Elephants Everywhere

There is one thing on the top of our "list of MUSTS things for tourists to do" when they visit us- and that is "ELEPHANTS". The influence of elephants here is everywhere, and even the country is in the shape of an elephant if you look on a map. There are several elephant farms, camps, training centers, treks etc. around Chiang Mai - but the one we chose this time for Betty and Kyle was the Maesa Elephant Camp.

This pictures was taken with the first group of elephants we found who kept snorting in our ear, or putting hats on and off our heads and just touching us with their trunks- so it was a bit hard to pose for a picture as you can see Kyle and Betty being a bit distracted from my photo shoot.
Then it was our turn... it was so hard to smile with that trunk blowing air on me and tickling me.
This is my favorite for sure- because it's the only one we have with all four of us together. Now on to a different area where we could step back a bit and they didn't have to keep snorting in my ear!
Getting ready for bath time in the river before the show starts.

Watching them get their baths and staying attentive for the ones who like to snort water at us through their trunks. Show time is about an hour long. They play harmonicas, dance, stack up logs, play darts, play a pick-up sticks game and.....

play soccer against each other and.......

paint pictures that are sold after the show and.....

pose for pictures. I love the model in this one-- he's my favorite!!!

After the show, Betty and Kyle rode on one for a trek through the jungle.

Off they go-- up into the hills.Here they are coming back about 45 minutes later. After they met their conference team last night, they found out they all wanted to ride elephants- so they went to yet another elephant camp today. You can check in on their blog if you want to see more photos of elephants. Although, I'm not sure Betty will have a chance to sort pictures and blog about her trip until she gets back home next week. I think they have allot of activities to process and digest from their time in Thailand.