Thailand
Surin Elephant Festival
One of South East Asia’s most intriguing countries, Thailand cloaks a wealth of exciting, exotic, colours, sights, sounds, smells and festivals. One of the country’s most interesting annual festivities is the Elephant Round-Up in the northeast town of Surin, a small province near the Cambodian border.
The northeastern part of Thailand, also known locally in Thailand as I-San, is a fascinating region. Once a part of the Khmer empire, it has a distinctive character, which is in part due to its topography. Local folks speak their own unusual dialect and are famous for unique cuisine and lively, exuberant folk culture.
I-San’s most popular - and perhaps most visited festival - is the annual Surin elephant Round-up festival. First held in 1960, the festival took place on the third Saturday of November.
Traditionally, Thai people hold the giant, grey elephant in great esteem. The Asian elephant is slightly larger than the African one but the Thais even believe the shape of their country resembles the head of the elephant. In contract to those in Africa, Thai elephants are domesticated and work in the lush rain forests of northern Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar. You can see elephants hard at work hauling logs.
In tribute to the kingdom’s best-loved animal, more than two hundred elephants are assembled to entertain and thrill the huge crowd. The stars of the show perform a range of tasks that are well beyond the ability of many smaller domesticated animals. Between folk dances and other cultural performances, these beasts demonstrate intelligence, strength and gentility, and the spectacular re-enactment of a war elephant parade.
The festival lasts two days and includes a variety of entertainments such as elephant races, a football match between elephants, sparkling demonstrations of old-styles elephant hunts as well as numerous displays of the sheer strength and incredible versatility of the elephant. Elephant battle scenes are recreated and there is even a tug-of-war between an elephant and members of the Royal Thai Army.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has organized a tour program for the festival. For around US$160, you will take a first - class train ride from Bangkok to Surin. The tour includes admission to the elephant show, a trip to a silk-weaving village, folk dance and some delightful Thai meals.