"THE NEST" in Chiang Dao
9 month old elephant at the Nature Park
20 month pregnant elephant.....you could feel the baby moving
my new best friends
oh to look into the eye of an elephant!!!!Jami has landed us in another piece of heaven. We are spending our last 2 nights together at "The Nest" in Chiang Dao. A perfect name for this place and for the culmination of this adventure together. It is lovely, we each have a teak wood cabin with a large bed that is actually soft enough to sleep on!! The setting is among the trees surrounded by mountains. Last night there were more stars than imaginable. It is not a big city or even a very big village so it is very dark at night.
Hard to believe that 2 mornings ago, I was getting up this early to go get my elephant! Hard to put into words all that I have been feeling about these remarkable creatures. Yesterday we went to the Elephant Nature Park. I had a hard time there, cause we were clearly just day visitors, not baby mahouts as we had been at the TECC. (I hope you all went to http://www.changthai.com/ to see the pictures of us). It was the first real touristy thing we have done in terms of elephants. At this place they do not have people ride elephants and there is no 'show'. You get to feed them and bath them and see the babies. Their 'schpeel' is very cutesy and righteous. It is interesting, everyone has their slant. Each center believes THEY are doing the right thing.....naturally, otherwise why would they be doing it!! And what is necessary is to just see/feel/experience how all of them, bottom line, just LOVE ELEPHANTS. I can see why. They are awe inspiring. No, I do not want to fill my room with elephant paraphenalia.........but I will have a tender place in my heart for these large friends.
But I realize, as I miss the gentle conversations between mahout and elephant that that is what I will miss most. The connections. Tiem spoke in almost a whisper to Wanalee constantly. It is a fantastic relationship that I had the opportunity to join for just a moment.
This has been a fantastic journey...............and it ain't over yet!!!!
Hard to believe that 2 mornings ago, I was getting up this early to go get my elephant! Hard to put into words all that I have been feeling about these remarkable creatures. Yesterday we went to the Elephant Nature Park. I had a hard time there, cause we were clearly just day visitors, not baby mahouts as we had been at the TECC. (I hope you all went to http://www.changthai.com/ to see the pictures of us). It was the first real touristy thing we have done in terms of elephants. At this place they do not have people ride elephants and there is no 'show'. You get to feed them and bath them and see the babies. Their 'schpeel' is very cutesy and righteous. It is interesting, everyone has their slant. Each center believes THEY are doing the right thing.....naturally, otherwise why would they be doing it!! And what is necessary is to just see/feel/experience how all of them, bottom line, just LOVE ELEPHANTS. I can see why. They are awe inspiring. No, I do not want to fill my room with elephant paraphenalia.........but I will have a tender place in my heart for these large friends.
But I realize, as I miss the gentle conversations between mahout and elephant that that is what I will miss most. The connections. Tiem spoke in almost a whisper to Wanalee constantly. It is a fantastic relationship that I had the opportunity to join for just a moment.
This has been a fantastic journey...............and it ain't over yet!!!!
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