I just left the most incredible green pastured oasis, surrounded by jungle mountains called Elephant Nature Park (http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/aboutus.htm). It is a haven for abused elephants who once worked in the now illegal logging industry and others mistreated by various owners. There are 33 elephants (including 2 baby elephants born in May) on the 50 acres in addition to cows and over 50 neutered cats and dogs…all playing and getting along. This sanctuary was founded in the 1990s by Sangduen (Lek) Chailert, a small, in stature, Thai women with a big heart. She has won Time Magazines Asian Hero Award and has been featured in numerous documentaries from National Geographic, Discovery and Animal Planet.
Getting to ENP required a bumpy 75 minute van ride from the city of Chiang Mai. Its out there and very rustic. I stayed in a little bamboo hut on stilts and slept on a simple bed, under a blue mosquito net. I did have a modern bathroom but the water pressure was nonexistent so I pretty much took sponge baths for the 4 days I was there. I helped feed (pineapples, watermelon, pumpkins, corn and bananas) and bathe the elephants in the river twice a day. I spent 2 days with other volunteers building a barbed wire fence around a large cornfield and also helped out in the kitchen chopping vegetables and making banana bread treats for the elephants.
There were about 30 volunteers from all over the world…some came for 1 week, 1 month and others longer. One women from England came for a month and has stayed for 5 years! There were several mom and daughter teams including a 14 year named ‘Paige’ from Canada, a professional singer named Kyla from Australia and her mom and a mom and dad with their 18 year old son, the only other American’s there…another coincidence…from Philadelphia. Most of the volunteers are women…though a few men were representing, including a funny, 30 year old Colombian lawyer, a few college age boys from England and a fit, 64 year old, grandfather of 5 from New Zealand who has been coming for 3 years. I was impressed with the amount of women traveling by themselves including 2 childhood friends from Canada. These girls are just 20 years old and have spent the last 4 months in India, Vietnam and Thailand. I would love to see more American girls traveling abroad. I think a lot of people in the US tend to be intimidated by not speaking a language or not understanding other cultures…especially any which are so different then ours. Its not hard getting around and not scary.
The elephants are so gentle…although during bath time in the river, they liked to play and roll around a lot. You had to be careful they didn’t roll on top of you! I learned a few interesting fun facts about the elephants:
1. Asian Elephants are smaller then their African Cousins
2. Pregnancy lasts 18-22 months!!!!!
3. They can live up to 80+ years and on some occasions…100 years.
4. They eat about 10% of their body weight a day.
