I’ve always dreamed of being up close and personal with elephants.

Like, spiritual connection, barefoot-in-the-jungle energy.

What I didn’t expect was just how enormous these creatures actually are. 

You think you know. 

You don’t know. 

Standing next to one is like standing beside a moving apartment block.

In Chiang Mai, I met up with my friend from the UK, Harshni, for a coffee. She was flying to Sri Lanka the next day, but when I said Jack and I were thinking of doing an elephant day out, her eyes lit up like the human embodiment of YES.

Classic Harshni. Spontaneous, bright, & always ready to risk death with us.

Our hostel had a discount, so obviously we booked it. Cute little day trip. Good vibes.

Little did we know we were signing up for:

“How Close Can You Get to Nature Before Nature Gets Too Close?”

The Magical, Totally-Zen Beginning

It all started beautifully.

Peacefully.

Like a page out of National Geographic.

We fed the elephant sugar cane and bamboo.

We walked with her.

We washed her in the river.

The other two elephants stayed behind, so it felt super intimate, just us and this enormous queen.

I was in awe the entire time, but also a tiny bit terrified because… she was huge. Like, eat-me-in-one-bite huge. But magical, truly.

She was 37 years old, splashing around like a toddler living her best life. We were honestly mesmerised. Just sitting there, watching her roll in the river like the happiest creature alive.

Toddler Tantrum Time

But like any toddler, she did NOT want to get out of the water.

The staff called her.

She ignored them.

They called louder.

She walked the opposite way.

Relatable.

Eventually our guide said we had to head back to make the elephants’ vitamin balls. Sticky rice, turmeric, salt, all that earthy goodness.

So we left her to enjoy the river and started walking back.

That’s when we heard it.

The loudest, angriest elephant scream I have ever heard in my life.

You don’t forget a sound like that. It vibrates in your bones.

I joked to Jack,

“Hurry up and put your shoes on before she comes charging.”

HA.

Cute joke.

Adorable joke.

UNTIL IT WASN’T A JOKE.

The Moment Everything Went to Absolute Sh*t

The elephant was charging.

Like a literal train on legs.

We ran.

At first laughing because it felt surreal.

Like, “lol this is wild. Surely the staff have her under control.”

But then that logic faded as fast as our survival instincts.

Because how, please tell me, are two Thai men supposed to control a 37-year-old elephant who weighs literally more than all of us combined times twenty?

When the guide screamed:

“RUN! JUST RUNNNN!”

that’s when our souls left our bodies.

Jack and Harshni sprinted one way.

I sprinted the OTHER way… straight toward the elephant enclosure.

You know that scene in scary movies where someone runs upstairs instead of out the door?

Yeah. That was me.

I realised mid-run and turned around.

But here’s the problem:

A human running = about five elephant steps.

Five.

FIVE.

My body went full chaos mode.

I lost every survival skill I have ever learned.

I literally launched myself off a ledge almost into the white-water river below because that seemed safer.

When I looked back, she was on her back legs,  furious, stressed, towering, powerful.

It was honestly the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen.

The staff somehow got her turned around and heading back…

Until she turned AGAIN.

So we ran.

Like, ran for our actual lives ran.

No cute jog. No playful sprint.

This was primal, feral, Olympic-level speed.

And the worst part?

There was basically nowhere to go.

Tiny space.

Hill behind us.

White waters next to us.

One wrong move and you’re either elephant pancake or river sushi.

Aftermath: We Lived

Eventually things calmed.

They got her contained.

Not a single soul breathed until five minutes later.

We walked back to make the vitamin balls, hands shaking, voices shaky, brains still buffering.

All three of us looked at each other like:

“Did… did that actually just happen?”

“Did we just nearly die?”

“Are we okay or are we traumatised or both?”

Probably both.

White Water Rafting – The Cool Down

And because the universe has a sense of humour, we went white water rafting straight after.

Just casually hopping into raging waters like we didn’t just escape a ton-and-a-half emotional elephant.

Honestly?

White water rafting felt like a relaxing spa day compared to running for my life.

NOTHING,  will ever be as terrifying as hearing a guide scream “RUN” while an elephant charges behind you.

Final Thoughts

Elephants are magical.

Majestic.

Emotional.

Chaotic.

And completely unpredictable.

I still love them.

I still respect them.

But I also now understand that nature doesn’t care about your spiritual fantasies, she will humble you REAL FAST.

And if you ever find yourself running from an elephant…

Run faster than me.