Review of Elephant riding outside Chiang Mai

The waiting elephants

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The elephants stopped halfway across the river with water gushing around their ankles.

The motorbike was parked on the bank, but they halted and turned towards it - it obviously alarmed them and wasnt meant to be there. Deep belowing noises came from their throats and they eyed the machine with suspicion. The mahout used his cane to spur them on. Pausing once to eye the nut-brown stringy man washing in the river, they resumed their rolling gait, climbed the muddy bank and went back into the jungle.

Before starting the arduous trek we stopped at an elephant kraal. There were a number of huge brown brutes tethered in the shade or just reaching for the nearby greenery. Scotty and I went for the largest and climbed up steps the 12ft so we could sit on its howdah for the ride. The view of the creatures great leathery head was in front of us and there was a trick keeping your feet away from the flapping ears. We followed a trail into the jungle and they plodded on for two hours. We had to stop every few minutes as the elephant ahead of us had stopped and was reaching out for the grassy vegetation. It would only move on when the guide shouted at it or had a new clump of juicy grass to chew.

Up and down trails and a decline so steep you had to hang onto the howdah or be tipped forward, then following a stream for twenty minutes - great feet sloshing through the water. I found the whole experience very relaxing watching the birds in the trees or dragonflies the size of helicopters. The end of the trail took us back to the road and the waiting bemo.

I could easily done another hour. I didnt tire of the experience at all. One of the most enjoyable times of the holiday..