First light.

We reach the forest as dawn turns to day.

Nope. That’s not Prathida. It’s another elephant waiting to be picked up.

The elephants love to dip into the cool waters of this lake on their ride back to the center.

And who is this one who waits patiently for her mahout?

Here she is, the princess herself. Can you see how happy she is to see her beloved mahout?

Prathida, you’re heading in the wrong direction. But, you only listen to what John says and he doesn’t seem to mind that you’re off the path. So, I won’t mind either. “Mai pen rai” is an expression used a lot in Thailand, meaning “no problem.”

Ah, yes. The morning dip. “Sanuk” is another Thai word used a lot, meaning “joy.”

It’s time to go to work at The Center and earn a living.

The elephants and their mahouts present themselves to the people in the bleachers–mostly families with young children or students.

Young Thai children, very excited about watching the elephants perform.

And the show begins. The elephant in the middle strikes the resounding drum with each slow, majestic step he takes. The elephants on the outside support the post that holds the drum.

An entire school for monks in Bangkok attends the performance. Many of the students have cameras and cell phones for taking pictures.

The show is educational while being entertaining at the same time. During the entire show, a speaker tells the history of the elephants in Thailand. He speaks first in Thai, then in English. Here you see a re-enactment of the days when the elephant was revered for its role in battle against the enemies.

Elephants were also valued for their role in logging the teak forests. When logging was banned in 1989 because of deforestation, many elephant owners and mahouts had no way to earn income. That’s when life got very rough for the elephants.

The show included a few tricks the elephants learned, like taking the mahouts’ hats off and then putting it back on. They also threw balls into a hoop. The elephants have huge brains, are extremely intelligent, and learn quickly.

This baby elephant is learning how to do tricks as well. The babies are left with their moms until they are about three or four years old. After that, the training begins in a slow and gentle way.

Beth’s elephant walked over to the bell and rang it. She seemed to enjoy herself.

The Center included us in the show.

Each of our elephants was introduced by name to the audience. When their name was called out, they did a fancy bow.

Since Lily was such a star performer, she and Jo Jo were asked to demonstrate what Lily had learned in the home stay program, including the different methods of mounting and dismounting.

Mounting takes a lot of strength and flexibility.

Beth’s elephant demonstrated how she lies down at night when she sleeps.

Elephant painting. The mahout dips the brush in paint, then places the brush in the elephant’s trunk. This is what the elephant created. If you ever see “elephant paintings” with trees and flowers, you can be sure the mahout was guiding the elephant, either with his hand or with his voice commands.

Oh My God! This is not part of the performance! Jo Jo must have turned on the water faucet, taken in a whole trunkful of water, and then sprayed it. These elephants at The Center have quite a sense of humor.

Now comes the moment the elephants have waited for. The audience buys treats for them—sugar cane and corn on the cob. They love it.

What about me? I didn’t get any. I guess everyone’s too scared of my tusks to get near me.

Ah! Now for the biggest treat of all—a water fight.

John told me to aim Prathida’s trunk at his fellow mahout.

Oh My God! Now it’s really out of control.

One last spray before we head back to the forest.

So long. We’re heading back to the forest.