We've had a great time exploring Northern Thailand so far. It's really interesting, and there's so much to One thing I've learned is that elephants are the national symbol ACT of Thailand. They're very important in Thai history and cultural (a) traditions. Elephants are also a T ME big (b) tourist attraction, so there are many different elephant parks for tourists to visit. We decided to Visit one, but we soon found out that there's a lot of (c) controversy about them. Some parks treat the elephants very badly. They're not treated with respect and have to (do tricks for tourists, like playing basketball and dancing. The owners don't really care about the elephants; they just want to (e) make a living by showing the animals to tourists. However, the elephant park we went to is very different. In this place, they're trying to (f preserve the wild elephant population. It's a large, beautiful park where the elephants can walk around freely. They are so playful! l took this photo of two young elephants walking together with their trunks (g) wrapped around each other, just like two kids walking hand-in-hand. Going to the park was an amazing experience, much better than seeing elephants in a (h) zoo. also bought some nice souvenirs: a stuffed elephant for my niece and carved wooden elephant for my parents. Tomorrow we're going to see another unusual sight: the village where the long-necked women of the Padaung tribe live. women wear coils to stretch their necks. More on that tomorrow! NIT 6