Riding an Elephant

Before I left for summer break, Jessie, a co-worker,  wanted to go on an elephant ride. She asked if I would go with her and I told her sure. I really didn't expect her to follow through as we had so much to do and little time left. The week before we headed home she asked again and I couldn't back out.





I've been fortunate enough to travel some and everywhere I've been the elephants seem to be one of my favorites, they are beautiful and majestic in so many ways. Before going on this ride I wondered if the company we went with treated their elephants humanely. You hear so many stories about abuse of animals and the thought of riding elephants that were being mistreated isn't a fun thought. The elephants in the photos below are from my trip to Kenya on our safari. They roam free on a refuse and live comfortably. They aren't used for entertainment, they live among the other animals, and live freely.

When we came to Thailand a couple years ago we toured a monkey camp. All the monkeys were chained to posts in the ground and were very aggressive. I'd be mad too if I only had 3 feet in diameter to run around. There were signs asking not to feed the monkeys and it was just a sad sight. I was bothered and ashamed to have paid money to be a part of it.

After investigating more about the treatment of the elephants here in Thailand, I know the signs to look for. Does it mean all programs here are good, definitely not. If you ever come to Thailand, please research ahead of time what you want to do and make sure they are above board.

Enjoy the photo's below ... it was a fun but scary ride! Hugs