Elephant Encounter Plus Tour

Day 1 – Khon Kaen & Buriram
We begin by visiting Prasat Puay Noi, one of the largest and most intact Khmer ruins in upper Isan, and also an ancient quarry where it is believed the sandstone to build it was cut. The quarry also has many natural potholes carved deep into the bedrock, which makes it an interesting and beautiful place. We’ll then visit a temple with interesting and well-preserved historic Isan-style mural paintings on the outside, and another temple where one building has been covered in stunning modern glass mosaic. We then stop at a silk weaving village to see not only the complicated process behind dyeing and weaving Isan’s famous mut-mee silk, but also how the silk worms are raised. We’ll make a quick photo stop at a giant Ganesh statue before arriving in Ban Ta Klang Elephant Village.

Overnight in Ban Ta Klang Elephant Village

Day 2 – Ban Ta Klang Elephant Village
We will spend all day today getting up close and personal with elephants. We begin by walking with the elephants to the Mun River where we can jump in with the elephants to help the mahouts bathe them. We’ll then visit the elephant museum and holy pakam shrine before taking the elephants to a large enclosure and let them roam free next to a small swamp where they can, and usually do, go play and splash around with each other. Next we’ll tour an elephant poo paper making facility (Yes, you read that right!) and the elephant cemetery before taking a forest walk with the elephants. We’ll say good bye to our pachyderm friends by feeding them some fresh fruits or vegetables. When the day’s scheduled activities are over, we can still walk around the area and see the elephants at their handlers’ houses.

Overnight in Ban Ta Klang Elephant Village

Day 3 – Roi Et
Our first stop of the day is a temple where one of the buildings is creatively decorated with old bottles. Then we’ll stroll around the ancient Ku Phra Kona Khmer temple ruin, which has been converted into a modern Buddhist shrine and hosts a troop of semi-tame monkeys who eagerly await handouts. On the way to a small village temple with a pair of restored historic buildings – an adorable little ubosot and a wooden Buddhist scripture library (haw-dtrai), built in the middle of a pond to keep termites at bay – we’ll stop briefly to see a joss stick making village and, if it’s not the rainy season, learn how salt is extracted from dirt. Then it’s time to be astonished and bewildered at Wat Pa Non Sawan, one of the most interesting and unusual Buddhist temples in Thailand. The temple’s multitude of brightly colored sculptures range from dragons to polar bears to gruesome scenes of the Buddhist version of Hell to a who’s who of celestial deities. Most were built to impart messages to temple-goers while others are simply meant to be fun and make people feel welcome. We’ll also see clay stoves being made in the adjacent village. On the outskirts of Roi Et we’ll stop to see a batik workshop and we’ll finish the day at Bueng Phlan Chai, Roi Et’s relaxing city center park.

Overnight in Roi Et

Day 4 – Roi Et & Maha Sarakham
After seeing more historic Isan-style temple murals we’ll gaze up at the 59.2-meter (194 feet) tall Phra Phuttha Ratana Mongkon Mahamuni, a standing Buddha image that is one of the world’s tallest statues. Leaving Roi Et we’ll stop at a village that makes clay water jugs and other pottery without a potter’s wheel, using the ancient paddle and anvil method instead. Then we visit a good cultural museum, a workshop casting Buddha images and other brass statues using the ancient lost wax method (if we’re lucky the molten metal will be poured during our stop), and meet more friendly monkeys. The tour ends in a village where most residents weave reed mats (suea), which are used across the nation when people need to sit on the ground.

If our itinerary doesn’t fit your exact needs and desires, please let us know. With advance notice we can usually modify things.