phoenix

We are all set to volunteer with ThaiFocus, Sangduen (Lek) Chailert and the Elephant Nature Park near Chiang Mai in January(http://www.thaifocus.com/elephant/volumore.htm) but have learned there may be some family disagreement. Another website of supposedly Chailert family members say that thaifocus has stolen their name and has renamed their elephant park to MaeTang Elephant Park(http://elephanteco.com/introduction/introductionx.html). This sounds awfully messy. Does anyone have any experience with either one of these two elephant conservation parks? We leave for Thailand on 12/24. Thanks!<BR><BR>

Phoenix

An Update: Our travel agent is still pushing us to change our plans (of course, this is the only part of our trip which we planned completely on our own!). I did hear back from ThaiFocus confirming that there is a lawsuit and because of it they couldn't answer all of our questions. They ended the email with &quot;Elephant Nature Park is a legally registered entity and the projects run<BR>by them are located in several different areas. National Graphic TV and<BR>many others have featured this work which should prove the validity of<BR>the projects.<BR><BR>If you have volunteered and feel that you do not wish to continue I will<BR>gladly refund any deposit you have paid. On the other hand once you see<BR>the work that Elephant Nature Park does I am sure you will have one of<BR>the most fulfilling times of your life.&quot; After several months of planning and the tons of things we have to do before we leave next week--we are leaning towards waiting to make a final decision once we arrive in Chiang Mai. But, anything anyone knows about these two parks would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!<BR>

Ingrid

Hi!<BR><BR>We were in Thailand November 13th to the 30th and went to Mae Tang.<BR><BR>We were originally going to Mae Sai (spell?), but our guide said we had to go to Mae Tang. <BR><BR>It was very nice. Same as the other elephant parks with the elephant show, rides through the jungle and across the river, ability to pet all the adults and babies. They all looked well fed and the babies were left to run free among the crowd.<BR><BR>We also rode an ox cart and a bamboo raft down the river.<BR><BR>There was nothing fishy about the park itself. The people running the park were a bit disorganized when it came to decide where we would be to begin the elephant ride.<BR><BR>However, it was nice.<BR><BR>

pjr

Was at Mae Tang elephant park this past October and had pretty much the same experience as Ingrid.

sarahe0411

I am interested in volunteering at &quot;Elephant Nature Park&quot; founded by Sangduen (Lek) Chailert. I have read the other questions listed here and wondered if anyone had anymore information?