Elephants at home, Chiang Mai 

An absolutely amazing day in every way!! If you are coming to Chiang Mai then there is nothing better to do than to go and visit Elephants at home.
The Karen people are the nicest people in Thailand. So welcoming, warm and accommodating. I cannot fault them in any way.
This whole experience from start to finish was laughter, excitement and full of amazing surprises. The elephants are all owned and kept by the Karen family who have owned these majestic creatures for 7 generations now. They look after them as if they are party of their very own family and the elephants in turn are so happy and healthy with mile upon mile of wild, open space to roam around as they please.
The amazing staff picked us up from our hotel first thing in the morning and drove us straight to the jungle, making sure that we were comfortable and happy all the way there. We even stopped for some traditional Thai noodles made in a small local shop by a Karen lady. Our driver, Banaan, (also part of the Karen family), was smiling and cracking jokes all the way there and made sure that we didn't want for anything on the way.
Once we got there, we drove a fair distance into the jungle where we met Athiwat who is the manager of the site. Low and behold, we noticed some amazingly beautiful elephants standing beside him, also welcoming us to their home!!
From that moment on, I could go so far as to say that the events that followed are some I will never forget. And I don't say that often.
We got to be introduced to the elephants before being handed bananas, sugar cane and bamboo which we got to hand feed to them. Once their feeding was done, we walked with the elephants to the river where we got to bathe them and make sure they were clean, cool and ready for our trek through the jungle!
We had already been allowed SO many opportunities to take some absolutely STUNNING photographs with the elephants and the staff were on hand with professional grade cameras to make sure we didn't miss a shot. But it didn't stop there!
We then were given some traditional Karen clothing, a bamboo stick to aid walking, and off we went on our trek through the jungle. Humans and elephants all walking side by side in perfect harmony.
At the other end of our trek, we came across a beautiful raised wooden platform where the Karen ladies had prepared a traditional local lunch for us to eat and relax with. The meal just so happened to be in front of a completely natural, flowing waterfall that little did we know, was soon to be a giant natural pool for us to swim with the elephants and yet again, get some absolutely amazing photos. After our splash, we got to take even more photos at the waterfall which was beautiful in itself and then took a gentle trek back to the starting point, still with the elephants walking beside us!
I cannot stress enough just how well you get looked after by the guys and girls of the Karen family. They are always on hand to make sure things are going smoothly and are constantly giving you advice and information about how to appreciate the elephants at their absolute best. Their relationship with the elephants is second to none and you can really see how much the elephants love and listen to their Kahoots. The mutual respect shines through for all to see.
At no point did any of the elephants appear upset or distressed in any way and there was certainly no riding of the elephants like some of these other places do! The elephants here are part of the family and not used as working animals for abuse at the hands of tourists.
Please, please don't choose any other elephant sanctuary to visit and make sure you go and see the Karen. You will not be disappointed!! It's just such an amazing place. It made my entire trip to Thailand worth it!!
All the money raised by visits stays within the family and it gets used to build and maintain the facilities they have on their own land as well as fund the very expensive crop maintenance the family have to upkeep in order to keep the elephants well fed and nurtured. They are not assisted by the government and maintain everything entirely by themselves!!
Music:
Eternal Hope by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/