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Yesterday was probably one of the best days of my life, second only to my wedding in 2015. As holidays go, this has been an absolute belter, but nothing could have prepared me for the day I spent with Elephants at the Chokchai Elephant Camp, here in Thailand. Now, I have read much about elephants in Asia in the past, and the unethical way they have been treated, so I was in two minds about going on this trip in the first place. However, I did my research, and discovered, Chokchai Elephant Camp is one of the best rescue centres in Thailand. I have to admit it did have a bad reputation in the past, but after merging with The Elephant Nature Park, their whole ethos changed. This place is run by people who truly care, and I was honoured to be there.

We hired Nam, a private driver, for the day. This was the lady who had picked us up from Chiang Mai Airport, and will be taking us there tomorrow, when we leave for Bangkok. I liked her as soon as she picked us up, and for a few hundred dollars we had her for the whole day, driving us around, showing us the sites and sounds of the area. She was a joy to be with, spoke perfect English and was friendly and full of knowledge about Chiang Mai; she was the icing on the cake and made our holiday one of the best we have ever had!
The elephant camp was situated in the middle of the jungle, at the bottom of a valley surrounded by hills; on our arrival, we were greeted by the sounds of elephants, and beautiful butterflies fluttering past our faces. This was a place unlike anything I had experienced before and as we removed our clothes to put on something a little more suitable, I was wondering what I was letting myself in for.

Our guide gave us an introduction about the centre, its history, and information about the elephants looked after by the camp. If I remember rightly, there were about sixty-five residents in total and three of them were pregnant. From this, I knew we had made the right choice of park. Elephants will only get pregnant when they are in a happy environment, and as we approached the entrance to the park, you could see them all lined up, waiting to be fed. On the surface, they seemed perfectly content, as we were handed large bags of food to give them. Immediately you could see their individual personalities and character and how playful they were, several of them knocking one another, trying to get first dibs on the food.

Feeding these majestic creatures was just amazing. I have never been up close and personal, with anything like them in my life, and I was feeling a little emotional. They took the food respectfully and gently and let us stroke and pat them during their feeding time. There were several babies waiting patiently between their Mother's legs as well; they were playful, mischievous, and full of life. Every one of them looked happy to be there, and that was the point - I wouldn't stay anywhere where animals are badly treated and nor should you.
The elephants are given a medicine ball each day, which is made up of various nutritional goodies, including tamarind. Darrell helped make the dough like mixture and form them into balls, which we duly gave them. It is of course important that the baby calves get their share, so this is where we concentrated our efforts. Not all of them however wanted it, which is understandable. I remember as a child how I never wanted to take my medicine for this, that and the other – they are just following in the footsteps of children everywhere.
After feeding them, we followed the herd down towards the river. For the next hour, we just spent quality time interacting with them, touching them and observing them in their natural habitat. Gently they made their way down to the river bank, where they collapsed in a heap waiting for us to do all the work. We were given bowls and a scrubbing brush and gingerly made our way down the steep incline and into the river. Now I am not one for mud, dirt, and adventurous activity, so for me this was a first, and I was laughing and smiling all the way. I think I was the happiest I have been in a long time, as I wallowed in mud, cleaning an elephants back; the elephant was loving it, but so was I.
Wading back, up to the top of the hill, all the other elephants were wandering around, and we spent a good forty minutes continuing to get to know them. It felt strange stood there, as one of these six tonne animals brushed past. They are so big and clumsy looking, yet they know exactly what they are doing, and there were no injuries sustained - demure, good-natured and considerate in every respect. One baby elephant did take a liking to one of the young girls there, and started to chase her around, which was funny to see, not so funny for the young girl involved, but it emphasised their fun-loving, exuberant nature. Children will be children, and they just wanted to play, which they did in the most humorous way.
Heading back up towards base camp, the hoses were brought out and sprayed over the elephants, who loved it. We filled up their trunks with water, they sprayed it on their backs and the little ones decided to get dirty again, throwing dirt in the air, rolling on the floor and rubbing their backs. These were happy elephants, living their best life.
This was indeed a very special day for me and one I will always remember. It is something I have always wanted to do, but never had the opportunity to do so, so when Nam suggested it, hesitantly I agreed. It was the best decision of the holiday, and a memory to cherish – Darrell was blown away by this chance of a lifetime as much as I; we haven't stopped smiling and probably never will.
From Chokchai Elephant Camp, we travelled to Wat Ban Den and another spectacular religious site. This was one of the best we had ever seen and as I strolled through this large compound, it reminded me very much of the Film, 'The King and I.' The brightly coloured temples glistened in the hot afternoon sun, their richly decorated surfaces reflecting off the mirrored statues, and Buddhist monuments. This is what Thailand is all about, and it is a reason I would come time after time. There is so much to do and see here, it really is unlike anything I have ever seen.
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Next stop was Buatong National Park, and a view of the waterfall meandering through the heavily forested terrain. By now, the sun was scorching, as we made our way through the jungle and down to the bottom of the waterfall. I was a little concerned by the 'beware of snakes' signs posted everywhere, but after a day with the elephants, I thought what the hell, what will be will be, and thankfully we didn’t see any.

The jungle scenery was amazing; this really is only something I have seen in films, and it was everything I had ever imagined. The vegetation, trees, hanging vines and sheer size was just too vast to comprehend. As I sat at the bottom, looking round, I just couldn’t believe the things we had seen on this holiday; I can’t believe we will be flying home in a few days – the holiday blues have started to creep in already!
After a short pit stop at the Air Diamond Cafe and Hotel (A converted plane) we drove back to Chiang Mai city. The heavens had opened, and the rain was tumbling down, it was an absolute deluge, but the perfect end to a magnificent day. I have grown to like the rain in Thailand, it is warm, yet cooling in the hot tropical temperatures, and when you book a holiday in the rainy season, what else do you expect.
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As we spent a final night at our favourite restaurant, Airnniversary, listening to live music and eating great quality food, I was in reflective mood about returning home. The traveller in me will always want to travel, looking for somewhere else to lay my hat, and even though I am lucky to be living in Australia, I am still constantly thinking of where to move next. Thailand would be an amazing place to stay long term, but the practicalities of such a move would likely cause problems. Health care, property and pensions all have a role to play in our future decisions now. Living life in your fifties isn’t as fun any more. There was a time we would just get up and go. Today, we have to think carefully and way up the consequences of our actions. The holiday has given us food for thought that’s for sure, but for now, this is just a holiday and not a precursor to yet another new life. Both of us have a lot of hard work to do, before that happens!
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