Elephants - are there any creatures better than elephants? Probably not. They are intelligent, powerful, sweet and incredibly gorgeous  and we were going to see them in person. We booked a tour with Patara Elephant Farms. They rescue elephants that have been mistreated or sick. Their elephants are doing so well that they are breeding and produce up to 6 new calfs each year. They will soon have over a 100 elephants under their care, an amazing record considering the Thai elephant population has been in rapid decline in the last 10 years.

The first thing that greeted us when we arrived at the farm was the sound of elephants trumpeting. It was startling, but in a good way. We thought maybe we would be able to pet one of the elephants in an enclosed area. No...we were allowed to walk amongst and interact with a herd of 10 animals in an open area. They were so gentle considering how huge they are and they had baby elephants - a larger 4 year old as well as a tiny 1 year old.

Next we were able to bathe the elephants in a hillside stream. I don't know who enjoyed it more, us or the elephants. Finally we were asked if we wanted to ride the elephants. "Hell yes!" was the only thing that came to mind. At Patara Farms they don't use chairs on the elephants so the only way to ride them is to climb aboard, up on the neck behind the ears. We were assured that having only one rider didn't harm the elephants in anyway and that the 30 minute ride helped exercise the animals. The elephant I rode had a calf called Aruna who was full of mischief. As we rode through the hills, Aruna was constantly wandering off looking for things to play with much to the dismay of the mother who would occasionally stop and nervously search for her calf. Aruna also managed to pull down a road sign before the end of the trip. All in all, our visit to Patara Farms was exhilarating and one of the most thrilling experiences of a lifetime.