Patara Elephant Farm:

The minibus picked us up at the hotel at 7am, and after a 40 minute drive we arrived at Patara Elephant Farm.We picked Patara over the many other elephant companies (despite being more expensive) as it is actively supporting elephant breeding, and is not here just as a tourist attraction.Every interaction was geared towards caring for the elephants (such as morning health checks, brushing, feeding, walking, and bathing).The owner gave us a heartfelt 30 minute talk about why he was running the farm, and the many issues facing elephants in the wild (numbers have halved in Thailand over the past 10-20 years).

So we were then taken to meet up with our elephant for the day - the new lady in my life - called Mae Boon Dee, a 20 year old Asian elephant.Standing up close to these amazing animals was such a great experience, but also pretty scary.First we did the health checks, 1) tail and ears wagging - means a happy elephant, 2) sleeping matt - checking both sides of the elephant are dusty from having slept properly, 3) sweating - checking the only place elephants sweat (their toenails!) to make sure they're drinking enough water, 4) dung - checking the elephant's poo for quantity (6 or more dollops is good!), moisture (by squeezing it!), smell, and consistency.I let Em do the poo checks J

We then cleaned our elephant, by brushing off dirt with a bunch of twigs and leaves, and then scrubbing them down in the river.Mae Boon Dee returned the favour by shooting water at us through her trunk.She must also have felt quite relaxed during this cleaning session because she let rip quite a few times, on one occasion lasting for well over a minute. We were both very impressed.

The next activity was to walk the elephants to the waterfall and bathing area.This is important to help keep their toenails in shape (and far better than having to sedate them to do it).The trek was over some pretty rough terrain, but the Mae Boom Dee was so careful with where she was treading.At some points it was also very steep, and Em decided to get off and walk the rest of the way to the waterfalls (didn't blame her, as I was also bricking it…).When we arrived at the waterfall and pools, the elephants were allowed to play in the water and we joined them.You could see how happy they were in the water, playing, rolling around, and ducking their heads under.It was a fantastic sight.They were so gentle whilst we were in there playing with them.

Having had lunch, cleaned up, and trekked back to the camp (Em got back on the elephant - very proud of her given her dislike of heights), the final highlight of the day, and perhaps the memory of a lifetime was playing with one of the baby elephants (only 3 weeks old) delivered at the farm.Initially it was sleeping, but then woke up and was curious about us visitors.I knelt down and it came over, nudging me with it head, and sniffing with its trunk.Almost felt like playing with a puppy (just an extremely big one!).This was the highlight of the day for me, and Em captured it perfectly with the pictures she took.

Overall, a fantastic day at the Patara Elephant Farm, and something neither of us will ever forget.Without going too hippy/eco-warrior on you all, having been up close and personal with these amazing animals, it absolutely breaks my heart to know they are being hunted and killed in the wild.They are the most beautiful, intelligent, and gentle creatures I have ever had the honor of interacting with.