Alojamiento
Banthai Village
After breakfast You will be picked up from your accommodation in the morning between 8:00 and 8.30. Please be ready in the hotel lobby 15 minutes before the scheduled pick-up time. We will travel by van to our base in Mae Wang, arriving around 9:30.
At our Mae Wang basecamp, our team will introduce you to your tuk-tuk and begin your driving training. If you do not want to drive a tuk-tuk do not worry and just enjoy nature’s air-conditioning from the breeze in the backseat. The tuk-tuks are pretty easy to master and once everyone is feeling comfortable behind the wheel, we will head through tiny rural roads, snaking through farming villages and past rural temples. One of our guides will always drive the lead tuk-tuk, making sure that you do not lose your way and no one is tempted to go too fast!
You will make frequent stops to explore and, more importantly, make sure everyone has an opportunity to drive. You will get great insight into rural life in northern Thailand; something that is not as easy to come across as you would think.
By late morning, we will arrive at the elephant home where you will not only learn about the past, present and future of the Thai Elephant, but also have the opportunity to interact with them. Once you are introduced to the elephants – who have been taken out of a life of trekking and can now relax and enjoy their time more naturally – you will help the mahouts feed the majestic beasts.
After you have fed the elephants, it is time to sit down to a feast of traditional Thai food right next to the elephants. You can continue watching them and seeing how they interact with each other. Once you have finished lunch, you will walk with the mahouts and their elephants through the local countryside and to the river where you will help the mahouts bathe the elephants – a fantastic experience for both you and the elephants!
We will enjoy some water activities of a different kind as you lazily float along the local river on a traditional bamboo