Conscious Steps
By Emma Siddle
One thing I’ve learnt this year is that full-time travel forces you to make decisions all the time. Some decisions are inconsequential, “Do I get pad thai or khao soi?”, but others carry more weight. Recently, my boyfriend, Thomas, and I visited an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Choosing an ethical sanctuary where the wellbeing of the elephants is put above the experience of the tourist was really important to us, but wading through the swathes of sanctuaries on Google, trying to discern this, was no easy feat. Eventually, we settled on one called ‘Elephant Steps’, and it was one of the best decisions we’ve made this year.
After getting picked up from the hostel, Tom and I were driven to the sanctuary, where we were greeted by an entourage of waggy-tailed dogs, and two buffalos looking up at us contently from a pond. Another cream-coloured dog trotted happily up to us, a bit behind the others, called Chānm (Thai for milk tea). Chānm’s back legs were wrapped in little splits and dragged along the floor as he had been paralysed by a car crash. The sanctuary takes in any animal who have been abandoned or abused and are in need of a home. They’re currently looking after 4 elephants, 45 dogs, 2 buffalos, and a heap of farm animals. Next, we met the stars of the day; the beautiful Asian elephants. Melody had been with them for 26 years and was rescued from the logging industry. She had been pregnant at the time with Gypsy, who was born at their sanctuary. Manon was brought into the fold next, and 70-something, Meta, only joined them last year. Looking into her big brown eyes and seeing the little scars on her rough, wrinkled skin, it made me sad to think of the life she’s endured, only getting a loving home at my grandparents’ age.
Elephants have to eat 100kg of food per day, and we got to take part in helping them meet about a 10th of their caloric need. While I was standing with Manon, a staff member came over and gave me a bucket of corn and asked if I would like to feed her. She inhaled the corn into her trunk, then blew it out into her throat. In a blink, the food was gone, and a bucket of bananas was brought out in its place. Manon closed in on the bucket, and I was told they were her favourite food. I held them up to her, and she would quickly grab them with her dextrous trunk, using it to place them in her mouth, then reached for the next mouthful as soon as she had let go. Tom was next to me feeding Metta, and his laughter told me her age didn’t slow her down at all.
For the majority of the day, we went on a walk through the jungle with the three younger elephants, accompanied by about 15 dogs. The walk was guided by the elephants, we were just along to observe. We stopped whenever they wanted and just waited until they were ready to keep going. Tom and I both hung toward to back with Manon. She was so funny, and would just stop ever few meters to munch on some leaves, or scratch her body on a rock. Each time, all the guide would do was say “Mannoooonnn, come on!” like a tired older brother. I know it’s the bare minimum, but I was so glad that no force was used. You could see by the way that they interacted with each other that the guide really cared for her, and she also had a special connection with him. Some of my other beloved Manon memories include: Knocking over bamboo trees for fun, jumping into a swampy pond and wallowing around in it for 15 minutes, and making endearing grunting noises because she got seeds stuck up her nose.
Throughout the day, I kept feeling overwhelmed with emotion. It felt like such an honour to be walking with these gentle giants, and looking into their beautiful brown eyes felt like having an ‘Avatar’ moment. They looked into your soul with so much wisdom, you felt as though they knew you better than you knew yourself. Knowing that all the animals were in the next best place for them than the wild was heartwarming and I felt extremely grateful that we had chosen such a well-intentioned place. It was worth every dollar and really reinforced the impact of ethical tourism for me. They say that an elephant never forgets, and while I’m not sure if they will remember me, the walk that I took with those elephants will keep me walking conscious steps for a long time to come.
If you wish to find out more about the incredible work Elephant Steps do check them out here
You can follow Emma and Thomas’ journeys here