October 2004 106th Issue

Elephant Polo Bigger, Weirder, Slower, and More Expensive than Horse Polo

By Antonio Graceffo

The theory by most have-nots, of which I am one, is that the rich are bored, and that they invent unusual sports to entertain themselves, such as croquet, yachting, and sailing. Cricket is perhaps the greatest example of what happens when you have too much money, and nothing to occupy your free time. A single game could last for five days, and end in a draw. Any person of normal means would fall asleep in the interim. But the rich fortify themselves with expensive drinks, and conversations related to other sports of the opulent, such as car racing and fox hunting.

Polo has all of the markings of a rich man's game. The horses cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The players must be clad, head-to-toe, in an outfit, which costs as much as most normal people earn in a year, but which can only be worn while playing. You tend to get strange looks if you show up at the food court at your local mall, sporting a leather riding-whip, and wearing a helmet and knee-high jackboots. If not for the skin tight ridding britches, which clearly accentuate your religion, you could be the wayward soldier of some invading army. Instead, you just look like a leather-boy, who got lost on the way to the Pride Parade.

Most people could afford the purchase of a horse and uniform, if they raided their retirement fund, and if they convinced their children to quit school, and go to work in a poorly-lit garment factory in Indonesia . But, the expenses, which keep the sport exclusive only begin there. Next, you have to actually play polo. Since my one bedroom flat is too small for polo, I found that I would have to join a polo club, which costs thousands of dollars per year. Next, since you don't just want to play in your hometown, you have to join the polo touring circuit. This entails paying entrance fees to the games, and purchasing plane tickets, not only for yourself, but for your steed as well. And finally, the tournaments, tremendous events, played over a period of days, tend not to be sponsored by low-budget guesthouses.

Instead, they are hosted by luxury resorts, which cost big money.

My first experience with polo was with the granddaddy of all opulence, elephant polo. And yes, before you ask, elephant polo is played on the back of an elephant. The price tags associated with elephant polo are massive as the elephants themselves. The only thing small about elephant polo is the circuit on which it is played. It includes only three countries, Thailand , Sri Lanka , and Nepal .

This year's King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, in Huahin , Thailand , was sponsored by the Anantara Hotel and Chivas. Thanks to the sponsors, all of the players, and some lucky members of the press were housed in deluxe accommodations, and kept well plied with whisky. The teams were heavily represented by Britain and Commonwealth Countries, with the exceptions of the all Thai ladyboy team, the Screwless Tuskers, and the Mercedes, who were all German.

Each team is composed of four members. No more than three members may play at a time, leaving one player in reserve. The game is divided into two chuckas, or halves, each lasting seven minutes, with a fifteen minute break in between. The playing field is similar to a football pitch, with one goal post at either end. Just as in regular polo, the objective is to drive a small ball into the goal of the opponent, scoring one point. To drive the ball, the players use a mallet, which given the size of the elephants, is considerably larger than the one used in horse polo, generally 2.5 meters long.

The elephants are driven by Mahouts, one of Thailand 's ethnic minorities, whose job, for century immemorial, has been to handle elephants. The mahouts were small men, who perched, barefooted, on the neck of the elephant, steering the mighty beast with a combination of secret words and physical gestures. The Mahouts used a metal hook to get the attention of the willful, if lazy, creatures, who apparently were less enthusiastic about elephant polo than the players were. The mahouts also kicked the backs of the elephant's ears to signal left and right hand turns. Since, I am told, an elephant's skin is several centimeters thick, one would have to believe that they hear, rather than feel the blows.

Horse polo is one of the fastest and most exciting games in the world. But the fans of elephant polo, once they get over the initial excitement of seeing the elephants, will then be faced with one of the slowest games ever played. Elephants don't gallop. And, they don't turn on a dime. The players have no control over the beasts. So, much of the skill of horse polo is missing. The one skill that remains quite similar, however, is striking.

Elephant polo players must be as adept at swinging a mallet as their horse polo cousins. But, owing to their obscene length, the bamboo handled mallets tend to bend if swung to hard. Bending shortens the mallet and results in the player missing the ball.

Another problem, unique to elephant polo, is that the ball will often become lost, under the elephants. At those most exciting moments, when all four players press in, close together, all swinging their extra long mallets, risking life and limb for the team, the ball suddenly disappears under one of the mammoth pachyderms. And as an ironic twist of fate, the spectators can all clearly see which elephant the ball is under, whereas the players cannot. As a player you begin hearing cries from all points of the stadium.

