Chai Lai Orchid is about an hour’s drive from Chang Mai in northern Thailand and is situated right along the Mae Wang river. It’s run by a woman from New York and staffed by locals who are in most cases refugees or at-risk women learning hospitality skills they can use to tap into the area’s booming tourist industry. Chai Lai’s mission has expanded from supporting local communities to providing ethical elephant experiences and saving elephants from some of the harmful local camps. We had an awesome two days here.

We had a relatively relaxing first day. After arriving in a songthaew from Chang Mai, we went for a bamboo ride down the river before grabbing some dinner in the on-site cafe, playing a quick round of Phase 10, and calling it an early night.

The highlight of our time at Chai Lai was our second day when we participated in the “Amazing Mountain Adventure.” Our first activity: riding the elephants! We each hopped on our own elephant and rode them bareback for about a half hour through the misty morning jungle. It was absolutely surreal and one of the most amazing experiences we’ve had to date.

I was unsure about doing a ride as I’d heard before we arrived in Thailand that riding the elephants isn’t good for them. Most operators use chairs that cause strain on the elephant’s backs, and even those that allow bareback rides still put elephants through brutal training to be able to carry humans. We were told that the elephants we rode were trained using only positive reinforcement and did not go through any training with the bull hook (a tool typically used to punish elephants for not following directions), so I felt better about the experience after learning that and hearing more about Chai Lai’s mission to provide ethical experiences.

After a leisurely breakfast, we hopped in the back of a pickup and rode to the trailhead for our trek through the mountains with our Thai guide, Singh.  Singh was wonderful and pointed out lots of stuff along the way (like a pineapple field) and told us some hilarious jokes. A favorite: What do you call a one-eyed deer? No ideer. Lol. After hiking for about 30 minutes, we stopped for a swim at a beautiful waterfall.

We got back on the trail and hiked for another 30 minutes until we arrived at several small hut-like buildings occupied by a local tribe. They served us lunch and had snacks, drinks, and handmade crafts for sale. Terri had a chance to learn from a woman how to use a traditional loom to make scarves.

After filling up for lunch, we started the hardest section of the hike – an insanely steep uphill followed by a sharp decline that led us to a second waterfall. The hike was beautiful and took us through some of the remote jungle areas. The waterfall stop was incredibly welcome and we were so glad to take a break and cool off in the water.

We got back on the road and hiked through a small hill tribe village before hopping back in the pickup truck and riding to the river for another bamboo ride. The guides couldn’t get enough of Terri’s infectious laugh and spent most of the ride trying to splash her and pretending to sink her end of the raft so she’d laugh again. It was hilarious and totally entertaining.

Our last stop of the day was our return to Chai Lai Orchid where we had some coconuts, posed for a photo with a police officer (on his request), and got to bathe DeeDee, a 7-year old baby elephant. DeeDee gave each of us a kiss and hoisted us all up with her trunk one at a time.

Our tour group was small – it was the three of us and a fun couple, Katherine and Ryan from Ottawa. We had a great time getting to know these guys during the day and after the tour (and some much needed showers) we linked back up for happy hour drinks and dinner at the Chai Lai cafe. The night ended with a bonfire and sending Thai lanterns into the night sky with other guests staying Chai Lai which was absolutely magical. We had an awesome time hanging out in such a beautiful place and talking to people from all over the world.

This was one of the best days we’ve had on our trip and one we won’t soon forget. However, we did have one major lowlight: John lost his wedding ring when we were swimming in a waterfall! Although the group searched for nearly 30 minutes, we didn’t find it. Womp womp! He’s planning on buying something to wear while we’re away and replacing it when we get home. We were both sad about it.

Despite this one setback, we loved our time at Chai Lai Orchid and really enjoyed getting to know some of the other people who were staying there. We also thought the mission was inspiring and appreciated the work Chai Lai is doing to support local communities and provide ethical elephant experiences. We’d recommend it to anyone considering a trip to see elephants in Thailand!