one point to snap some pictures of us - they turned out great which made me really happy. We also went into the stream for her to take a drink (and tried to avoid the really large spiders hanging from the trees).

After our delightful ride, we went to see the elephants bathing in the water. Following this, we went to go see the "show" the camp puts on. All in all it was quite ridiculous. They have the elephants do things like play the harmonica, dance, play soccer, and paint pictures. We did not feel comfortable sitting there and watching these performances. When you go to a circus or zoo you know what you're getting and you expect some form of show. Here, I was expecting to be educated on the elephants and how they have been used in terms of making work easier (at the end of the "show" they did do a logging part, showing how the elephants are used as part of work - we found this very interesting, although most of the audience seemed to have preferred the harmonica playing). A part of me wishs we had gone to Lampang where their "show" doesn't consist of these silly tricks.

After the "show," we went to the nursery where I got up close and personal with some of the baby elephants (one wrapped its trunk around me). I also purchased a couple items made of elephant dung. Nothing says "I love you mom" like elephant poop.

The camp also brags about their entry into the Guinness Book of World Records where they have the world's most expensive painting done by a group of 8 elephants. The painting sold for US$39,000 and can be seen at the camp. Other paintings are sold there, but as expected, they are grossly overpriced.

While I wasn't thoroughly pleased with the elephant camp, I also understand the reality that not as many options currently exist. The Maesa camp does care for its elephants, even though they are expected to perform degrading tricks. The tourist portion of the camp ends mid-afternoon to allow the elephants time to freely wander through the surrounding jungle. The camp is also a good source of funding for the care of elephants (apart from medical attention, they require a lot of food every day) - without quality camps, elephants may continue to dwindle in number.

While I'd prefer a camp that catered less to tourists and more to the elephants, I also realize that alternatives don't always exist, at least for now.