Annual Elephant Roundup - Surin

The Surin Elephant Round-up is held on the third week-end in November. Early Friday morning elephants are paraded through Surin and fed bananas, sugarcane, pineapples, corn. On Satuday and Sunday they are led, by their mahouts, to the Si Narong Stadium. Elephants and men dressed in period traditional clothes partake in mock battle recreating the conflict between the Ayutthaya army and Burmese King Hong Sawdee. During the mock battle the elephants slowly walk from one end the field to the other. Sounds of charging are created by sound equipment. Elephants are trained by the local Kuy people, elephant trainers before the Khmer Empire.