Day 15 - Elephant Education and a visit to the Buddhist University
It's wonderful to have a WHOLE morning with nothing on the agenda. Many of my compadres ventured out but I've used it to sleep until 7, work on my blog to catch up on the past 2 days and have a late breakfast to be able to skip lunch. It's an educational day!
There will be a presentation at 1300 about elephants and the research done on their behalf. Dome says we can make up our own minds whether riding an elephant is good or bad!
Asian vs. African Elephants
**African elephants have much larger ears that look sort of like the continent of Africa, while Asian elephants have smaller, round ears.
**African elephants have rounded heads, while Asian elephants have a twin-domed head, which means there’s a divot line running up the head.
**Both male and female African elephants can have tusks, but only male Asian elephants can grow them.
**Both male and female African elephants can have tusks, but only male Asian elephants can grow them.
The Asian Captive Elephant Working Group (ACEWG) is working to find enough land to release captive elephants into the wild after retraining. So they are working with neighboring countries (Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia) to find enough roaming territory for the 2000 captive elephants currently in sanctuaries. Not all sanctuaries are created equal since many still ply the tourist trade with their elephants by offering rides. Elephants eat close to 18 hours per day as they roam over 50 km so working them long hours is a detriment to their feeding need. Elephants should not be chained for long hours but chaining can be necessary for delivery of vet needs and safety for humans and other elephants. Elephant Valley has the mission to release their elephants into the wild in the future so contact with humans (besides their Mahout) is limited to a brief feeding with no riding or bathing of the animals. The bathing we will see done by the Mahouts has an important process where they can check their "friend" for any cuts, scrapes or bites which could be deadly if left undetected.
A mahout develops a one-on-one relationship with an elephant and spends 18 hours a day with his charge. Mahouts are paid minimally while also spending years away from their families but they are the key to re-introducing the Asian elephant back into the wild. A movement is underway to create a scale of pay depending on experience and years in the business in order to keep some agencies from hiring untrained Burmese for whom they don't have to pay minimum wage or benefits. This would offer each elephant a close caregiver who could spend 10+ years with each elephant. Elephants bond with their Mahout and some cannot tolerate being left if their Mahout must return to Burma in order to redo his Visa. ACEWG is also trying to pair up Mahouts to allow time off for each one to visit their family and recharge their physical "batteries" while not causing undue stress on the elephant. This 90 minute presentation was enlightening! Road Scholar chose Elephant Valley http://www.elephantvalleythailand.com/ to offer their support for their good work they are doing to help the elephant.
We are given 20 minutes to ready ourselves for the Buddhist University where Dome studied years ago. All men in Thailand are required to be monks but they can choose from doing this "duty" for one week or, in Dome's case, years. He left at age 24 after 7 years of studying and practicing his faith/way of life. He is now married with a 7 month old baby girl!
And we're off on our adventure in a Songthaew to the University.
There will be a presentation at 1300 about elephants and the research done on their behalf. Dome says we can make up our own minds whether riding an elephant is good or bad!
Asian vs. African Elephants
**African elephants have much larger ears that look sort of like the continent of Africa, while Asian elephants have smaller, round ears.
**African elephants have rounded heads, while Asian elephants have a twin-domed head, which means there’s a divot line running up the head.
**Both male and female African elephants can have tusks, but only male Asian elephants can grow them.
**Both male and female African elephants can have tusks, but only male Asian elephants can grow them.
The Asian Captive Elephant Working Group (ACEWG) is working to find enough land to release captive elephants into the wild after retraining. So they are working with neighboring countries (Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia) to find enough roaming territory for the 2000 captive elephants currently in sanctuaries. Not all sanctuaries are created equal since many still ply the tourist trade with their elephants by offering rides. Elephants eat close to 18 hours per day as they roam over 50 km so working them long hours is a detriment to their feeding need. Elephants should not be chained for long hours but chaining can be necessary for delivery of vet needs and safety for humans and other elephants. Elephant Valley has the mission to release their elephants into the wild in the future so contact with humans (besides their Mahout) is limited to a brief feeding with no riding or bathing of the animals. The bathing we will see done by the Mahouts has an important process where they can check their "friend" for any cuts, scrapes or bites which could be deadly if left undetected.
A mahout develops a one-on-one relationship with an elephant and spends 18 hours a day with his charge. Mahouts are paid minimally while also spending years away from their families but they are the key to re-introducing the Asian elephant back into the wild. A movement is underway to create a scale of pay depending on experience and years in the business in order to keep some agencies from hiring untrained Burmese for whom they don't have to pay minimum wage or benefits. This would offer each elephant a close caregiver who could spend 10+ years with each elephant. Elephants bond with their Mahout and some cannot tolerate being left if their Mahout must return to Burma in order to redo his Visa. ACEWG is also trying to pair up Mahouts to allow time off for each one to visit their family and recharge their physical "batteries" while not causing undue stress on the elephant. This 90 minute presentation was enlightening! Road Scholar chose Elephant Valley http://www.elephantvalleythailand.com/ to offer their support for their good work they are doing to help the elephant.
We are given 20 minutes to ready ourselves for the Buddhist University where Dome studied years ago. All men in Thailand are required to be monks but they can choose from doing this "duty" for one week or, in Dome's case, years. He left at age 24 after 7 years of studying and practicing his faith/way of life. He is now married with a 7 month old baby girl!
And we're off on our adventure in a Songthaew to the University.
L-R: Marvin, Mike, Eunice and Beverly get settled!
Al and Sandy are in and the button on the ceiling is the notification to the driver to stop and let them off! Notice the lower handrail?
Whoa! Watch the low ceiling and hanging handrail or you'll have a nice bump on the head like me!
Tuk Tuk following close behind
Upon arrival, my new-found friends give a graceful exit!
Beverly is traveling with her father on this journey. She lives in California and he lives in Maine!
Eunice lives in Salt Lake City and is wearing her newly purchased "elephant pants" while offering us a queen's wave!
And Mike has traveled extensively and shares some of his fun adventures in foreign countries.
Sandy points the way! Remember to remove your shoes.
Dome introduces our monks.
Ever wonder about meditation?
Such a wonderful hour long insight into the Buddhist way of life. And both Novice Monks spoke very good English! It's an education for us Westerners while they practice their English on us! The young monk on the left is 26 years old and has been in training for 15 years. The monk in the middle is from Laos and came for an education which is impossible for many poor young men if they were to stay home.
Back to the hotel for a couple hours before dinner at a local restaurant. What a relaxing and stressless journey with Road Scholar at the helm. I could get used to this!
It's up at 5am tomorrow for a 6am breakfast and 7am departure for a total of 4 hours of driving to Chiang Rai where the White Temple and Elephant Valley is located. We've been warned of road construction delays but Dome and Pat have restroom and leg stretching breaks already planned.
Did you have time to meditate in that beautiful room?
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