Travel

Maesa Elephant Camp

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI in Thailand

In Sri Lanka we have seen many elephants bathing, running, carrying people and logs, going in processions at various places in the country, but the elephants at Maesa Elephant Camp in Thailand are doing different things to ours. They do painting, dancing, massaging, playing dart game, foot ball and even musical instruments to name a few. It was amazing to see that elephants could be trained to do such things and the way Thailand has utilized their resources to get the maximum benefit to the country from this tourist attraction.

The paintings done by elephants are sold at attractive prices in the form of T shirts, wall hangers, postcards and ornaments. The young and energetic Mahouts are dressed uniforms and do their job in a professional manner. Three Elephant shows are carried out daily in a well landscaped environment where visitors can enjoy the shows in comfort.

The camp flanks a rushing river in a beautiful lush tropical valley which is a twenty minutes scenic drive from downtown Chiang Mai. It was set up thirty years ago and currently it is the home for seventy-eight elephants between the age group of 42 to 55 years. It is the place of leaders and experts in the field of elephant breeding, training, healthcare and sustainable tourism in Thailand.

Asian elephants have long been used as beasts of burden by man for transportation, timber logging or in war. In the early days of elephant camps, these were the main abilities showcased. The founder of Maesa camp, Choochart Kalmapijit understanding the deep intelligence of elephants, inspired him to establish Maesa Elephant Camp in 1976. Over the years Choochart purchased elephants from all over the country, and with their mahouts and other experts, worked and fell in love with the elephants, revealing one skill or fact after another about these pachyderms that have not only helped to develop Maesa reputations over the years, but help further the cause of the conservation and future of the Asian elephants.

The experts at the camp believe that well-being and nourishment of their elephants are of prime importance and the elephants are fed with a total of six tons of grass, bananas and sugarcane daily. These food items are self grown including special grasses and herbs which all combine to assure the health and well being of all elephants.

Being the first elephant camp certified by ISO 9001 version 2000, the camp authorities are determined to offer a new-age elephant camp which gives visitors a real glimpse into the lives and facts about elephants.

What they eat, how they live, their biology, their future or plight as well as the continued development and promotion of their skills, intelligence and abilities are of utmost importance to our long term goals.

Choochart's founding of the Association for the Thai Elephant Procreation is to encourage the breeding so that the future of the Asian elephants is assured. At the turn of the twentieth century there were over one hundred thousand elephants in Thailand, today there are less than five thousand.

Through research, years of trial and error and a determination to succeed, Maesa now has a very successful breeding program.

Confifi extends holiday offer

Confifi Group Hotels, Beruwela has decided to extend its holiday package offer for the upcoming weekend holidays this May.

Redefining the concept of a vacation on a tropical beach, Confifi Group Hotels is offering guests a host of facilities and services from free Corkage, free Laundry, free Car Wash, free use of the Kiddies Club and extraordinary treats for the Kids which include "free snacks, ice cream, soft drinks and more.

Recognizing that different guests have different tastes, Confifi Group Hotels offers the choice of an entertaining holiday at either Club Palm Garden or Riverina Hotel. For those in the mood to pamper themselves - richness and comfort awaits you at the Eden Resort and Spa. For guests seeking a more adventurous and fun-filled experience - Club Palm Garden has a host of activities for the young and old (who may still be young at heart) and is popularly known as the "club" resort that actually offers its guests MORE! - more entertainment, more fun, more hospitality and more value for money.

Walkers Tours packages

With Thomas Cook, India :

A joint initiative between Walkers Tours and Thomas Cook, India to promote Sri Lanka as a holiday destination has created excitement and a strong interest in Sri Lanka as a destination in India.

The campaign, which is jointly funded by Walkers Tours and Thomas Cook is currently being publicized as 'A holiday to suit every mood in a blissful experience called Sri Lanka', has been well accepted and shown great potential.

A special, dedicated brochure about the promotion is being distributed through an extensive network of 180 travel offices in 55 cities as well as 28 airport counters around India. In addition, advertisements are scheduled to be placed in the widely-read Times of India daily newspaper, with editorial publicity in the main cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Mangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Mysore, Lucknow, Jaipur and Kanpur.