Why I will Never Ride an Elephant Again: The Phajaan

I spent December 9th to 15th volunteering with the Elephant Nature Park (www.saveelephant.org) "Journey To Freedom" volunteer program.  I learned some things that are important enough to warrant their own blog post to raise awareness.  I will write another post about my experiences volunteering later.

Firstly, if you are thinking about doing an elephant trecking/riding trip in Thailand or anywhere else, or if you are thinking about going to see elephants who dance, play harmonicas, kick soccer balls, paint, or do other tricks, please think about this; How exactly is an elephant, a wild animal, domesticated? What on earth could make these pachyderms subservient to humans? The answer is the Phajaan.  Please watch this video before you go watch or ride a trained elephant and decide if you still want to support this industry: http://youtu.be/SVckvi_gWVo 

* WARNING: this is very upsetting footage and it will likely make you feel sick and disgusted with humans.

The Phajaan.  Hard to look at...makes me embarrassed to say I've ridden an Elephant.  Six years ago, when I rode an elephant I had no idea this went on.  I'm sure a LOT of tourists are the same.  Please spread the word, I wish someone had told me before I went to Thailand.

From: http://phajaan.webs.com

The Phajaan process originated in hill tribe communities in India and South East Asia, located in areas where elephants naturally occur. The ‘ceremony’ of Phajaan is said to have originated from the belief that the tribe’s shaman can separate the spirit of an elephant from it’s body, in effect driving the willful and wild spirit out of an elephant and leaving it under the control of it’s handlers, or mahouts.

In reality, however, the Phajaan has nothing to do with the seperation of spirit, and everything to do with torturing an elephant until it is so fearful of it’s human captors that it will do anything to avoid being hurt again. Before an elephant can be trained – which in itself is a questionable activity, indeed, why should elephants be trained to serve and perform for humans? – it must be abused to the point that it will listen to it’s new handler and be willing to learn his commands, acting out his requests without protest.

All domesticated elephants, whether in elephant camps carrying tourists on their backs, or performing in circuses, have gone through a version of the Phajaan – elephants are not naturally subservient to humans and would not voluntarily allow themselves to be treated in such a manner.

The Phajaan process starts with the separation of a nursing baby elephant from it’s mother, a highly traumatic experience which straight away instills fear in to the baby. The baby is then locked into a crush pen where there are unable to move, sit or lay down, and it’s here that the true torture begins…

Chained and hobbled, over the next 3-7 days the elephant is deprived of it’s basic needs of food, water and sleep. Mahouts and groups of villagers take it in turns to systematically beat the elephant, often using primitive instruments such as bamboo sticks with metal nails embedded in the ends. Knives, hot irons and bull hooks – wooden sticks with curved, sharp metal blades – are used to slice, burn and stab the baby elephant, ripping at it’s ears, face and torso until it is a bloodied mess and in a state of constant pain and terror. The most sensitive parts of the body are targeting with the intended result to be the creation of as much pain as possible. The Phajaan process only ends once the shaman considers the elephant’s spirit to be successfully banished.

Many baby elephants die during this process. Perhaps they are the lucky ones in that they will not have to suffer a lifetime of servitude to their handlers. After the initial Phajaan process, elephants can then begin their ‘training’, being taught tricks to perform through intimidation and reinforcement through abuse. The carrying of bull hooks by mahouts is solely to remind these highly intelligent creatures that pain is just a short step away should they misbehave.

Some say an elephant never forgets…whilst that might not be true in all circumstances, the horror inflicted upon elephants in order for them to become ‘domesticated’ certainly stays with them forever, thanks to the barbaric nature of the Phajaan process.

Here are a few other links I found if you want to do more research:

Trailer for a new movie exposing the Phajaan: http://youtu.be/RHLE1x4FRHk

Blog with more links to info and petitions you can sign: http://therightsoftheanimals.blogspot.com/2013/05/phajaan.html

The organization I volunteered through:http://www.saveelephant.org/

Loving Laid Back Laos

Due to spending more time than I had planned in Vietnam and committing to a full week of volunteering with Elephants at the Elpehant Nature Park in Chiang Mai (starting Dec. 9th) I found myself very short on time to visit Laos.  I decided to spend quality time in one spot (Luang Prabang) rather than rushing around trying to see too much.  I am spending four nights and 5 days here and I couldn't be happier with my choice!  

