Lee Craker

Boon Kahn Bahn – Festival to Bring Luck.

Lee — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:52:19 +0000

One of the most important festivals of the year took place in our little jungle neighborhood today. A festival was held to bring good luck for the next 365 days. Luck is the single most important thing in a rural Thai’s life. Health, prosperity, living or dying is all determined by luck. Some in the [...]

Khon Juk and the Coming of Age Ceremony

Lee — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:59:48 +0000

Today was an interesting day here in Nakhon Nayok. A young man who lives down the road had a traditional “Khon Juk” or the “Top Knot Cutting” Ceremony. Not many Thai young men or women have a top knot today, it is part of traditional culture that is slipping away, and Kim was the only [...]

The Elephants of Thailand – Part Three

Lee — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:06:02 +0000

The last camp I visited on my month long holiday in North Thailand was Elephant Nature Park, Save Elephant Foundation. I was looking forward to this part of the trip as my correspondence with Diana Edelman had been both professional and inviting. As things turned out it was good that Elephant Nature Park was the [...]

The Elephants of Thailand – Part Two

Lee — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:02:10 +0000

The reason I write about it is because you have the power to decide their future. It is your money, your tourist dollars and donations all of these camps want and need. You will choose the fate of the elephants. If you stop supporting what you don't like, it will go away. Think of Kodak and Kodachrome for a moment. Many people loved it, but not enough purchased it to keep it on the market. A giant became extinct, for lack of support. That is the power you have my friends, use it wisely.

The Elephants of Thailand – Part One

Lee — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 10:56:04 +0000

So the simple fact is, that anytime you see a young elephant on the street without it's mother (as all street elephants are) it's mother and possibly it's aunts have been killed by poachers. There is always one and up to three or more elephants that die when one baby is captured. It is estimated that two thirds of all young elephants are illegally smuggled into Thailand from Burma (Myanmar). Why does this atrocity happen? That is also an easy answer. A baby elephant can be sold for a million baht or more, depending on it's training. Documents can easily be altered, bribes paid, it is all too easy. It is big business my friends, very big business. It's all about money. Your money.