Elephants in Thailand the National HeritagePrepared by Harold Stephens
Travel Correspondent for Thai Airways International
Wild elephants, tame elephants, elephant hospitals, elephant roundups, elephant polo matches, elephant training school for mahouts, elephant rides, elephants working the teak forest, elephant temples and elephant shrines, white elephants, and endangered elephants. If you like elephants, Thailand is the place. They are not only the heritage of the country, and an integral part of the folklore, they are walking down the main streets of Bangkok every day.
That’s right, in Bangkok. No one can deny that Bangkok is a modern metropolis. It has all the prerequisites of a modern city: high-rises, wide avenues, shopping centers, traffic and pollution. Then imagine when a tourist is standing at a busy street corner and an elephant and its mahout passes by only a meter away. Where else but in Bangkok can that happen? That's what makes this city so unusual. Anything can happen, and does happen. But there’s more. Anyone who knows the city at all will agree that Rama IX Road is a busy thoroughfare. With this in mind, you can imagine my surprise when I read in the Bangkok Post newspaper the other day that an elephant was severely bit by a poisonous snake while walking by an empty lot along the avenue.
This was not headline news. It was a small notice on a back page. I’m afraid if elephant stories were placed on the front page every day, there would be no space for other news. In the course of a few weeks I read in the paper that an elephant died from eating too much rice, another elephant was hit by a lorry and now has an artificial front leg and that there’s a new school that opened for Japanese who want to be mahouts. About six months ago the big news was that elephants were being banned from the streets of Bangkok. Somehow the authorities forgot about the ban. The elephants are back.
Two years ago Tiger Woods came to Thailand to take part in two of the three Johnnie Walker Classics Golf Tournaments that Thailand was hosting. What does this have to do with elephants?
Away from action on the golf course, there was the Johnnie Walker Elephant Alliance Gala Charity Dinner at the Shangri?La Hotel. The purpose was to help bring the plight of Thai elephants into focus by staging a charity dinner before the tournament when six elephants were nominated for adoption by six top golfers including Tiger Woods.
Even in our modern day, elephants continue to play a positive role in Thai life styles. Elephants hold a divine image in Thailand. But the elephant population is dwindling and it has become a matter of considerable public concern. The elephants’ habitat, the forests of Southeast Asia, is rapidly disappearing.
At the beginning of the last century, a hundred years ago, Thailand had over 100,000 domestic elephants. The country had forest area of over 80%. At present, there are only 5,000 elephants left, 2,000 wild elephants and 3,000 domestic elephants. Wild elephants in Thailand are under the protection of the Forest Industry Organization (FIO) which keeps close tabs on them. However, illegal hunting does exist.
The trade of tusks in Siam has been recorded for hundreds of years. It was known that in the year 1663, during the Ayutthaya Period, over 3,000 kilograms of tusks were shipped to Japan. In 1821, during the Ratanakosin Period, 18,000 kilograms of tusks were exported to China. Thailand became well known as the center of carved tusks by highly skilled carvers. It wasn’t until 1982 that the trade of tusks was completely stopped. At present, smuggling is the main cause for the killing of wild elephants.
Efforts are made to protect the remaining wild elephants and preserve the Kingdom’s heritage. The government is embarking on a 700-million baht (US$18 million) elephant park as the second stage of the Chiang Mai Night Safari project. The park will house 200 wild elephants within the Doi Suthep Pui National Park. It will feature a jungle-like habitat in which elephants would live under natural conditions, roaming the forest for food. Visitors will be able to observe the elephant from an enclosed area.
On the road to Lampang, in Hang Chat district at the Km 37 marker, there is one place that is well worth stopping for those who want to see elephants. In fact, you could spend a full day here and still want to see and do more. It’s the Thai Elephant Conservation Center. The center promotes the role of the Asian elephant in ecotourism and provides free medical treatment and care for sick elephants from all over Thailand.
The 122-hectare centre has much to offer and that includes exhibits on the history and culture of elephants as well as elephant rides. The rides are available from 8am to 3pm, and cost 300 baht for 15 minutes, and 500 baht for 30 minutes. The elephant trails are through the surrounding forest. Every morning starting at 9 am visitors can watch elephants bathing in the river. On weekends from December to February, the high season, an ensemble of elephants play oversized musical instruments, including drums that create a sort of chaotic trance music.
There are other elephant displays, some quite remarkable.
The camp staff is beginning to explore the use of elephant dung as a base for making decorative paper and to produce biogas for cooking and electricity. Admission to facilities used for dung paper and biogas production is free. Just follow the signs.
Mahout training at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center now offers special programmes for those interested in learning the skills of the khivoon chdong or mahout elephant caretaker. If you want a quick taste of the mahout's life, you can sign on for a one-day course for I000 baht and learn a few simple commands for leading an elephant, experiment with dung paper, ride an elephant in the jungle and take a tour of the elephant hospital.
A more involved three-day, two-night homestay programme costs 5000 baht. This includes all meals, one night's lodging in a well-equipped, wood and bamboo bungalow and another at a jungle camp, plus a general introduction to elephant care and training. Those with a higher level of commitment can choose longer programmes of 10 days, a month, or longer, at a cost of 1000 baht per day including training, lodging and food.
And for just an ordinary elephant ride, you can find sites all over Thailand, including Phuket and Koh Samui. If you go to the Mahout school, just imagine, you can return home with a certificate stating that you are an official mahout.
Next week we are going to explore the streets of Bangkok and one in particular noted for it’s woodcarvings.
Questions & Answers
Q. Dear Mr. Stephens, I also enjoyed your story Riding High on Phuket, the Road that No One Takes, and wish I was there. You describe it well. My question is do you need a four-wheel drive to make the trip? Or what about a motorbike? Thank you. Bret Steinman, New Orleans, Louisiana.
A. Dear Mr. Steinman, I give your question a definite yes for a four-wheel drive vehicle. For a motorbike, not if it is too heavy. I did not mention in my story, but I did meet a motorbike rider in the hills. He seemed to manage rather well, although a bit dust covered. I also think it would be fun on a mountain bike, providing you carried camping gear for an overnight stay if you get stuck. Let me know if you attempt it. —HS
Harold Stephens
Bangkok
E-mail: ROH Weekly Travel (booking@inet.co.th)
Note: The article is the personal view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited | 
