THE difference in the way a human and an elephant thinks is very starkly demonstrated the moment you set eyes on the lush bamboo forest where the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle is nestled. Human: 'Wow, lush, tranquil, accessible only by long-tail boat, super-exclusive getaway resort with elephants to play with!' Elephant: 'Bamboo forest = All-you-can-eat buffet. Yum yum.'

Elephants, as you know, are really, really big. Even if they don't start out that way, and begin life looking so cute you can't stop repeating that adjective every 10 seconds of staring at one, the truth is that they invariably grow into giant chewing machines that chow down on an average of 250 kg of bamboo, sugar cane and other plants in just one day. Considering that they live as long as humans, that's a lot of bamboo we're talking about. For the six adult elephants who live at the Tented Camp and are the main reason (or attraction) for the resort's existence, life is pretty good. They are all rescued elephants, saved from a life of begging on the streets of Bangkok, who now get to live amid lush tropical vegetation with all the sugarcane and bamboo they want. And the only thing they have to tolerate each day is a pesky tourist kicking their ears and pretending to be a mahout.

Song Soong! Pai! Baen! Tak Lung! Hold My Sash! are the cries you are likely to hear emanating from the elephant training grounds. Loosely translated, they are commands to the elephant to lift up its leg, go forward, turn and lower its head. The last one is a plaintive plea to the real mahout sitting behind you not to let go of the sash tied to your waist which doubles as a safety belt of sorts.

Mahout training is just part of the holiday programme at the Tented Camp, aka roughing it out for the not-so-tough. But the real attraction, though, would be the resort itself, and the perception of sheer isolation out in the wilderness, with accessibility only via boat, a virtual tuk-tuk on water where your only protection from the coffee-coloured waters of the Ruak River is a life jacket that you hope you won't ever have to test.

All these thoughts go through your mind even as your eyes scan the vast expanse of vegetation in front of you, seemingly devoid of humanity until you spot the first few tents peeping out from behind their dense green curtains.

'That's the Burma Bar,' says the camp greeter who met us at the dock. 'You can have cocktails while watching the sun set.' The boat sped past this Burma Bar and it was another 10 minutes before we finally reached the resort proper. 'That's a long walk to the Burma Bar,' I thought to myself even as I was greeted with a smile, a cold towel and an invitation to strike the welcome gong three times for luck.

Being right on the 'Golden Triangle' does add some mystique and charm of this luxurious camp, which is literally a stone's throw from the exact point where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet (you're even brought there by boat as part of an excursion to the ancient city of Chiang Saen).

Still, the greater charm lies in exploring the resort itself, particularly the tents, which are really deluxe hotel rooms behind the sturdy PVC sheets stretched over a solid timber frame. A huge bed, an in-tent bathtub (also huge), an outdoor shower area, L'Occitane toiletries and Harnn spa soaps - and a mini-bar you can actually raid without having to pay extra for it (all food and drinks are included in the price of your package) - plus a view of the river you just travelled on, what more could you want? TV would be nice, but since it's not in keeping with the getaway concept, no amount of pleading with the gracious staff will get you an LCD screen delivered to your tent.

Not having TV means you notice a lot more things around you. Like the elephant motifs everywhere, from the legs of tables resembling the animal's feet, brass elephant bells eight down to the cute clay elephant-shaped mosquito coil burners. You notice the clever way that windows and doorways are actually cut out from the PVC sheets, with zippers to open or close them. From the Nong Yao restaurant (the only restaurant in the resort which serves all your meals - there is no room service), you notice the flocks of white egrets that fly west every evening at 6.15 to return to their roosts after a long day at work. You never quite make the walk to the Burma Bar to watch the sunset, but you take the staff's word for it that it is beautiful.

But what you don't want to miss is breakfast - not just for the comprehensive menu that features everything from oatmeal to eggs benedict - but the three young elephants that make their daily walk from their home nearby to hobnob with guests and munch on fruit trimmings provided by the kitchen. The baby of the three is two-year-old Thawan (Thai for sun) - rescued from Bangkok, where he was hit by a lorry, leaving him with one rear leg shorter than the rest.

The cheerful youngster walks with a barely discernible limp and is impossibly adorable, his little trunk deftly picking up choice watermelon chunks over tough sugar cane sticks which his juvenile molars aren't quite strong enough yet to crunch down on. The staff say that Thawan is a mischievous fellow who's the bane of the camp's gardeners due to his taste for shrubs and orchids.

When Thawan is old enough, he and his two companions will join the adult elephants in the training camp, where they will go through their paces patiently allowing guests to sit on them while going trekking through the jungle paths. While you wonder if it's a good idea to make the elephants do something seemingly frivolous like being a tourist attraction, the chief mahout Wee explains that it's about giving the elephants work to do, without which they would be left with nothing to do all day.

Also, the spa would also be one treatment short - the mahout recovery treatment is specifically designed to relieve the aching muscles and upper thighs that novice mahouts are bound to suffer. If not, get your meridian channels sorted out with the Doi Tung Rejuvenator treatment where the thrill is not so much in being massaged, but being massaged in a tiny open air hut surrounded by thick jungle and only the sound of crickets rather than the ubiquitous piped in klong klong spa music.

But most of all, the Tented Camp is best appreciated for combining commerce and altruism - there's no denying the business aspect of a luxury resort like this, yet the fact they also give back to the environment by rescuing elephants and giving them a home and dignity, makes this a perfect place for both mind and heart. Now, if only I can sit on an elephant and not have her swat me in the face with a bamboo branch...

For more information about the resort, check out its website at www.fourseasons.com/goldentriangle