Visiting Asian Elephants is on the short list of things you're supposed to do in Thailand but doing so isn't as easy as you would expect if you want to go someplace that isn't abusing the elephants.

So, Natalie found who she thought had the most ethical park and of course their sanctuary was booked solid when we wanted to visit.

But Elephant Nature Park has been opening up small sanctuaries in Karen villages as a way to help the Karen people and to find more space for the elephants who need rescue.

To be honest, this smaller, more intimate experience was much more to my liking and we enjoyed the best Khao Soi we had in all of Thailand.

This elephant had been in a circus before it came to the sanctuary and had been trained to kiss people with its trunk - here Ethan is "enjoying" an elephant kiss.