Day 4

Ah Day 4 – it was a day full of problems, but one which turned out to be one of the most memorable days.

We had originally planned to head to Mae Sa Elephant Camp after the lecture at CMU. However, we had not done our pre-trip research sufficiently and discovered on the day that the camp actually closed at 3pm and we would not have been able to make it in time. We were extremely disappointed as Mae Sa Elephant Camp had been known for training elephants to perform several tricks such as playing soccer and painting. Furthermore, our research plan included comparing the newer model of elephant camps (ENP) with the older model (Mae Sa). Therefore, not being able to visit Mae Sa really threw us off as we were at a loss of what to do.

To mitigate the situation, we tried to visit the Thai Elephant Conservation Center where Pro had tried to arrange for us to speak with veterinarians who could give us more insight into the injuries elephants may have suffered under the hands of their mahouts. Yet, upon reaching the Center we discovered that it was closed for the day. However, Pro managed to save the day yet again, as he had friends in the vet school whom we could interview and gave us much insight into the biological side of elephants. And of course, thanks to Pro again, we had an absolutely amazing experience as he brought us to a “Sakura garden” in the area; it wasn’t in full bloom yet, but beautiful nonetheless.

          

Thinking back on the experience, I feel that it was a huge oversight on our part as if it weren’t for Pro, we would have been completely thrown off and we wouldn’t have been able to get any of the data we eventually did at the vet school. We should definitely have done more research on the opening hours and even price and location of Mae Sa, as we were suddenly thrown with different travelling times from our location to Mae Sa on that day. We could also have found out more about the neighbouring elephant camps as a back-up if we didn’t manage to get to Mae Sa. So today really boiled down to importance of preparation, especially as we had limited time in Chiang Mai and could not afford to waste a day.

Reflecting on how Pro managed to pull the day together despite the many mishaps also made me think about my experience as an ambassador to the team I was assigned to from the University of New South Wales during the Asian Business Case Competition; even though it may seem like a simple job bringing others around your country, it is actually quite tiring as you constantly have to look out for their welfare and think of places to take them to. I don’t believe I could ever have done as well as Pro did during this trip, and I was so thankful that he was there for us the whole way. I realised that ultimately, whether or not Pro made our experience fulfilling didn’t need to matter to him, but it did. Because he wanted us to have a great time. Life’s all about choices; we can choose how to portray ourselves to others, and we can choose whether we want to help someone else. I gained a lot of respect for Pro throughout this trip, simply because he chose to help us out of his own goodwill. And I truly believe there is a lot to learn from individuals like him.

Lastly, we ended the day with an interview with the manager of the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. The insight we gained into the elephant tourism industry through was extremely useful to our project, as he affirmed some of our initial projections, but more importantly challenged some of our views. For example, he mentioned that there is an actual need to tame the elephants (whether or not with the use of the bull hook), as they are, after all, wild animals and would harm humans. We initially believed that elephants should be able to roam as freely as possible, but I realised that although we may say that ideally everyone should be left to their own devices and not used as tools, this cannot be the reality. Elephants are endangered species and require protection as they are often hunted and killed for their tusks. Therefore, there is a need to protect the elephants in camps, and the owners have to use them to earn revenue in order to support them (elephants always have to be eating, according to the manager and this costs a lot of money). This also made me think about how our project could eventually tie in with the other sub-group researching on the sustainability of elephant poaching, as elephant tourism is in fact a means of protecting them from poaching.

All in all, I learnt a lot in Day 4 about proper planning, making choices and learning to see things from a different perspective, as not everything (including holding animals in captivity) is necessarily a bad thing. Rather, it is about how humanely they are treated – for example, are they fed sufficiently? Do they have enough freedom? – These are the questions that matter more.