Koh Chang...Fresh Air & Elephants.

We're doing great and life is good!

We caught a bus from Bangkok to the far Southeast corner of Thailand, a province called Trat. From there we jumped on a quick 45 minute ferry ride that took us across to Koh Chang. We were excited about "elephant island" for we'd heard a lot about it from friends and the allure of seeing elephants was one of the reasons we chose Thailand in the first place. We were also eager to escape the craziness of the city and the overwhelming pollution. Mags and I brought our running shoes and had envisioned spending mornings running through the places we visit. However, the air quality has been horrific and we've not been thrilled at the prospect of sucking up exhaust and diesel fumes while we run. Many people here seem to have chronic coughs while others wear masks to try to filter the air. We find ourselves holding our shirts to our mouths in order to handle a 15 minute tuk-tuk ride. So sad what we are doing to our planet and that breathing clean air is not an option for millions of people!

So off we went to Koh Chang in search of elephants and a breath of fresh air. After the ferry dropped us off, we piled onto a taxi - a covered pick-up truck with padded seats that fit 5 per side. Along with a diverse group of other travelers, we threw our bags on the roof and told the driver to drop us off at Lonely Beach - a spot recommended to us by several friends. Although we had no hotel reservation, we figured we could just walk the beach until we found a place - that's why we packed light after all!


Maggie found a place that came highly recommended on tripadvisor.com and so we walked up to The Oasis which sat high on a hill near the beach. The owner was a sweet woman named Suni who offered us a simple bungalow for $9/night. Our hut came with clean sheets, an outdoor shower and a terrific hammock on the front porch. Suni's place had good vibes and she was such an amazing host that we were happy to be staying with her despite the fact that she was farther from the beach than most of the other options.


Lonely Beach was anything but lonely. It was another very popular destination with European backpackers/travelers and it had a total party vibe with bars playing loud crappy techno music until late in the night. The beach itself was clean white sand and the water was warm and inviting. We swam, laid in the sun, relaxed, and got a chance to really sink into our travel mode.




Surprisingly, the island air was still grey and smokey. We have come to learn this is due to an annual burning of the underbrush all across Thailand. These fires fill the sky with a dense smoke that makes for a golden evening sun that fades into the horizon without much of a sunset. Funny to watch the sun get more and more faint as it dips into the smokey horizon and then just vanishes. I keep expecting something exciting to happen and then, poof it's just gone!


Although we didn't find clean air we did find an elephant camp for our first elephant experience. After doing some research, we determined that there was really only one decent option for an elephant experience on Elephant Island. We were looking for a place with a solid conservation ethic and where, most importantly, the elephants would be treated with love and respect. According to Lonely Planet and the people in town, Ban Kwan Elephant Camp was just such a place so we made reservations and the next day they came to our hotel and picked us up.

In a truck filled with many loud Germans (aren't Americans supposed to be the loud ones?) we wound our way deep into the interior of the island toward the jungley land of elephants. We got to the camp and and passed by another group who had just finished their experience waiting to get in our trucks to go back down. This place seemed to be doing quite a brisk business! As we entered the camp, we saw our first Asian elephants and we were instantly in love... so beautiful and amazing.

The elephants had just been given a large pile of pineapple plants that each have a tiny pineapple in the middle of the long hard leaves. As we watched, an elephant wrapped her trunk around the pineapple and proceeded to whack the rest of the plant onto her giant toenails to try to separate the fruit from the leaves. If that failed, she would gently steps on the leaves, pull the fruit free, then deliver the sweet snack to her mouth. Such a magical creature, so big and majestic! My mom and family has had a love for elephants ever since I can remember. Mom's paintings often featured elephants and my favorite childhood book was about elephants smashing small cars.. For me, seeing them here in their natural home felt extremely special.

Expecting to be greeted by the camp's owner and to launch into our elephant education, we walked a little further into the camp and started looking around. Before we got too far, a young Thai woman told us to follow this "mahout" (thai elephant trainer pronounced ma-hoot) who's walking with an elephant, so we follow. Maggie and I look at each other; we were already getting the sense that might not be the experience we were hoping for.

The mahout was carrying a 2 foot long wooden pole that had a metal hook at the end which he was using to poke and prod the elephant into submission. He spoke no English, and our expectation of getting some introduction to the camp, perhaps be introduced to our new friend (the elephant) was quickly dashed. Instead, we found ourselves following along, looking at the back of an elephant who didn't seem to want to go where its mahout was taking it.

Down to the river we went where the mahout forced the elephant down into the river. "Wash, wash," he told us and pointed to the buckets and brushes lying on the rocks. One of the other tourists grabbed a brush, climbed roughly on top of the elephant, started brushing hard and laughing nervously as his wife took pictures. Our hearts sank. This was exactly what we were hoping to avoid. It was a show and the elephant was getting no respect.

Thankfully, the elephant had soon had enough and got up and walked slowly back to the camp. The next step was the ubiquitous elephant ride. (We see advertisements for elephants rides EVERYWHERE in Thailand. We've since learned that this is a really great way to ruin an elephant's spine and that you should avoid riding elephants whenever possible -more on this subject to come later). At this point both Maggie and I were feeling that a ride might not be the best thing to do, but our desire to be close to the elephant got the better of us and we climbed aboard. Although we loved the feel of the elephants hairy back in our toes, we instinctively felt that the ride was demeaning to such a magnificent creature. After the ride, the show was over and we left feeling sad and guilty for having supported such a place. We also wondered: Why did Lonely Planet tell us that this was a great experience? Was this what should be expected when you go to an elephant camp? We didn't know but we were going to find out.

Our five days on Koh Chang was the mix of experiences that travel so often provides. Breathing polluted air while eating the most delicious pineapple curry. Swinging in a hammock listening to the sounds of the jungle while the mosquitos begin to feast on our legs. Seeing an elephant munch a pineapple, seeing an elephant beaten with a sharp hook. Thailand has it all and through the ups and down we are feeling grateful to be here experiencing it.

I'll post some pictures soon and get caught up with our updates.