Walking with Elephants. Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp, Kalaw, Myanmar

In 200 acres of a lush green valley in the hills near Kalaw, Myanmar, there's an inspiring project to share the care of elephants with responsible tourism. The Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp with Replantation opened in October 2011 with the aim of caring for aged elephants. There are 7 elephants here: most are aged over 50 and 'retired' from the logging industry but one is a rescued orphan aged 5.

I had been concerned about the exploitation of elephants - having seen adverts for performances and painting classes at some elephant camps - but had no such worries about this camp after our visit. The welfare of the elephants is of paramount importance and an absolute maximum of only 20 visitors per day allowed. 

We spent a fantastic half day there learning about, feeding, washing and having a ride back from the river with these amazing, gentle giants. The baby elephant is a real character: cheekily pushing himself between the adults to grab pieces of food from our hands!  But then they all have their individual characters and are clearly happy with their mahouts who work alongside them every day.  The eldest female is blind in one eye and needs a lot of TLC.  There is no doubt that all of the elephants are content with their lives up in the hills.

Each evening, the elephants are left to wander the hills within the perimeter of the camp.  They wear wooden 'bells' around their necks so that the mahouts can locate them in the mornings and bring them into the camp for feeding, washing and any treatments.

There is a focus on responsibility towards the environment as well as the animals, so we had the opportunity to plant a tree to help with reforestation.  

Finally, we enjoyed a delicious 3 course lunch with magnificent views across the camp, hills and valley. 

Thank you to the mahouts and all of the staff who run the camp, but especially to our two elephant hosts Yu Moe Yin and Hlun Ma Ma who were the real stars.

Find out more - http://www.ghvelephant.com

Mount Popa, Myanmar

 

We set off early from Bagan by minibus to visit Mount Popa, a couple of hours drive away along a rough Tarmac road through dusty red countryside dotted with various bushes, palms and tamarind trees.  We pass sturdy old carts, loaded with items varying between chopped wood or Palm leaves and massive

bags of neatly stacked produce, pulled by white oxen along deeply rutted tracks alongside the road. Teenagers herd cows or goats and dogs appear out of the brush with a purposeful air and a wary eye on passing traffic.

Sometimes, apparently in the middle of nowhere, a man or woman appears by the roadside waving at our minibus, trying to attract our attention to buy from their meagre produce. But the driver doesn't stop and we rattle onward.

The name 'Mount Popa' can cause slight confusion as it is actually the name of the densely forested extinct volcano which rises 1,518 metres above sea level, dwarfing the volcanic plug below.  However, that plug (or pedestal hill) upon which a Buddhist temple perches, 737 metres high, is also referred to as Mount Popa, although its actual name is Taung Kalat.

Today the summit is covered by clouds and I'm grateful in many ways as this means the temperature will be relatively cooler for climbing the approximately 770 steps to the temple and shrines. 

There is the usual gamut of stalls and ladies selling strings of flowers before we reach the first of the covered staircases. There are also troops of monkeys perched everywhere - this place is clearly their habitat as shown by the urine and little piles of faeces in which visitors have little choice but to try to avoid stepping in their bare feet (being in a temple,

no shoes are allowed of course). That said, "members of staff" work to clean and sweep the stairs at the same time as asking for donations for their efforts. The main tip is to have plenty of disposable wipes ready to clean your feet at the end of your visit!

  

The shrines here are mainly Animist although most show animist - Nat - figures one side and monk figures the other side, with both groups worshipping a statue of Buddha who is considered supreme.  Delicate perfume wafts from the flowers placed on the shrines by worshippers, but the unsavoury odours courtesy of the monkey population soon assail the nostrils once more.  

A particularly aggressive monkey leapt at Sue as she drank from a bottle of water.  The guide urged us to give the bottle to the monkey to get it to leave us alone.  Reluctantly, Sue gave her precious water although we felt this was rewarding the monkey's behaviour.  That there are problems is evidenced by the slingshots and sticks used by the "staff" to scare off the marauding monkeys!

Perhaps to believers it is worth the pilgrimage and climb to reach the various shrines but there was a distinct lack of pride from the custodians of this place - a sharp contrast in general with the other Buddhist temples we have visited. Whilst I enjoyed the views

  

 

from the summit, these could also be gained from mountain roadsides without subjecting oneself either to the dirty climb or scrutiny and potential mugging from monkeys visually searching each visitor for items of food or drink.

Yangon, Myanmar

Arrived in Yangon, Myanmar (previously known as Burma) to be met by our guide and driven to our quaint hotel.  I certainly felt as if I'd stepped back to a colonial era with the old fashioned wardrobe, table and chairs arranged around a metal-framed bed over which a mosquito net wafted gently in the breeze from the overhead 'propeller' fan.

After a light lunch, we set off to view what is probably the main attraction here: the Schwedagon Pagoda.