We had initially read about ElephantStay in our Lonely Planet guide and thought it sounded great. It was a hands on experience with elephants whereby you were allocated your own to look after for 3 days. We had come across it in Fiji, booked it in Hong Kong and had been looking forward to it ever since. However, we then made the mistake of looking on Trip Advisor and although most reviews were very positive, some were scathing. Spirits dampened and a little deflated we opted to make a judgement based on our own experience and so off we went.

We arrived early on the 1st day to a very warm welcome from Paul (not sure of title but looked after us throughout) and Neil who was a long-term volunteer. They helped us lug our bags to our hut which would be home for the next 3 days. Our initial fears were lessened by the sight of elephants - loads of em - we never said we were deep.

The 1st part of the day was an induction delivered by Michelle, one of the programme directors. She took care of the financials and gave us a run down on her involvement and asked our rationale and objectives for participating in the programme. She then handed over to Paul and Neil who handled the serious business of health and safety: it was predominantly common sense stuff like elephants are big and when they're coming through you move, don't approach elephants without staff being present and don't take on the baby elephants in a playfight as you will lose.

Suitably inducted it was time to meet our elephant. Our elephant was Jumpee, which means flower. She was in her 40s and the tallest of the bunch at about 8 foot. The elephants who deal with us Elephant-Stayers are all ladies aged in their 20s to 60s. The fellas are just too big and full of testosterone. We were initially struck by how different they all looked - they differed greatly by height, build, mottling (all Asian elephants become mottled as they age), head shape, face, etc (this really shone through when we did the 'Identify your Elephant' exercise). As time progressed we also found that they had very different personalities. Our Jumpee was quite a shy, introverted character who loved to play in the water, had a bit of a jealous streak, liked being scratched behind the ear, was warm and quietly affectionate in her way. To her right stood Rasamee, allocated to an Australian couple, who was gentle, friendly and interested. To Jumpee's left was Baitoy, a shorter elephant in her 20s, who was absolutely gorgeous: she seemed a real gentle soul who was affectionate, very friendly, wanted to be in on all conversations and pettings and we decided was in training for the elephant world record for number of mangos held in 1 trunk. Next to Baitoy stood Pisamy, a beautiful old dear in her 60s who'd spent a sizeable chunk of her life working as a logger and was now enjoying a well earned retirement. Whereas Baitoy did not have any people that week, Pisamy was looking after an older Australian couple called Peter and Jackie. Next to Pisamy came Gatin who allegedly could be a bit bolshy (but we don't believe a word of it). Then there was Honey - very cheeky and knew her own mind especially when it came to getting food. Finally there was Sinuway, another old lady who seemed very laid back and was lovely. The 2 things they do all have in common is a love of eating and some nifty trunk action when demanding and devouring food.

Inductions and introductions out of the way, the next task in hand was elephant riding and I was up first. We were handed a piece of cloth, our seatbelt, to tie tightly round our waist which our Mahout, Peer, would hold onto while on the elephant - low tech but better than him holding onto your hair or pants. I climbed up onto the 8 foot platform from which I would board Jumpee. It all didn't seem such a good idea anymore, but I climbed on and off we went. I was scared stiff as was Mike later that day when he went out - it was a very long way down. We headed to the river for a thorough dunking. Jumpee waded in then dropped down submerging herself fully when instructed by Peer. We all got wet through except the Mahouts who stood balanced on their backs with perfect poise while we hung on for dear life. It was amazing and great fun.

Following this we did our first feeding - pineapple tops and lots of them. We basically plonked them in front of our elephant or more likely she'd grab them before they hit the floor. Big animals, big appetites. We also gave a load to Baitoy as she was next to Jumpee, without people and just lovely. They were all going for and tucking into each others pile of greens - it seems that the universal truth that someone else's dinner always tastes better than yours applies to elephants too.

From here, we had free time to do with as we wished. There was only 1 option really - to the nursery to meet the babies of the elephant village - Valentine and Angpow. In reality there were actually lots of little ones and youngsters but these 2 were the newest arrivals at only about 3 months old. They were gorgeous - they all were. The little girl, Angpow, was sweet and inquisitive whereas Valentine was a little tinker. His trick was to stand in front of you then start reversing, thinking you wouldn't notice a 4 foot half ton baby elephant standing on your foot who refused to move. He was great fun - we also caught him in the act of shoving against someone's car as hard as he could, climbing on top of Angpow then being told off by the adult elephants, lolling on any available stuff or person and being generally boisterous and giddy. After all his games, tricks and antics he could be spotted running as fast as he could back to his mum. They were both adorable.

That day we had our 1st go at elephant scrubbing which is really what it says on the tin - scrubbing the muck off your elephant with a brush and hose pipe in the customised elephant wash - first Jumpee then it was Pisamy's turn. Good fun and a squeaky clean elephant, that is until they go rolling in or flinging mud.

After another trip to the river, this time with Mike taking the helm and getting a good dunking, it was time to put the girls to bed. They were each taken out to their spot in the field behind their paddock, given a large pile of food and hay and then left to get some peace and quiet. It had been a very exciting day - especially for us.

The second day was an early start - 7.30am cleaning out elephants. With rakes and brushes in hand we set about cleaning out and hosing down the paddock. It was a team effort with us Elephant-Stayers, Paul, Neil, the photographer and the Mahouts cleaning up leftover food, the water bowls and elephant dung. It felt very rewarding to see the ladies come back to a freshly cleaned paddock. As a general rule, the next task was to head out to their sleeping area to clear up their poo and leftover food which would be taken away by truck later that day before bedtime. However, due to very heavy rain we were excused from this on day 2. We then gave the girls a big breakfast of pineapple tops and headed off ourselves for a breakfast of toast and cereal.

