The Only Ethical Way to See Elephants in Phuket

All of those elephant treks and shows that are heavily promoted to tourists in Thailand (and throughout Southeast Asia) come at a cost. In order to tame a baby elephant, its spirit has to literally be broken. This is achieved through a process known as phajaan, or "the crush," that involves taking the baby from its mother and confining it to an extremely small cage or hole in the ground where it can't move. They're beaten, pierced with bull hooks, starved, and sleep-deprived — terrible stuff.