A Journey Trough Thailand, Elephants at Chai Lai Orchid Eco Lodge

Chai Lai Orchid Eco Lodge
This blog post will be a bit different than my previous ones. And I have to admit I was very skeptical to visit a Elephant Sanctuary. I don’t like animals in captivity for human entertainment.
There is so much information (and misinformation) online about Elephants in Thailand. But as I’m here as a Photographer, visiting this Eco Lodge seemed like a good compromise.

The Eco Lodge is located about one hour drive from Chiang Mai, at the foot of Doi Inthanon. You stay in open air Bamboo Huts. No Airco, and the bed has a mosquito net. Which is definitely needed here. Its basic, but comfortable enough. And the food in the restaurant was surprisingly ok, and didn’t break the bank. If you visit this place, don’t miss having a drink at the bar during sunset.

I’ve been reading how there are so many non-ethical Elephant sanctuaries in Thailand. Supposedly this place is one of the “ethical” ones. But what does that even mean? No riding? No Bathing? Wild Elephants?
Well here is the confusing part; There are almost no wild Elephants in Thailand. There is simply almost no land left for wild Elephants to thrive. They have been domesticated for thousands of years in Thailand. And nowadays is mostly related to tourism.
One argument to visit sanctuaries and places like this, is that it keeps the places funded and keeps the elephants away from Poachers.
But this Photo I took touched me deeply. I wanted to get a close up shot of the eye, but then noticed that the Animal looks like its crying.

I’ve read about how Elephants are deeply emotional. To me this seems to confirm it. Made me a bit uncomfortable. This was in the morning, all huts gets visited in the morning by an elephant to feed them sugar cane. Maybe I’m wrong, but to me that definately looks like tears.

In any case it was quite an experience, and I don’t regret going. But would I do it again? I’m nor sure.

There is indeed no Elephant riding here, but there are organized bathing and Photo shoots. Here is a couple getting romantic while swimming with the Elephant

I was amazed how huge they are. These are massive animals. And considering they are vegetarians, I suspect they must be eating pretty much all day to sustain themselves.

The place has also adopted allot of dogs and puppies that walk around freely, and likely will visit you at your hut. They were all very friendly and happy, and it added to the charm of the place.

Final Thoughts
Don’t get me wrong, although I’m against animals in captivity for human entertainment, I’m no not a animal rights activist or radical environmentalist. I do eat meat, and I have no problems with hunting and raising livestock for food/milk.

There is one thing that leaves me wondering though. On their website they claim there is so much misinformation about elephants in Thailand, and allot of it makes sense. However they also made the claim that there are no wild Elephants left in Thailand at all. Upon further research I found this to not be quite correct. There are not many left, but there appears to be wild elephants in Thailand still.

If you plan to see Elephants in Thailand, please do your own research and make your ow conclusions.

A Journey Trough Thailand, trip to Chiang Rai.

Wat Rong Khun
Only spent two days in Chiang Rai, but very glad i made the trip. Obligatory is a visit to Wat Rong Khun, or White Temple. It a privately owned art exhibit that was constructed in 1997. A magnet for tourists, for obvious reasons. The light conditions wasn’t optimal with harsh sunlight and dark shadows, but what a marvelous construction this is.

The bridge in from of the main building is called the “The light conditions wasn’t optimal, with harsh sunlight and dark shadows. But what a marvelous construction this called "the cycle of rebirth". In from of the bridge is hundreds of reaching hands symbolizing unrestrained desire. The bridge proclaims that the way to happiness is by foregoing temptation, greed, and desire. (source)

Wat Rong Suea Ten
Another must visit in Chiang Rai is Wat Rong Suea Ten, or Blue Temple. This is also a very young temple designed by Putha Kabkaew, a student of the artist who built the White Temple. Also very impressive in its own right. Especially the interior of the main building was impressive. The following image is a horizontal 3 shot panorama.

Its quite a small area, so not much time is needed here. But i would definitely recommend the visit. There is also no entrance fee here, and its close to the city center.