A Day of Elephant Training...

The elephant...one of natures most largest and gentle giants. One of Asia's most prominent and symbolic animals...and one which we must see whilst visiting Thailand.

It seems a bargain that for just £30 each, we can spend a whole day with a herd of these amazing creatures. Its going to be such a treat to touch one, to feed one, to ride one, to wash one in the river. Treat? This is a once in a life-time opportunity...this is going to be a privilege.

We are picked up at 8.30am by Nong, our leader for the day. Our group consists of two English (us) four French, one Canadian and one Swiss. Immediately we all excitedly chat about the day ahead...What will it be like? Have we ever seen an elephant before? How will we get onto the elephant's back? Our conversation buzz turns to shock when we realise the roof is being loaded with over 500bht worth of bananas and potatoes (that's over £10...and considering fruit and veg is extremely cheap in Thailand, you can only imagine the amount of sacks piled onto the van!) We are told by Nong that this mountain of food is in fact only a snack for our four-legged friends...elephants eat 250kg every day and need feeding every 40 minutes!

As we pull into the elephant camp, we are told by Nong that its time for the elephants snack. Que Nong commanding "Bansung" (clearly a shortened version of "Open your mouth and lift your trunk up so I can feed you some bananas,") and the elephants trumpet in delight as she places whole bunches of bananas in their mouths. When it come to our turn, I must admit, I'm a little intimidated. This enormous animal, stood freely, waving its trunk and trumpeting at me is hungry...and I'm supposed to be my arm into its mouth to feed it??!! Thank goodness they're Vegetarian!!

Our time is passing too quickly with these beautiful animals. If you look closely, they have the most amazing eyelashes and deep eyes and their colourings and markings are incredible. We seem to have adopted Christina, our elephant for the day, and typical of female South-East Asian elephants, she has pink colouring along her trunk and ears. After a few amazing photos (the ones that will make EVERYONE back home incredibly envious) we watch Christina and her two young friends dance and cuddle for us. Its unbelievably funny, in a way that could never be caught on camera.

Perhaps the most nerve-wracking part of the day came when we had to get onto the elephants. Now traditionally, with most elephant trekking, the rider gets on via a high platform and sits in a makeshift bench, attached to the elephants back. But we are shadowing a mahato (that's an elephant trainer to you and I) and that means that we are riding the elephant the traditional way...bare back. And so begins our brief Thai lesson of elephant commands... "Quar" (turn right) "Sai" (turn left) "By By" (Go, go) "Toy Toy" (reverse) and most importantly, "Yute!" (stop!!) But the first word we must master is "Yoka!" We shout this to the elephant whilst tapping its giant foot only to find the elephant bends its leg ready for us to climb up...that's right - no platforms in this game...we are using the elephants leg and ear as a Levy to climb up its body. And believe me, its nowhere NEAR as simple as the real mahatos make it look. You wouldn't believe the distance between the ground and the elephants back, and it seems even higher once your sat up there. Still, what an amazing experience. We not only have the privilege to ride these incredible animals, but to climb its body, sit on its neck and direct it where to go.

Our trek is just amazing. We are so high up that we can see for miles over the beautiful jungle of Thailand. It's not all plain sailing though. Christina, our elephant, seems to be feeling a little naughty, and progresses to grab anything that looks remotely edible with her trunk. Pounding up those hills, albeit at a typical elephant's pace, is incredibly nervy. I feel almost vertical, like I could slide of her back at anytime and be crushed under those enormous feet. And when we venture downhill I pray that her clumsy footsteps will not result in a tumble. Her real mahtao is by our side throughout our journey and I trust completely in his assurance of our safety.

Our journey comes to an end when we reach the river, and with a quicker pace and a trumpet in delight from our little friend, I realise what time it is...bath time!!! We are instructed to climb down before Christina enters the water, as her excitement can sometimes take over and she could run to the water and immediately roll over. Elephants love the water, its a great chance for them to cool down and relax and they're bathed twice a day. It was such a fantastic experience to get into the water with them and be so close. We could wash the elephants and were given brushes to scrub their skin, which is incredibly soothing for them. Then we splashed Christina with water, throwing it all over her body and head only to be drenched back in a game where Christina clearly thought it was funny to spray us with water from her trunk. And it was funny. We just couldn't stop laughing at this unbelievable moment! What an amazing experience

A day which I will never forget.