Khao Chong Fak

To elephant or not to elephant, that is a question many ask themselves when visiting Thailand. In 2024, it's not a question of riding or not riding an elephant as a consensus seems to have been arrived at that that this is a bad thing for the elephants, https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2023/03/2… . So just hanging with, feeding, and maybe cleaning them is OK, right? Well, that depends on what expert you read or talk to, and of course, what environment the elephants live in. Some experts believe that humans should not be interacting in any way with Elephants and should only observe them. Other experts believe the type of elephants in sanctuaries (rescued, abused, sick, etc.) are already used to humans and it would be detrimental to them to not have any contact with humans.

We found an elephant sanctuary called Elephants World near Kanchanaburi that  was established in 2008 as a secure haven for sick, disabled, elderly, abused, and rescued elephants that have nowhere else to turn. https://www.elephantsworld.org/

Assuming what we have heard and read about them is true, they provide these "majestic creatures with a chance to rest and recover, allowing them to live out their days in a secure environment filled with the happiness and joy they deserve."

So we decided to go and we are glad we did. It's kind of funny, and our guide at Elephants World, who was responsible for a group of about 15 of us, even joked about it, that we were paying to work. We carried big containers of sweet potatoes to feed the elephants and then fed them. We then took jeeps to another area for more feeding then bathing, of the elephants, not us. On the way, we stopped next to a field with stalks of cane (* check the correct plant) where we were instructed to chop a bunch up and load them into one of the jeeps. We continued on and finally stopped to feed the stalks to the elephants, and enjoyed some extremely close interactions with a few of them. Then into the muddy (and sometimes poopy) give the elephants a mud bath, mud scrub and finally a rinse.

They are beautiful, majestic beasts and I feel very fortunate to have had this close encounter with them, and that they didn't stomp us into dust.Read more