This was my favorite day in Thailand. It was partially because we were able to see and interact with elephants and partially because of the interaction we were able to have with the Karen people that run Elephants at Home.
What made me want to select Elephants at Home was that they are not a huge corporation or company. This is a family, that has had domestic elephants and they do not claim to be a huge tourist attraction. They are no ride, no chains, no hooks. It is a 2-hour drive from Chiang Mai city center, deep into the mountains. The ride in did not seem like 2 hours, it was beautiful. We saw these beautiful yellow flowering trees all over, rice paddies, and thick jungle. My kids loved the chickens, pigs, and water buffalo off the side of the road. Ely was hilarious and upon exiting the car instead of running up to the elephants, she went for the cat that these people had in their yard.
A temple we saw upon a hill.
These beautiful trees were everywhere up in the mountains.
Meeting the elephants, there was one other family there.
Meeting these beautiful creatures, they give hugs and they are strong!
Feeding them bananas. They are so funny and find them in the bag and won't really let you do it. It can get a little overwhelming which is why both of our kids eventually left our laps because it made them nervous.
Preparing food for the elephants. Consisted of various ingredients that are really good for them and things they also like. I can't remember all of the ingredients, there was salt, bananas, uncooked rice, and other herbs. We smashed them together and then formed balls that would be left out in the sun. Ely called them Elephant cookies.
This woman is one of the main reasons I LOVED this day. She took Koa almost the entire time we were there, and he loved it! She was so kind to him and attentive. I wish I would have known how much I would have just loved her by the end, I wanted to give her something but only had brought a Christmas ornament for the whole family. If you are ever out that way, bring this amazing family a gift. I wished I had brought more for them.
More Bananas. They eat so loud and it's so cute!
What the Karen people in this particular area wear.
Sean is laughing because I'm contently cleaning an elephant's bum.
Elephant Kisses- It's quite a different sensation, their trunks suction cup to your face and it feels really funny! If they can't get a good suction they keep trying.
Sean wasn't about it. It is technically a nose....
Koa is loving every minute of this! This woman took the towel off her head and created a wrap. Koa looked back at us with the biggest grin on his face. He was asleep in 5 minutes. He loved this lady.
After living on Okinawa where this fruit is so expensive, we were wide-eyed when we saw this. It was so delicious.
Probably one of my favorite things, they came up to the tree house when we were done asking for the peels and fruit leftovers. It was so cute!
He could smell the fruit on my hand!
Saying "Bye"- One of my favorite days ever on a vacation.
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