Chai Lai Orchid Eco Lodge: With Rescued Elephants in Chiang Mai

After doing some research we found and loved it!

The first day they picked us up from Chiang Mai center, which is 1h by car. As soon as we arrived we were welcomed by the lovely staff and as we got there a bit late than usual, we missed the elephant happy hour (they come to the base camp to eat).

They took us to meet the Mahouts and their elephants, to feed them some fruits before dinner!

Chai Lai Orchid is inside a reserve where the elephants are free to go wherever they want, from the river to the jungle, but they always come back for dinner and stay here to spend the night.

At the Mountain Side Reserve there are 4 elephants, 1 baby called Ronaldo, his mom, another mom to be next year and a new elephant that was just rescued a week ago from a riding center.

We stayed with the Mahouts a couple of hours, learning about their culture, the elephants, their tribe and their families!

Before it got dark we head back to our room where we ordered some tofu Pad Thai for dinner, it was one of the best we’ve ever tried! Then we went to sleep in our comfy bed with, excited for a new day.

The next morning we treated ourselves with a “Morning Call” , they bring your breakfast tray to your terrace and some snacks for the elephants, with the morning call, they will bring the elephants to your room so you can have breakfast with them, how fun is that?

Once you finish breakfast they will take you to two different locations with the elephants so you can walk with them and take some photos.

If you don’t have a photographer you can also book theirs, he is very talented and knows all the angles!

Being so close to the elephants makes you feel so small and admire them even more, they are so pure and beautiful!

Once we’ve had finished our Morning Call, we went on a day tour called Elephant Care Introduction. We were greeted by the Mahouts to explained us more about the elephants and how they take care of them. Did you know that they can eat up to 150 kg of food per day? And they need to walk around 15 km every day to stay healthy and fit?

They taught us how to approach them, what not to do and their local language to learn how to talk to them. They are all from the local village called Karen. Most of them are shy at the beginning but they all love meeting new people and practice some english! Positive interactions with tourists reinforce their sense of dignity and help them make their day more pleasant.

We started walking along with the elephants and the Mahouts to the river where they go a few times a day, especially in summer when it’s so hot.

Rings from my sister’s brand Les Palmiers

After a few minutes we arrived to a bamboo cottage where a Karen woman was sewing some traditional scarfs. If you are planning on buying some souvenirs, I’d recommend to buy them from the locals in order to help them to keep going

We arrived to the river and decided to get in too and help bathing them, I was so excited!!

After our trip to the lake we head to Chai Lai second Location, River Side. It’s their first location, it’s bigger, I would say it’s better for families with kids or friends!

We decided to explore around by ourselves and take some photos before we went to the restaurant for dinner and just enjoy the reserve watching the elephants.

The next morning we were heading back to Chiang Mai to get our flight to Koh Samui, but first we got up for sunrise to admire the elephants and go for a walk to watch sunrise.

STAY HERE & WHAT TO DO

We wanted to stay in a place that was real and to be close as possible to them in a respectful way. There are many companies that offer this kind of experience but not all of them are real.

Look for companies which work sustainably, with and through their local community, to enact grassroots change, rather than those who hail their founders as heros or who excessively promote ‘saving’ elephants.  This helps to reinforce the dignity of the local community, plus ethical organizations are usually glad to direct you to other organizations whose work they respect and appreciate.

Most of you would be thinking what would be better..to visit an animal sanctuary for a day or stay at one? You can do both at Chai Lai, but I would recommend to stay here at least one night as you can find accommodation starting from 30$ and you will have a more intimate and healthier experience with them.

Heading to Chiang Mai next? Read our guide & dont miss anything

We didn’t feel comfortable visiting a place where they get hundreds of visitors each day and we wanted to learn more about them and their caretakers, so for us this place was the best option.

ACTIVITIES AT CHAI LAI ORCHID

to choose from, we decided to start with an introduction and walk them to the river. Other activities you can find are a jungle jungle expedition, a waterfall trekking trip, an overnight trip with a local tribe, a cooking class and a rafting day trip.

You can also book a photographer and he will take you all the photos with the elephants.

MAHOUTS AND TRAFFICKING

Mahouts are the caretakers, it used to be a well-paid position in society (still is in some places), due to the degree of expertise, experience and physical strength it takes to work so closely with such an intelligent, sensitive animals.

In the best scenarios, the mahout and elephant develop a lifelong bond of love and trust through which they can work together.

However, the increasing demand for cheap tourist attractions drives prices down and caretakers are forced to take work well below the minimum wage.

Elephants are very smart and gentle but can also be very powerful animals that can attack each other and humans. Most people would not put their lives on the line for less than 200$ per month.

So these jobs are often filled by undereducated, inexperienced and unprotected people from ethnic minority groups, such as Karen refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar.

Cheers to the best guide in Chai Lai Orchid!

Many tourists have no idea that there are labor abuses going on all around them. That’s why it’s so important to do some research first on where you want to go and always read every version of it!

Here at Chai Lai Orchid, they have a program to help Myanmar refugees, to help them find a better future, secure their jobs and learn english.

You can also apply to be a volunteer and stay with the elephants, the tribe or/and teach english and healthcare!

Something very important, I didn’t know until they explained to me, is that when elephants are rescued from a horrible person they don’t buy them.

When a sanctuary or a center pays money for the elephants after they have suffered for years, the only thing that does is fuel the cycle of trafficking wild elephants from the jungle.

Wild baby elephants are beaten and tortured into submission to be trained. That’s why Ronaldo (yes, Cristiano Ronaldo 🙂 ) till he grows up a little bit more, at night he is tethered to the mother so he doesn’t get stolen or lost, as they are free to walk around the reserve and he may not know the way back or a trafficking company may take him away.

So please, please, do some research before you go and most important, NEVER RIDE AN ELEPHANT!! Don’t be part of this horrible circle.

DAUGHTERS RISING

By staying, visiting, donating or volunteering at Chai Lai Orchid, you help girls at risk and to end trafficking, exploitation in their local communities. They work very hard to create as many opportunities as possible for women and girls. They help with education, employment and outreach.

Some of the examples are scholarships so they can all go to school, vocational training, workshops, micro loans, artisan initiative. Helping their income and assuring market access for rural artisan mothers.

Human traffickers prey on the most desperate and vulnerable. To end this inhumane practice, we must do more to shield migrants and refugees — and particularly young people, women and children — from those who would exploit their yearnings for a better, safer and more dignified future.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

If you want to read more about it go to https://daughtersrising.org/