Surin Elephant Round-Up and Elephant Buffet in Nov 2012

Me in front of a neighboring schools float

Tug of War- One elephant, One hundred people

The town of Surin is famous in Thailand for elephants.  Everyday you see elephants walking the streets with their owners trying to get people to buy food to feed the elephant.  Its an extra way for these families to earn money.  Normally they living in the elephant village and get money from performing shows there. Beginning in the 1960's elephants were captured in Cambodia and trained as working elephants in Thailand.  With civil war and decreasing economic value the elephant owners needed to train the elephants for entertainment.  They do things like play soccer and have tug of war contests with humans, and always win, even against 100 people. 

 Once a year, Since the 60's all 200 elephants from the elephant village journey into Surin, 60 kilometers.  

This is beautifully carved watermelons and pumpkins.

More elephant food elegantly made

The event was Nov 17th and 18th.  It started on Thursday with the first display of all the floats on the main road in Surin.  There was a float making competition in which local businesses and schools compete for who can make the best, most beautiful float.  The floats also feature food for the elephants, elegantly carved into flowers or other beautiful designs.  The floats also featured traditional Thai dancers and music as well.  All day Thursday the floats are placed around Surin to be viewed and judged.   

Our school's float which won 1st place

Carved fruits and vegetable

Me and the white elephant

On Friday was the official opening of the elephant round-up and the world's largest elephant Buffet or sometimes called elephant breakfast.  The floats are all lined up for the elephant precession at the train station round about in Surin.  There is a high school band playing and lots and lots of elephants as well as elegantly dressed school children as Thai dancers. 
 There was even a white elephant (though I was later told that elephant was painted).  The parade goes through town celebrating elephants.  Many different Thai dancers are involved in the parade as well as Thai traditionally dressed men riding the elephants.  There are baby elephants also.  After the parade the food from the floats is feed to the elephants.  Unfortunately I was at work and did not get to witness this.   

On Saturday and Sunday there is an elephant show at the stadium.  Hundreds of people attended the show.  It is like an elephant circus.  I went to the show on Sunday.  The elephants hula hooped on their trunks.  One was able to paint a picture of a tree.  They played a soccer match with on even getting injured and the other red carded for the injury.  It was all part of the show. 
Volunteers were taken from the audience to lay down while the elephant walked over them.  The end was an epic battle scene with men sword fighting and elephant (slowly) charging.  There were even fake cannons shot off.  It was a cool show to see.  Just like being at the circus.  There were a ton of foreign and Thai tourists brought to the sleepy quite town of Surin.  It was quite an exciting and busy weekend.  

Elephant walking over tourists

The beginning of the elephant battle

 Stadium show

Elephant battle scene

Elephant painting a picture with his trunk

The completed tree painting done completely alone by the elephant

Elephants charging for battle (very slowly)

Elephants with their owners doing tricks

These are carrots

 

     

Sweeter Than Sweet

Thai Desserts
One thing I have noticed in both Thailand and Rwanda is their love and obsession with sugar.  In Rwanda they put more sugar in their tea that water, and despite the poverty and malnutrition would buy fanta sodas instead of avocados or milk.  In Thailand lots of "regular food" s sweenteded here.  The bread, mayonaise, coffee, and even every thai meal has a ton of sugar added.  They pour sweetened condensed milk on things already sweet such of smoothies and pancakes.  They do have interesting desserts.  Here are 5 common ones that are either served at my school or I see in the markets of Surin.  


Khanon Chan (Layered Dessert)
They serve this for dessert as school alot.  It took me a while but this dessert has grown on me.  It has nine Layers and represents prosperity in life and promotion in you occupation.  It smells weird, is sweet and oily, smooth and sticky.  The ingredients are flour (rice flour, tapioca flour and arrowroot flour), sugar, coconut milk, and pandanus leaves (a common plant throughout southeast asia)

                      Khanom Thian (Coconut Sticky Rice)

This is my favorite dessert served at the school and around town.  Northeastern Thailand is famous for its sticky rice.  There is also banana sticky rice which I hate mostly because of the mushy banana part.  These sticky rice desserts are wrapped in banana leaves.  

Klouy Buaod Chee (Bananas In Coconut Milk)

 

This is a Thai dessert that we made in Kindergarten class one day when teaching about bananas.  It is literally just coconut milk, boiled with sugar, salt, and bananas.  It’s very easy to make but only taste good while hot and fresh. 

Kanom Krok (Coconut-Rice Pancakes)

This dessert I tried in my first few weeks in Thailand but I did not care for it and still do not.  I don’t like coconut and this is very sweet and has a lot of coconut.  It’s basically coconut, flour and rice fried on a special type of pan with individual circles.  

Roti (Thai Street Pancakes)

Thai pancakes are very thin.  A small ball of dough is rolled out as thin as possible and fried in an inch of grease.  You are able to choose you ingredients, egg/cheese, banana/Nutella or peanut butter.  For the sweet pancakes they top it off with sweetened condensed milk and slice it into bit sized squares to eat on the go. They are delicious but how couldn’t they be its 90% sugar and grease.