BootsnAll Travel Community

Anybody been to official eco-destinations in Southeast Asia? Meaning, where do more people interested in ecotours go, or what do they do?

Thanks for your thoughts

Donovan

i'm not sure if this qualifies as an eco-tour (probably not) and i don't know if it'll help but..

i visited an elephant conservation along the maetang river in chiang mai (i booked a full day tour for it). it was the typical.. watching the elephant do 'tricks' and if they did something wrong, see the mahout (spelling?) jab at the top of their heads with a sharp pokey thing.. then i got to ride a 40 year old elephant around. at the time, it was scary because we were right next to the river and it was raining so hard that i could actually see a difference in the height of the river everytime i looked over. after the elephant ride, they took me to another part of the conservation with a couple of stands with hill tribe women selling bracelets, traditional clothing, etc. then after that, we took an ox cart back to the entrance.

that conservation was truly one of the most beautiful places i have ever been to. not the part where they had all the elephant shows.. but the part when it was just.. the mountains in the distance, the low clouds, how quiet it was, the pouring rain, etc. hell, even me being sopping wet added to the experience. at one point i even started laughing and i put my hand down on the elephant's back and could feel her muscles moving underneath my palm.

alright.. i hope i didn't make myself sound crazy.

I also went to an elephant conservation park along the Maetang River in Chiang Mai, but they treat the elephants a whole lot better. The main goal of the park is to rescue mistreated elephants and let them live in peace (so they don't have to do circus tricks). It is not an actual "tourist" destination, but small daily tours do visit the park. Visitors can watch, feed, and give the elephants a bath in the river. Like xoom said, the scenery in the area is absolutely amazing. If you are interested in staying longer, you can sign up to volunteer for a week or longer. I volunteered for 3 weeks and it is the best thing I've done in my life. These are the happiest elephants you will probably ever see and the workers at the park are genuinely nice people. Plus the park does a lot to help the surrounding villages and hilltribes. In addition to all this, you will stay in a bamboo hut at the bottom of a valley and eat some of the best food in Thailand - not the typical tourist experience. Sorry if this post is long, but I can't say enough good things about this place. Check out the website: www.elephantnaturepark.org

Wow, I was in the middle of posting a question on what to do in Thailand for three to four weeks - I'm teaching in China right now - but your post about that elephant park sounds like an awesome way to put in some time!

Did you go through the hoops of anti-malarials etc.?

I'm glad you're interested. Before going, I got almost every vaccination possible, plus taking the malaria pills. But most of the volunteers I met at the elephant park don't bother with the malaria pills. Some have been there over a year and haven't had any problems. It's up to you how safe you want to be. If you have any other questions, feel free to e-mail me at brianhelf@yahoo.com.

John Gray of sea kakaking fame has eco trips in both South Thailand and Vietnam. A google search will unearth some info.

MH