Submitted by Sydney Gaffin on the 2024 Winter DIST program in Thailand…
This week we traveled up north to Chiang Mai to learn more about disability studies and the culture in the more rural areas of Thailand. During the week we hit so many of Chiang Mai’s beautiful nature spots like waterfalls, hot springs and temples. As we got up to our last day we finished it with one of the most amazing experiences… Elephants. We drove 2 hours into the wild to finally get to the Elephant Sanctuary. The first activity was feeding the elephants for their daily snack time which consisted of bananas and watermelon. After snack we got to hike with the elephants which was really cool because we got to see how they are up close in the wild. After that we all made our way back and had a delicious lunch they made for us. I am really enjoying Chiang Mai because I have gotten to try more foods out of my comfort zone. As we all ate lunch together we got an amazing scenery of the elephants basking in the sun just waiting for us to join them for a mud bath to cool off. The elephant sanctuary by far was one of my favorite days on the trip because I went out of my comfort zone and tried a new experience that is a once in a lifetime opportunity. (Submitted on January 19, 2024)