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Never forget the King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament

Not yet published by Paul Cowles, Editor

Country: Thailand

The Experience

Teams from around the world gather each year in the golden triangle region in Thailand. The tournament raises money for the National Elephant Institute which provides medical care, maintenance, employment and mahout training to Thailand's elephant population. The elephant camp is located within the Anantara Resort Golden Triangle where the elephant camp director works closely with the Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang in development of the elephant sanctuary. The Tourism Authority of Thailand endorses the event as a prime annual special event. The tournament is a week long event and attracts players from at least 15 different countries. Traditional dancers and costumed elephant spirit men are featured along side the matches.

Map

When to Go

This year's match is being held in Chiang Rai.

Odds n' Ends

It is estimated that Thailand has around 3,600 domesticated elephants and 1,500 wild elephants. This is down from 50,000 in 1950 and 100,000 in 1900. Spectator entrance is free.

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Elsewhere on the Web

Anantara Luxury Resorts and Spas
Our Golden Triangle resort is also proud to feature our unique onsite Elephant Camp, offering guests such unforgettable experiences as mahout training courses, elephant trekking and other conservation activities.

Language Guides

Japanese , Lao , Malay , Mandarin , Thai , Vietnamese are some of the languages spoken in Thailand. If you know of a freely available phrase book or podcast for one of the missing languages, let us know!

Discussion

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