Unable to keep away, we went back over to Jumpee and the ladies after breakfast. She seemed to be getting used to us: she stood listening to us jabbering on and telling her how pretty she was while we stroked her face and trunk. Now and again, she'd pull back -probably sick of being mithered - but she'd come back for more. We'd also disappear off down the line to stroke and talk to the others especially Baitoy, Pisamy and Rasamee.

Our timing was great as while we were there, Paul headed over with 2 large bags of fruit (mangos and guava). It was treat time and they knew it. They all got a good serving polishing off the mangos first then eating the guavas. They definitely demolished their 5 a day. They made light work of pineapples, bananas (by the bunch of course), these cucumber/marrow things (always eaten last after the good stuff), leaves, grasses and seemed particularly partial to green beans. Feeding them was great: multiple, outstretched trunks would suddenly appear for treats and any elephant-friendly foodstuffs. We had brought a random apple with us which Jumpee polished off like it was a smartie. The award for trying to eat everything at once definitely went to Baitoy whereas Pisamy was slow and steady.

That day we were back on Jumpee for a longer ride that took us through the kraal, down the road (not slightly phased by cars but did insist on stopping for a food stop in the grass), through the elephant village and into the river. I took the morning slot while Mike rode her in the afternoon. There was more elephant scrubbing - this time it was Honey and Rasamee and more feeding before putting the girls to bed. Before their bedtime we also took the opportunity to spend some more quality time with Jumpee and the others. We talked to and stroked them, spending most time with Jumpee and Baitoy. Mike even found Jumpee's weakness - being scratched behind the ear. It was all going really well until Jumpee, perhaps sick of Baitoy encroaching on her people, clonked her on the trunk. Baitoy took the hint and turned away looking really sad and upset. It was heartbreaking. We told Jumpee to play nice and carried on petting them - both of them. A little later Jumpee tried to make it up to her - she tried to stroke her with her trunk and put her trunk in her mouth - but Baitoy would have none of it. They were soon reconciled though and were stood close with their heads together. There is something very human about elephants.

That day we also had the pleasure of meeting Peter, a bull elephant aged about 10 and his Mahout Pat. Peter's reputation proceeded him - on our first day we'd heard all about him from Paul and Neil. He's a born entertainer, a bit of a show-off, a very talented artist and very very intelligent. Plus he was Rasamee's son so we felt we had a connection. Neil came over after lunch to tell us it was Peter's bath-time and it wouldn't be conventional scrubbing. Peter went up on his hind legs, up on his front legs, laid out on the floor with a back leg stuck up in the air and just sat enjoying a good hose down. After his bath, Pat asked us if we'd like our picture taken with him and we said yes. Peter posed for a couple of photos and then gave us each a cuddle while we held onto a tusk. Peter then gave us both a kiss on the cheek (a strange, soggy sensation with a lot of suction). Pat is definitely the extremely proud father to Peter, his prodigal son. He is one very bright elephant. We actually bought a piece of art done by Peter and it is very good.

On our final day, day 3, it was another 7.30am start cleaning out and feeding the girls. We each had our final ride and dunking in the river on Jumpee. We spent as much time with her and the others as we could. We took on extra feeding duties giving them lots of treats and pineapple tops and even gave them an extra watering (Mike was rinsing his feet after wrong footing and ending up in muddy poo water when a trunk appeared demanding a drink so we had to then go down the line - all in the name of fairness). We'd watched Jumpee and Pisamy playing in the river (although Jumpee had found a tasty looking bush that she was stripping bare). We were gutted to be leaving. We'd become really attached to Jumpee, Boitoy and the others although it was only 3 days. I was really upset and it sounds strange, but they seemed to know - our 4 girls (Jumpee, Baitoy, Pisamy and Rasamee) each seemed to come closer in a comforting way. We ended up going back the next day to pick up Peter's artwork (cash only, not enough cash) and let's be honest, to say a final goodbye to Jumpee and the girls.

We found with the ElephantStay that you really get out of it what you put in. We tried to spend loads of time with our girls which wasn't difficult as they were gorgeous, intelligent and very special. There was plenty of free time built into the programme which was great. It gave you the opportunity to just immerse yourself in the elephant village. There was always loads of elephants, including massive bulls, going about their business with their Mahouts albeit being scrubbed at elephant-wash, being taken for a dip in the river, working or just chilling out. The Mahouts clearly think the world of the elephants and make it look very easy.

The stars of the show, the elephants, seem happy, contented and safe. There were a couple that had stress disorders but they were trying to sort them out: 1 had been recently rescued and only just come to the village while the other had only just been returned from a European zoo and they suspected something had happened while she was in quarantine. They were hoping these elephants would calm down when they came to realise they were in a safe, caring environment and if not, they would look after them and do all they could. They even had rescued dangerous and/or killer elephants who may otherwise have been destroyed. We met an old chap called Omchakawan (in the photos has twisted tusks) who had been rehabilitated and was now enjoying his retirement.

We loved our time at the ElephantStay. It was amazing - the elephants, the staff, everything. We'd really like to go back and hope if we do that Neil will still be there (great bloke) and that Baitoy will have been fixed up with a handsome bull as she'd make a lovely mum.
Kelly & Mike