Luang Prabang is a lovely little city in northern Laos positioned on a peninsula of land only 1km long and only 0.25km wide between where the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers meet.  The rivers are wide, fast moving, muddy brown, and flanked by is jungle clad mountains.  Luang Prabang is known for its numerous Buddhist temples and the alms giving ceremony which occurs each morning at sunrise.  People line the streets with donations of food (sticky rice and food wrapped in banana leaves) while a procession of monks in orange robes file past in silent walking meditation to accept their gifts.  The town is friendly, clean, scenic, has tons of things to do, and has a relaxed atmosphere with lots of nice restaurants with patios overlooking the rivers, coffee shops, and gift shops.  It's a very nice place to chill out for a few days and a great introduction to Laos (I will definitely be back to see more of the country on another trip!)

Monks crossing the river on a bamboo bridge

Monks saffron robes on laundry day

Tree of life mosaic on Wat Xiang Thong main temple

Wat Xiang Thong main temple

I spent the first day finding a better/cheaper guest house than where I spent my first night (I moved from the mediocre Mekong Moon Inn at $20/night to the charming Pakham Guest House at $15/night), then having a leisurely breakfast followed by a long day of walking to some of the temples.  I also rented a bicycle for the duration of my stay and am really enjoying cycling around and checking out the sights.  I was able to attend a sunset yoga class on a wooden deck overlooking the Mekong River which was offered at the Ock Pop Tok Living Crafts Center as well as another sunset and one sunrise yoga class on wooden deck overlooking the Nam Khan river which were at a restaurant/bar called Utopia.  The yoga was challenging but I felt great after and the scenery was spectacular!

Sunset yoga

View from the Utopia yoga deck at sunrise

The following day I did a half day trip to see the Kouang Si waterfall which was incredibly beautiful with many layers of milky blue water cascading over flowstone terraces created by precipitation of calcium carbonate.  There was a short hike up to the top of the waterfall where you could swim in a natural infinity pool surrounded by the sound of the waterfall crashing below.  I saw beautiful dragonflies, butterflies, and colorful spiders in the jungle during the walk.  A nice surprise as you approach the waterfall is a few large enclosures holding a number of healthy, happy looking Asiatic Black Bears who have been rescued by an organization called "Free The Bears" (www.freethebears.org.au) from small cages, the gall bladder trade, inhumane circuses etc.

Emerald coloured dragonfly

Kouang Si waterfall

Top of Kouang Si Waterfall...natural infinity pool

Steps at Kouang Si waterfall slowly being covered by stone

Asiatic black bear "hunting" for food 

I ran (reran?) into some fellow travellers (Tom and Lotus) who I met about a week ago in Phong Nha National Park in Vietnam when we stayed at the same hostel.  We decided to check out the night market which was full of cheap, yummy, delicious food and some interesting-looking/unappealing local fare like pig face, pig feet, barbecued whole pigeon, bottled snake, and chicken feet.  A fresh fruit shake made with ice is 10,000kip ($1.25) and a big Lao style sandwich (sub with mayo, ketchup, cucumber, onion, tofu, egg, pork, lettuce, cilantro, carrots) costs only 15,000kip ($1.87).  There are also many blocks of stalls selling handicrafts and souvenirs including aluminum bangles and silverware made out of old bombs, lots of woven, embroidered, and appliquéd textiles, iPhone speakers made of bamboo, and the usual souvenir flotsam and jetsam.

Pig face and feet

Snake in a bottle of booze... Medicine to make you strong apparently... The original snake oil!

Pigeons on a stick methinks...look close for their little heads and beaks

Jewelry, silverware and ornaments made of old bombs

Colorful embroidery at the night market

This hand stitched mural of animals HAD TO follow me home. ❤️

Tom, Lotus, and I decided to check out the alms giving ceremony this morning but we were over zealous and met up at 5am.  The sun didn't rise and the monks didn't get cracking until after 6am.  We think we picked the wrong street to wait at because we only saw about 20 monks and we were expecting hundreds!  I will try again tomorrow morning with a little more research as to the best viewing location.

