Catch last of the winter sun

Fancy some warmth without blowing your budget? Beautiful Thailand remains easy and affordable

- Teresa Machan

I'm having a moment with a 31-year-old female Asian elephant called Mea Buab. Standing behind a fence under the supervision of her mahout (an elephant keeper or owner), Janwan, Mea Buab has snorted several bucket-loads of pulped banana, pineapple and sugar cane up the immense nostril of her whisker-pricked trunk. For about 30 seconds we lock eyes in, I think, an exchange of mutual respect. My heart sings.

Mea Buab is one of 10 free-roaming female elephants living with their mahouts at Thailand’s newest bush camp. Located in rural Mae Hong Son, a couple of hours from Chiang Mai, the Elephant Hills Bush Camp overlooks the Ping River. Guests stay in one of 10 locally built solar-powered tents with comfy beds and en suites. The camp is rooted in ethical, sustainable tourism and time spent with elephants is limited to an hour a day. Elephant bathing is not permitted here.

The camp’s manager Robert Griefenberg is passionate about elephant welfare and works closely with local communities, with staff coming from nearby Karen villages. “Domesticated elephants have no survival skills but, if done sustainably, tourism can play a vital role in their survival,” he says.

I flew to Thailand with the tour operator Tropical Sky, on BA’s new Gatwick to Bangkok service. We explored Bangkok and the riverside town of Kanchanaburi, northwest of the city, and spent a night (it deserves far longer) in the northern city of Chiang Mai en route to the elephant camp. Most holidaymakers build in time on an island in the south or opt for a few nights in a beachside hotel at Hua Hin, a three-hour drive from Bangkok.