Riding Asian Elephants in Chiang Mai Provence, Thailand was really unique, but more importantly, getting to know these wonderful, gentle, and intelligent beings made for a trip of a lifetime!

Elephant Camp (Incredible Maetaman)

Almost an hour north of Chiang Mai,  the camp is close to the Myanmar border. Very rural and cooler than Bangkok, and very much in the jungle.

Elephant Show

I was very excited for the elephant show, which I had heard so much about. Elephants kicking soccer balls? Scoring goals? Elephants painting pictures, including self portraits? Elephants giving massages? This, I had to witness!

It was all true, and at the end, I bought the self portrait done with pink ears and green grass which I witnessed being painted. I also got up close and was able to have a picture taken with her, and stroke her cute face.

She first carried out the paints in a metal tray with a handle, started the painting using a paint brush dipped in black paint and finished it up with pink and green. The trainer does help to guide her to the paper with his hand on her tusk, but she did the painting herself with her trunk!

I found out that the elephant trainer boys have a very intense relationship with each elephant, bathing them and even sleeping next to them. They devote their entire lives to these long lived beings.

Bad Press

I was sad to see a false and negative review of the camp when I Googled it. This “journalist” totally missed its essence and accused the trainers of being cruel. They do speak in a commanding voice, which is akin to the way an owner may speak to a dog so they know who is in charge.

It is precisely because of camps like these, that the once necessary elephant is still in Thailand. Since logging was banned in the eighties, and the need for elephants became obsolete,  people who owned elephants had to take to the streets of cities to beg for their sustenance.

Maetaman Elephant Camp and projects like Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation work towards preserving the large, domesticated animals which are expensive to keep and need much attention.

Of course it is a tricky situation any time a wild animal is domesticated, and 95% of all elephants in Thailand are. Ingrained in the Thai culture and history for hundreds of years and once only thought of beasts of burden, it seems the elephant’s status has risen and respect is given to these incredible and deserving creatures.

Elephant riding

Aroon (our favorite guide in Chiang Mai), told us that elephants are protected and loved in Thailand and that they have an incredible sense of smell. For example, an elephant may reject a rider who is wearing strong perfume.

There was a line to board the elephants, so getting on was a bit rushed and not a lot of instruction was given out. We “boarded” from a ten foot high platform, and there were no seat belts, only a bar to hold onto. I was never properly introduced to the sturdy fellow who would transport me and my friend Elina over several miles of rough terrain up and down hills in the jungle, but we bonded instantly!

The hour-long elephant ride was a bit bumpy and with each unexpected dip, we laughed (the entire time). Sitting side by side in a howdah, a saddle specifically designed for riding elephants, we tried not to elbow each other. Taking pictures was challenging. I felt like I was in the Flintstones!


Elephant Swimming

The path meandered through the camp, up hills, and we even crossed a stream, more like a river, since the elephants were up to their necks! It was great fun and we had total confidence in our elephant Mahout (trainer). We were following a group with eight elephants in front and a similar amount behind us.

At one point we were allowed to feed our elephant a large bunch of bananas which he ate whole, and he stopped a few times to munch on tree branches, reminding me of riding a horse when it stops to eat grass. After we got off the elephant by carefully hopping onto a platform, we rode back to the main camp on a cart led by two white oxen, and then floated down a river for 45 minutes on a bamboo raft.

The rafting was very peaceful and smooth, and we enjoyed wearing Chinese bamboo peasant hats! Except for the fact that I felt like I was in a scene from “Apocalypse Now” (based on Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”), the relaxing rafting contrasted beautifully with the exhilarating elephant excursion. The gift shop had unusual, interesting items, such as paper made from elephant dung, elephant shaped padlocks, and great t-shirts. There are also opportunities to purchase handicrafts from local Indigenous tribal people.

Resort among the Elephants

We had lunch at a nearby boutique resort- RAWEE WAREE. They were serene villas set amidst a tropical garden. I witnessed a Mahout giving his elephant a bath in the Mae Taeng River right outside a Rawee Waree cottage. It was great to see the connection the two had and how this slight man was in total control of the large animal. People can spend three days here and visit the special elephant camp at Maetaman.

Being a Westerner without any opportunity to ever get up close and actually touch an elephant without fear, was a thrilling experience for me which I will never forget and hope to do again soon.

This trip was sponsored in part by Thai Airways and Tourism Thailand

About the Author: Hi, I am Georgette, a writer, and artist based in Connecticut and Vermont. I am also Johnny Jet’s older sister, who quite possibly ignited his first spark of interest in traveling to exotic places, when at the impressionable age of 14, he saw my two-week trip to Australia last four years! Whether skiing in the mountains, snorkeling in the tropics, or exploring faraway cities, I am always game for traveling and the privilege of writing for my baby brother’s website JohnnyJet.com. Of course, coming home to my husband Cam, our dog Baci, and my cat Ace – is great, too! Visit my website at www.georgettepaintings.com.

4 Comments On "Visiting an Elephant Camp in Thailand"
  1. Anonymous|

    I am really surprised you liked the “adventure” in Maetaman Elephant Camp. 2 friends of mine who visited the camp a couple of months ago were appalled and disgusted by the way the mahouts treated their elephants. Several elephants were beaten by the bull hook until they bled because they didn’t want to listen or wanted to take a pause to eat something during the elephant ride. They were forced to take the same tours with tourists hours, days, weeks, months, years on end… Also the elephants aren’t able to roam freely but are kept by very short chains. it’s also very disturbing to see elephants paint and perform circus tricks. One elephant who didn’t want to paint anymore was also beaten with the bull hook after his ears so he would continue entertain the tourists. My friends were very upset and made a complaint about it. There are also several comments on trip advisor from people who visited the camp and were disgusted by the animal cruelty there…
    If you would have been a little more critical and had done a little bit more research on how these elephants are trained to entertain you (just google the word phaajaan), you would see that what kind of torture these elephants undergo, so they can ride all day with tourists on their back and perform stupid circus tricks for ignorant tourists like you.
    There are other camps in the neighbourhood that ethically treat their animals and let them roam free without chains and just let them ‘be elephant’…

    1. Johnny Jet|

      That’s good to know. I did not witness any of that otherwise I would’ve left.

  2. Ded|

    Howmuch did you get payed to write these lies ? This Elephant camp threated these poor animals in the worst way possible. You either got payed a lot of money, or are a thoroughly bad person to write these lies.

  3. Rachel|

    Good grief, the ignorance of Johnny Jet is unbelievable – his own pictures on the review above show mahouts with the vile weapons used to beat and intimidate these poor elephants! Please can this dreadful review of this awful venue be removed so it doesn’t encourage other tourists to engage in activities where elephants are beaten in to slavery for their entire lives. Even without knowing the abuse (which is hard to understand how you can’t as the mahouts are holding weapons and elephants are wild, strong animals whose backs you wouldn’t dream of trying to mount in the wild), since when were they put on this earth to paint, give rides and perform humiliating tricks for the likes of humans – let them live their lives as they choose which is with their families in the wild. Speak out against this sickening abuse as the poor elephants have no voice.

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