Elephants and Bamboo Rafts

March 8, 2009

Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand

Off in another van today with a different group of people for a fun jaunt in the Chiang Mai area. First stop is an elephant camp.

The number of elephants in Thailand is rapidly declining as their usefulness in various industries lessens. There are still some used in forestry but not as many as there used to be – better equipment and the deforestation of much of Thailand has not helped.

Unfortunately, this is not like riding horses where you just saddle-up. We are riding two to a metal platform strapped to the elephant’s back. Most of the animals have a handler riding on the neck except for ours. It’s attached to the animal in front by a fraying bit of rope loped around its ear. Hopefully enough to stop it should it decide to rampage throughout the jungle.

The skin of an elephant is tough yet amazing cool under our feet. The steel platform is slippery and, if not for the rails on the side, we would have slid off while going up and down the hills. When an elephant goes up and down the whole elephant goes up and down. With a horse there is a little give, with an elephant it is like a ship on a side of a big wave.

Our elephant tried several times to scoot around the lead one and, amazingly enough, a couple of harsh words from the handler on the lead animal was enough to send it back into place. A safety hint here for you boys and girls out there – keep your hands and feet away from the outside of the elephant – when they go by a tree they like to scrape along the tree and you would hate to leave some body parts behind.

After an hours ride through the bush we got to feed thembananas which they suck down like beers on a hot day. It is a little odd being searched by a trunk looking for more.

After the elephants we trekked to a waterfall near rice paddies and cooled off by the stream. Then the really fun part of the day. We went bamboo rafting.

They cut a bunch of thick bamboo to 30 ft lengths and then tie eight or so together. Then place three or four people on the raft, along with a poleman to steer. The raft promptly sinks about an inch under the water and off you go.

Now this was Sunday and the small river was full of Thais doing the same thing as us. Of course, we had a professional poling us along while most of the teenage Thais on the river were pretty hopeless at manoeuvring. The river was small with lots of rock and channels where rafts would get stuck or crash.

The tradition is that you splash all the other rafts and anyone along the river bank so within five minutes we were hopelessly wet (hence no pictures as our camera is not waterproof). It was a blast going down the river. Thais and tourists were laughing hysterically at the antics in the water. A fellow traveller we met had gone rafting the day before and told us of a snake in the water which her raftsman killed and wrapped around the raft pole to take home for dinner – they eat just about anything here!

We got out of the river at the equivalent of a picnic ground with lots of little platforms at the edge of the river filled with Thais eating lunch and chatting. We would have loved to do it again but the night was coming and time to go to the guesthouse.

That night went to the Sunday market that literally fills the old city to overflowing. Hard to imagine the number of vendors, musicians and people in the streets. Every time you think you have seen it all another street opens up filled with people and stalls.