“It's on the left!” followed by, “No, my left, not your left.”

Often, even if a player manages to make the most brilliant shot of the day, a swing that would surly take the ball home, it is accidentally blocked by the impassable legs of an elephant, often from that players own team. Sometimes an elephant will step on the ball, burying it, impossibly, in the ground. In this instance, play must be suspended, and a restart called. And of course, any sport which involves elephants will also involve elephant dung. According to the officials at the polo grounds, an elephant consumes 80 kg of food per day. With six team elephants, and one referee elephant on the field, that gives the potential for 560 kg of excrement to be released at will, by the elephants, often when the players are pressed close together, in a scrum for the ball. Only the rich would require you to wear white pants in a game where there was any chance at all of being in elephant waste.

Visa News

THAILAND and Malaysia have agreed to do away with the system of passes that allows nationals from the two countries to cross the border without a visa.

Under a new agreement, future cross-border travel will require only the presentation of “smart cards” based on systems being developed in both countries.

The announcement follows a recent meeting between Thai interior minister, Mr Bhokin Bhalakuna, and Malaysia 's minister of home affairs, Datuk Azmi Khalid.

Thailand expects to have its smart card system working by the end of this year, while the Malaysians plan to introduce theirs by the end of 2005

Convex 2004 and the Dusit

Victor Sukseree, General Manager of Dusit Resort and Polo Club, Hua Hin, recently welcomed the participants of CONVEX 2004 to the farewell party which was held at the hotel. TICA, Thailand Incentive and Convention Association, organized this seminar with the aim of promoting Hua Hin/Cha-am as a MICE destination, Meeting Incentive Convention and Exhibition.

Group picture shows: from left; Surachai Surai, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand, Central Region Office: Region 2

Yaowaluck Pangsapa, member of Tourism Council of Thailand Committee

Prachoom Chayabongse, Chairperson of the 13th CPS,Convention, Promotion and Seminar, Working Committee

Victor Sukseree, General Manager of Dusit Resort and Polo Club, Hua Hin

Suchada Yuwaboon, Managing Director of The Rose Garden Aprime Resort Piyamarn Kanathanavanich, Managing Director of Regent Cha-Am

Peerapong Oeusoonthornwattana, Director General of TCEB, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau.

Writer in the Ring

by Mike Atkins

Having spent all week strapped on the back of a 3 ton elephant, competing in Hua Hin's King's Cup elephant polo tournament, American writer Antonio Graceffo stepped away from the paddock to take part in an exhibition boxing match in the seaside town's Grand Sports Stadium to raise awareness for the elephant's cause. The King's Cup tournament, now in its fourth year, was competed by fourteen teams drawn from around the globe to raise money for the Lampang Elephant Conservation Centre (LECC) in Northern Thailand . With the initial forecast of raising 1.5 million baht for the project looking likely to be exceeded, and a fantastic week's entertainment had by all involved, the tournament has been a resounding success. Graceffo, who boxes part-time and has even starred in a recent Cambodian kung-fu flick strapped on his gloves in front of a packed crowd and gave a rousing performance. In a closely fought three-round contest, Antonio was unlucky to come out on the wrong side of a tight decision, but was happy to have accomplished his mission of letting people know about the ECC's work.

“Sometimes charity hurts,” laughed Graceffo. “If I were Bob Hope I wouldn't have to do this - but I can't sing or dance.”

The next morning though, it was back to the elephant polo ground to try and help his team of fellow journalists, sponsored by UK travel agency Kuoni, get through the next round.

ASIA TIMES online www.atimes.com

Thailands Clash of the Titans - Sara Schondhardt

HUA HIN, Thailand - Looking tough yet regal atop their giant steeds, the players in this year's clash of the titans rode their elephants onto the field like a group of warriors headed to battle. Within moments of securing their positions, the elephants and their riders were thundering across the pitch to a series of cheers and chuckles from the ever-jubilant crowd. After meeting in a manic midfield muddle, where two opposing players locked mallets in a duel for the tiny white ball, the fight for the King's Cup title had officially begun.

Despite the occasional under-the-trunk shot or the thrill that follows when a sweeping two-meter-long mallet makes contact with the ball, the fourth annual 2004 King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament in this sea-side town is more wacky and bizarre than it is fast and furious. Yet with players including a duke, a top Thai actress and model, a former Winter Olympian and an entire team composed of former New Zealand rugby stars, the tournament is anything but dull.

