Usually, a mahout starts as a boy in the 'family business' when he is assigned an elephant early in its life and they would be attached to each other throughout the elephant's life.

Isan language is the collective name for the dialects of the Lao language as they are spoken in Thailand. It is spoken by approximately 20 million people, which is nearly one-third of the entire population of Thailand. Predominantly in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand. School girls in Nong Khai, Thailand, 2010.

Sushi bar. Bangkok Thailand, 2010