Ock Pop Tok Living Crafts Center (where I did Yoga the first evening) is a short bike ride out of town but I went there for lunch today and to see their textiles and crafts.  This place is so cool!  They raise silk worms, harvest the silk from the cocoons, spin it, dye it using natural ingredients (indigo plants for blue, turmeric for yellow and orange, lemongrass for greenish yellow, Sappan wood and rusted nails for red etc.), then women weave it by hand on looms into the most spectacular textiles.  They make cushion covers, scarves, blankets, purses, tapestries and all sorts of beautiful and intricate designs.  The knowledge of how to weave has been passed down from mother to daughter and the weavers include Laos, Hmong and other minority tribe women.  They provide a free tour and you can watch how the women work on the looms.  It is really incredible to see the detail, planning, and focus they need to create the textiles.

Silk made, collected, spun, and dyed on site

One of the weavers

Another weaver

Hard to believe this intricacy can be done by hand!

I spent the late afternoon climbing up Phou Si (Sacred Hill) to see the That Chomsi stupa which is the highest point in town and to watch the sunset from this excellent viewpoint.  After the climb, the three yoga classes, and lots of  biking and walking I needed a massage.  I took the advice of my guidebook to check out the Lao Red Cross which, as well as collecting blood and clothing donations, also has a herbal sauna and massage where for 50,000kip ($6.25) you get an hour long traditional Laos massage (it felt really good!), and then you can sit in a steam room for as long as you like.  The steam room has steam infused with local plants and herbs to promote healing, health, and wellness and there is a steam room for each gender (MANROOM vs, WOMENROOM) with a common area outside for cooling off and having a drink.  You are given a sarong to wear, next you steam for a while, come out to cool off and enjoy complimentary herbal tea, back into the steam room, cold rinse, repeat until you are ready to leave.  It was mostly a Laos women and only a few westerners so the dark steam room was full of Laotian voices which made for a very authentic experience and I felt really great after my steam!

Sunset from That Chomsi, at top of Phou Si

Selfie near the top of Phou Si (sacred hill)

A very unassuming sign for a very unassuming place at Lao Red Cross Massage

His and hers steam rooms

Herbal tea and cooling off area

Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, and Sapa... OH MY!

I spent a foggy, rainy day in Phong Nha Ke Bang seeing another cave (Phong Nha cave) and cycling around town with a couple girls I met at the hostel looking for photo ops and a hot cup of coffee.  We succeeded.

there are many rules when it comes to caving

lovely scenery we saw as we rode past on a boat on the way to Phong Nha cave

Entrance to Phong Nha cave

 Phong Nha Cave

Exit from Phong Nha cave

this snake slithered under the dustpan and a guy from our group moved the dustpan and the little snake lunged at it!  I asked a local man if it was poisonous and he said "Oh Yeah".  Yikes!

Buffalo

Traffic Jam (Buffalo and Bicycle)

FOGGY!

 

 Lovely foggy evening

 

After a nice last day and evening in Phong Nha I got on the night train to Hanoi.  This train was a pleasant surprise after my first crowded night train experience.  The berth had four bunks, there were two local people on the bottom two bunks and I got the top bunk.  The berth was clean and comfortable and I had a great sleep right up until we arrived in Hanoi.  I checked into my hotel in Hanoi and met Kim, the super-helpful and friendly manager (owner?) set me up with a big breakfast, a hot cup of coffee, and helped me make some plans for my stay and onwards travel before I headed out to check out Hanoi.

 

 

Couple photo of the Little Hanoi Hostel 2 which is about the friendliest, most helpful, place I've stayed in my journeys.  Kim (owner? manager?) bends over backwards to help out any of her guests.

 

Weasel Coffee is Moka coffee beans which have been eaten by a weasel, pooped out, scrubbed off (I hope!) and then roasted.  The beans are said to become more mellow after being partially digested inside a weasel.  Tasted good to me.

Lovely painting in a Hanoi gallery, reminded me of a foggy day in Phong Nha Ke Bang Park

I went to the War Museum and I loved the propaganda language: "Saigon Puppet Government" was used again and again to refer to the South Vietnam government.  This is how North Vietnam viewed the South Vietnam government due to American involvement in Saigon.

Flag tower beside the war museum in Hanoi

 

A typical North Vietnamese pride shot at the museum.  She caught a big one!

This box of bees was used as a weapon!  Brilliant!