After a week of matches that grew more heated as the competition narrowed, the tournament ended on Sunday with Thailand's Mobile Easy, one of three teams from the home country, claiming victory over Australia's Sandalford Winery, in a first-ever win for Thailand.

In the final seconds of the match, as polo rookie Churo Pellegrini of Argentina hung virtually upside down on his elephant in an effort to defend his team's 6-4 lead, commentator Peter Prentice belted out his excitement over the loudspeaker system.

"This is like a hockey match it's going so fast," Prentice said, referring to Sandalford's and Mobile Easy's rush toward the ball. With only minutes remaining and Thailand with a two-point lead, three elephants - each topped by a driver (mahout) and his accompanying player - closed in on the tiny white target. The muddle that ensued - a classic scrum in elephant polo - became a mash of trunks and mallets. Within moments the group was enveloped in a thin cloud of dust causing the ball to practically disappear from view.

Sticks were swung with a force and vigor that was absorbed by the ground or an opposing player's mallet. In the second chukka, or half, Sandalford plowed through three sticks in as many minutes in a supreme effort to gain the lead. But despite an epic battle, when the closing gong sounded, it was the Thai team which raised its sticks in victory. "The nation of Thailand will be swinging in the aisles tonight," Prentice chimed.

It goes without saying that a weeklong battle atop two-ton pachyderms adds a new twist to a sport more commonly played on horseback. But then the King's Cup tournament is more than just a sporting event; it is also a cultural affair, a lesson in international relations and an elitist gathering on par with its equine cousin.

With mahouts settled just behind the elephants' ears prodding them to move faster, and lithe players hanging like Spiderman from atop the giant pachyderms, elephant polo is as unique a sport as the people who play it.

This year's tournament, which opened on September 6 after a midday elephant blessing, matched some of the world's most experienced horse and elephant polo players with a smattering of polo novices, many of whom found themselves engaging in tenacious duels, despite never before having been on an elephant.

Chivas Regal captain - and sometime commentator - Peter Prentice, holder of two World Elephant Polo Association (WEPA) world championship medals, a WEPA World Series Grand Slam title and the record for the fastest goal ever scored (4.5 seconds), has been playing elephant polo for 17 years. His team of WEPA legends also includes Torquhil Ian Campbell, the 13th Duke of Argyll. Mercedes Benz Thailand , winner of the 2002 and 2003 King's Cup trophies, boasts Oliver Winter, the man who brought polo back to Thailand ; while both Mobile Easy and Sandalford Winery lay claim to several experienced sportsmen.

These teams went head-to-head with newcomers the All Blacks - former New Zealand rugby stars - the British Airways Cavalry team and the DBS Bank Ladies. The gathering was significant not only because it was the biggest elephant polo gathering ever held - with 14 teams taking part from around the world - but because it was the first such tournament to host two women's teams, as well as a transvestite team, the Screwless Tuskers.

"We're very much a part of this tournament," said Samantha Prentice, who scored seven goals in seven minutes while playing as a novice in the Tiger Tops' Millennium Tournament, and who led the DBS team. The Bangkok Bank ladies were captained by Margie McDougal, the world's most experienced female elephant polo player.

The King's Cup tournament was first brought to Thailand in 2001 by Christopher Stafford, a Swedish polo player and vice president and general manager of Anantara Resorts and Spas, the host of the tournament. The founding of the game, however, extends back to 1982, when British ex-winter Olympian James Manclark created the rules for the game, along with polo expert Jim Edwards.

The rules, while similar to horse polo, were amended to take the size and speed (or lack thereof) of the elephant into account. Mullis Capital's Ken McMillan, who has years of experience playing horse polo, explains that what makes elephant polo unique among many things is that there are so many more variables involved when playing polo on an elephant. The ears, the trunk, the size and speed of the elephant all have to be taken into account, he said.

Practice also poses a challenge. Many of the teams combine players from all over the world and training in between tournaments is nearly impossible without access to an elephant - though some players have found more creative ways of honing their skills. Germans Hugo and Dirk Goetz of the Mercedes Benz team learned their elephant polo skills from atop a Hummvee. One of the brothers would drive while the other would sit on a large foam box mounted to the vehicle's roof and practice hitting balls using an elephant polo mallet. Inventive, perhaps, but still not quite the same as riding an actual elephant.

For one, in a country were elephants are revered, "all the players and mahouts must ensure that the animals are treated with enormous sensitivity," McMillan said.

