ELEPHANTS!

Wow! We just finished visiting the Patara Elephant Farm north of Chiang Mai. The first stop was to see a 2-week old baby elephant. She was so cute, but when she charged you it was like being hit by a small car.

Patara does great work and part of the trip is some hard core education about the rehabilitation and health of the elephants. Please ask me to explain the 4 signs of a healthy elephant to you, so that you may also have all future zoo trips ruined.

The elephant I hung with all afternoon is a 13-year old girl named BANG. Her trunk was dusty from sleeping on her side (good thing), but we took care of that later. Below, she is eating the leaf broom I had just used to brush her off. 

Next, I guided her by the ear down to the little waterfall and river area. I yelled, "Ma, Bang! Ma!" to get her moving. In the water she got another scrub down. You have to get off all the sand that they throw on their backs (to keep flies off) before you hop on. 

And of course, the obligatory spray down is returned by the elephants. My dad hung with Mamu, Bang's mother. 

Big time recommend.