 

Sculptural US war plane wreckage

Pho for dinner

 

Running short on time left in Vietnam, I decided to spend only one day in Ha Long Bay so that I would have time to see Sapa which is in the far north of Vietnam, near the China border and was highly recommended for trecking.

Ha Long Bay is spectacular but I saw it on a rather cool and overcast day.  There are also tons of tourists so it wasn't my favorite spot... but I'm still glad I made the time to see it.

Another example of the many don'ts of caving

This cave in Ha Long Bay was lit up like Christmas, had penguin trash cans and...

 

Is it just me or does that lump in the center of the photo look like a snowman?!?  Weird.

I took the night train to Sapa after my day in Ha Long Bay (another good night train!) and met May Lei, my local guide for two days of trecking and an overnight stay at her home.  Sapa area is known mainly for it's terraced rice fields, beautiful mountainous terrain, and minority tribal people (Dzao and H'mong) who live in traditional villages outside of Sapa.  These people are more closely related to Chinese than Vietnamese, speak different dialects related to Chinese, wear traditional clothing and live in a very traditional way.  They raise pigs, buffalo, ducks, chickens, grow rice, corn, and sugar cane and create beautiful traditional embroidery, and dye fabric with indigo they create from plants they find in the area.  The first day we hiked 15km on muddy trails past local minority villages from Sapa town to her home just outside of Ta Phin village.  I had a lovely evening spent with her family over dinner, sitting by a cozy fire and even trying out a homemade herbal bath.  The next day we hiked a different route back 12km to Sapa where I checked into my hotel.  The weather was damp and cool with temperatures below 10 degrees.  I actually had to wear a jacket and could see my breath in my hotel room!  The water heater barely lasted through a shower because the room was so cold but I still had a wonderful stay because there was an electric heated matress pad... pure luxury!  I curled up very cozy in bed and enjoyed a movie and a cup of hot tea.  The homestay experience was really wonderful and I felt like an honored guest being able to see a small slice of how these traditional people live.

May Lei, my guide

Red Dzao ladies

H'mong children... notice the blonde girl near the middle of the photo.  I didn't know that there were blonde Chinese until I did this treck.

Rice paddies

Ducks

Beautiful scenery

Pumpkins grown on vines so the bottoms stay dry

Red Dzao lady doing embroidery

H'mong family plucking a couple ducks for dinner.  We stopped here for a while while another son went to get us a duck for dinner.  The duck was delivered alive in a sack which we carried the next 5km to Mai Lei's house

 

They start the little ones out early babysitting even littler siblings by carrying them around on their backs.  I swear the girl in the bottom photo was no older than 5 years old and already babysitting!

Buffalo in a rice paddy.  This is seen everywhere and I never get tired of seeing this beautiful sight.

May Lei's home and homestay near Ta Phin village where she lives with her husband, son, sister, brother in law, nephew, mother, father, and one other sister.

Backyard of the homestay with a large cistern

one of three cooking fires in the house used for cooking, herbal bath preparation, making rice wine, and heat

My room at the homestay

 

Mai Lei's son Tien

 The barrels where the family offers homemade herbal baths

Stewing up the herbal bath with ingredients from the surrounding lands

Enjoying a hot herbal bath after a long, cold walk

May Lei's mom chopping up food for the pigs

May Lai's husband with dinner

May Lai and her husband killing the dinner duck.  The blood was collected for later.

Dinner!

the duck blood was combined with some chili peppers, lemongrass, and chopped up duck neck meat.  I tried a tiny bit and it was ok.... tasted spicy.  The color was pretty off-putting!

May Lei and her son Tien

May Lei's cute nephew.

May Lei's mom making some rice wine.  Fermented rice goes in this barrel on the fire.

a bowl of water is put on top of the barrel so that the steam condenses under the bowl, drips down the bamboo pipe and into the vase.

 

Beautiful but big spider

 May Lei at a small waterfall

 I'm currently in Luang Prabang, Laos and it is really nice, I'm settling in here for 4 days of coffee shops, temples, monks, waterfalls, and even some yoga.  I will tell you all about it in another post.

...as promised, some more Sapa photos:

 

Cute little Red Dzao boy playing with a horse figure made of straw

Indigo dyed fabric drying on a bamboo pole

Hmong market day

Black Hmong clothing

This is the fattest pig I have ever seen