Throughout Thailand 's history elephants have served as laborers in the logging industry, and long ago were considered an essential requisite for a strong army. In 1921, elephants were declared the country's first protected species. The Asian elephant is Thailand 's national mascot. White elephants, meantime, have had a legendary influence on Thailand 's history and have become a sign of royalty. That the tournament was held in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin seems only fitting, as it is here that the revered king keeps his most auspicious white elephant.

In addition to being part of the WEPA World Series, the King's Cup elephant polo tournament helps raise money for the National Elephant Institute's Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, northern Thailand . To date, the event has raised around US$65,000 for the institute, which cares for Thailand 's 1,500 wild and 2,500 domesticated elephants. Before the games even began this year three corporate donations worth $11,000 had already been made.

(Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for information on our sales and syndication policies.)

Thai energy measures miss the mark

by Marwaan Macan-Marker

BANGKOK - Thailand 's energy-conservation scheme, due to start this month in the wake of high world oil prices, will run right into the country's love affair with cars, and anger shoppers.

The government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra plans a number of conservation measures as part of the scheme, including that automobile fuel stations across the country close from midnight until dawn, and shortening the operating hours of department stores and complexes. But analysts say the moves will not make a dent in the ballooning fuel bill in the capital, since the public transport system is weak.

As the country debates how best to respond to the rising price of oil on the international market, there is little disagreement about one glaring reality - the vulnerability of this Southeast Asian country to skyrocketing oil prices.

Ninety-five percent of the country's petroleum needs are met by imports, and much of it is poured into the transportation sector. Natural gas, coal and hydropower are the batteries that supply energy to the industrial sector and households.

"We are paying the price for our American lifestyle, the obsession with cars and road transport," Suphakij Nuntavorkan, of the non-governmental Sustainable Energy Network of Thailand, said in an interview.

There has been little effort to develop an alternative transportation blueprint, he said. "The direction of development is weighted in favor of roads, not rail, which is far cheaper and less damaging on the environment."

Chuenchom Sangarasri Greacen, an independent energy analyst, told IPS, "There will be little energy saved when the government's program is implemented."

That stems from the government's reluctance to consider a key energy-saving option - floating the price of automotive fuel in the domestic market. "If you want people to save energy, you should increase the price of oil," Chuenchom said, adding that keeping prices artificially low does not encourage the wise use of fuel.

There is little mystery why the Thaksin administration wants to stick to subsidizing oil prices and shielding the domestic market from price hikes owing to changes in the international market - a general election is a few months away.

Bangkok's oil subsidy - capping the price of diesel, for instance, to 25% lower than the market rate - is costing the country 250 million baht (US$6.25 million) per day, and the annual gas-subsidy bill is expected to reach 70 billion baht ($1.68 billion).

The trap Thailand finds itself in because of rising global oil prices is made worse by Bangkok 's much-heralded plans to convert the country into the center of car production in Asia - or to continue to be known as the "Detroit of Asia". This vision includes having the domestic factories of foreign car makers roll out 1 million cars from their production lines annually, a figure that is expected to be crossed by 2005.

In 2003, according to available reports, Thailand produced 750,000 new cars, of which 600,000 rolled on to the streets of the country, while the rest were exported. Currently, Bangkok alone has an estimated 5.5 million vehicles that clog the network of roads in this city of more than 10 million people.

And to ensure there are more roads for the cars to drive on, the government has pledged to pump 400 billion baht ($9.6 billion) to build new roads.

Little wonder analysts such as Chuenchom are dismissing the government's hope of saving energy through the other elements of the new conservation program, ordering shopping malls and hypermarkets to close earlier to reduce power consumption.

"The energy that will be saved is natural gas and coal, which are used to generate power to meet the country's demands at night," she said. "Oil is not a factor during these hours."

Under the energy-saving measure approved by the cabinet, department stores can stay open from 11am to 9pm, shaving off an hour from the start and end of the day.

But such adjustments will have little impact on the tourism sector, say analysts, given the initial fear that the government's plans may dampen the flow of cash coming from this lucrative segment. More than 10 million tourists come to Thailand each year.

"The department stores are an important part of the shopping experience for tourists, but not the only ones. Tourists go to many other places for bargains, to the shops in areas like Pratunam [a bargain shopping area]," said Imtiaz Muqbil, executive editor of the Travel Impact Newswire. "I don't think tourists will stop coming due to these new measures," he said. "The tourism sector has little to fear."

The country's energy minister, however, has set his sights on the new business hours to make savings. The government expects annual savings of up to 3.8 billion baht ($91.7 million) due to the shorter hours for large retail outlets, energy minister Prommin Lertsuridej told the media.

(Inter Press Service)

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