We only spent a couple of days in Chiang Mai, and if I were to change something about our trip, I think I would have wanted to extend our time there. It has a big city feel without being nearly as crowded and overwhelming as Bangkok, and I didn't realize exactly just how much there is to do and see until we got there.
One of the main highlights of our time there was the Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary about an hour and a half outside of the city for elephants that have been rescued from elephant shows, tourist trekking services, and the logging industry. Before coming here, I had a vague idea that the elephant rides you see on posters for Thailand aren't exactly one of the most ethical activities in the world, but I had no idea exactly how much physical and emotional abuse the elephants endure. On the way to the park, we saw a video that showed how baby elephants are drugged and kidnapped from their mothers, and then bound for up to 7 days unable to move, without food or water. This essentially serves to break the elephant's spirit, so that it will become helpless and therefore easier to train or discipline. Seeing images of this practice was absolutely heartbreaking. We also learned that trainers use whips, sticks, and metal hooks to dig into the elephant's skin when teaching them tricks. Elephants are also taken to the cities where they are used to "beg" for money from tourists, and are often blinded by the bright lights from cars, or injured from car accidents. And you know those "paintings" that the elephants do for tourists? Apparently the trainer discreetly pierces the elephant's ear (which is very sensitive) with a nail, so that the elephant paints in the same way that they do during practice.
Learning all of this was hard and uncomfortable, and at times I couldn't watch parts of the video. But it was also really important, and changed the way I view these tourist activities (i.e., I don't think I'll ever take an elephant ride or go to another circus performance featuring elephants - or any other wild animals, for that matter). When we were at the Elephant Nature Park, we saw elephants with broken hips, one that lost part of its leg from stepping on a land mine, and many that were blind in one or both eyes. All day, we had the chance to feed, bathe, and just generally watch and appreciate them. Honestly, after having the chance to interact up with an elephant up close like this, I don't really understand why people would want to ride on its back. Just my two cents.
