Elephant Trekking!

One thing I really wanted to do in Thailand was to ride an elephant.  Originally we intended to fly to Pai but between time and finances (mostly time!) we nixed that trip and decided to hop islands instead.  But luckily Koh Lanta seem to have a number of tours.  We wanted to find a place that treats the elephants well and didn't have baby elephant shows and such.  Our travel agent seemed to understand this and pointed us to an outfit,

 Now I may have my rose coloured glasses on but this place seemed to treat their elephants well.  The trekking was through a shaded grove of trees, the guides allowed the elephants to stop to eat a bit and be playful with other elephants on the trek and for the most part let the elephant travel at his own pace.  I was happy that there was no hitting the big guy...

 At one point we got to take turns to slip of the seat and ride "Nookiay" (our elephant's name, at least I think!) bareback.  It was really cool to feel his legs as he shifted from one leg to another. 

 At the end we got to thank Nookiay and feed him pineapples!  Made all three of us happy! 

Later Michelle read on a guide book that once Thailand banned the use of elephants for logging and such, there were a number of out of work elephants and handlers begging for food/money in the streets of Bangkok.  Eventually someone got the bright idea to move the elephants to touristy areas for treks.   So hopefully the elephants are treated and fed well in their new career.