Thai Elephant Conservation Project

For my Sweet 16 present, I got to go to Thailand with Rustic Pathways for 10 days and train elephants! It was the most amazing experience and I would recommend it to anybody! My goal in wanting to travel to a different country was to learn a new way of life and see how other people in the world live since I feel like we take many things for granted here in America. I got exactly when I was looking for when I got to Thailand and I loved every single minute of it. From the amazing new food and culture, to the elephants, which were absolutely amazing, to the living arrangements, which were cabin-style dorm rooms, I had the best time ever. I made lifelong friends and the counselors that were with us were all amazing and they all had great stories to tell. At the Elephant Conservation Camp in Lampang, we would wake up every morning at 7am, put on our mahout suits and go into the mountains to get our elephant and then would would ride them down into the lake to bathe them. This was my favorite time of the day because it was refreshing for us and you could tell that the elephant absolutely loved it too! We would then ride them to the main camp and we would do a different activity each day whether it was going to the elephant nursery or hospital, or even the elephant show to watch them paint and play music! Each day was a new adventure and it was the most fun I have ever had! I would do it again in a heart beat!
If anyone has any questions about the program or anything, feel free to email me at julz0896@aim.com! :)