Chang

Somewhere outside the city of Chiang Mai

sits one of the absolute coolest places to visit...

The Elephant Conservation Center was a special request stop. When asked what I wanted to do in Thailand, I was pretty open to letting my family show me around. The only special request I had was to see the "changs." Anyone who asks me about what my ethnic background is, will hear the story about how I was born on an elephant, in a rice paddy in Thailand. I remember it vividly of course. And heading back to Thailand was the perfect opportunity to visit my old friend.

The Conservation Center was everything it was hyped to be. It is a combination elephant hospital, training facility, and retirement ground. Old elephants are brought here to live out their days roaming free. There are daily shows in which the elephants walk on logs, bow to the group, play music and paint pictures. Seriously, you put a paintbrush in their trunk and they paint real pictures of flowers and elephants.

And the best part is being right there with the elephants. They are not always separated by fences or walls....when it's bath time, you can go down to the water and walk amongst them. Move or be trampled. And of course, there's nothing like riding an elephant through the Thai forests.

When elephants are told to sleep.

Why wouldn't the elephant take you straight into the water?