Elephant Parade

Well I am back in Beijing - unpacked and back at work.

I have always loved elephants and this post is more about an organization that does great work with Asian Elephants.  As I said before, the plight of elephants is a sad one.  Their has been a significant decrease in the number of elephants in Thailand and the number keeps getting smaller.  There is no jungle left and these beautiful animals are forced into camps where they are put on show for tourists.  The camps are doing the best they can with the space they are given but if we don't act soon we may not be able to enjoy these amazing animals in the near future.

The organization is called animal parade.  Their website is : http://elephantparade.com/

Essentially they are the largest open air art exhibition of art elephants in the world.  They seek to raise awareness and funds for the conservation of these animals.  They also sell limited editions of beautifully painted elephant sculptures.  I bought one while on my visit to Chiang Mai and it sits proudly in my living room.  I just wanted to share the great work they are doing.  Check them out.  You can also purchase their products online.

Elephant training

It was an exciting day as we headed off to the Chiang Mai Mahout training camp.  I love elephants and this was one of the main things I wanted to do in Chiang Mai during my week here.  It is different than a lot of elephants camps throughout South East Asia in that they provide more than a ride and show.  We were dressed in Mahout elephant clothing, taught how to feed, climb, dismount and wash the elephants.  Here are our new friends and the Mahout trainers who have grown up with these massive beasts.

After feeding came the climbing.  It was amazing to feel the strength of their trunks as they hoisted me up over their head.  A bit frightening but so amazing. This is a traditional way of getting on the elephant from the local people.  They also taught us how to climp on on their feet and legs by grabbing onto their ear and skin.  The strength of these animals is what amazes me the most.  They can carry up to 2 tons on their back so I suppose our bodies doesn't effect them too much!

After the "learning" component we had lunch and then rode the elephants to the river where we bathed them but unfortunately didn't have access to my camera.  To wash an elephant and scrub it down with soapy tree bark was an experience I will never forget.  We rode past many tourists who were riding elephants the "touristy" way on the chairs that sit on their back.  Our package involved the training which I was very grateful for.  It gave us a much more authentic experience.

Bonding with the elephants was the highlight of my trip.  They were so kind, gentle and accommodating to us climbing all over them.  The situation in Thailand with elephants is a rather sad one.  There is no more jungle left for them to free roam and so they only option for them is to be living in "camps".  Although the local people do their best with what they have, this is not an ideal living space for an elephant. We were fairly pleased with the facility and their care but could only wish that they had a slightly better life.  One group that is doing great work with elephants in Thailand is http://elephant parade.com   I bought a beautiful elephant from them last night knowing that the money was going to a great cause.

Meeting the newest addition to the camp was another highlight.  This baby was only born 3 days ago - how luck were we to be able to play with it!

Petting tigers!

 Well, another great day in Chiang Mai.  There really is soo much to do in this little city.  From elephants, tigers, snakes, monkeys, long-necked women, rafting, atv'ing, there isn't much that isn't capitalized on.  A bit of a disappointment really but can be exciting for the transient visitor.  I was so excited to be able to play with baby tigers today.  We got to the Tiger park after hiring a taxi for 4 hours and although a bit expensive (1250BHAT), it was worth every cent.  When do you get to play with baby tigers, watch big cats frolic in a water bath and lie on the grass with small tigers? This was a great experience.  Enjoy the pictures!

Takin' it easy in Chiang Mai

Hi Everyone,
It has been a while since my last post.  Last week I was fortunate to attend a professional development workshop in Bangkok, Thailand called EARCOS.  This was stimulating, challenging and gave me lots of great ideas to put into my teaching.  I am so happy to have been able to go.  Not only was it a great conference but we were also hosted at the Shangri-La hotel in the CBD downtown area and the quality of the conference was outstanding.  I will be putting thoughts and reflections on my new edublog which I will be using to keep all of my ideas and projects in one spot.  The url for my edublog is: http://tgascoigne.edublogs.org/
As of now it is empty but check back as I am excited to be building my network online and keeping up with current trends in technology.
I am also on twitter now: https://twitter.com/#!/T_Gascoigne

After a busy conference I flew to Chiang Mai yesterday for some rest and relaxation.  This week is our April holiday and we have the week off.  In an hour I am going ziplining over the jungle and hoping to see some elephants, tigers and other cultural things later in the week.  The weather is hot and the pool is also looking like a nice option later on!  Hope all is well in your lives.  Thanks for checking the blog - please pass my blog on to anyone else that might be interested.