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Summary To raise money to help survivors in disaster-hit Japan, elephants marched through Bangkok on Monday.
The parade of Thai folk dancers and six pachyderms surprised tourists on the bust touristy street of Khaosan road which is popular with backpacker for its cheap hotels and hostels. Many tourists flocked along the street to see the charm of the elephants to take a snapshot with the jumbos and donated some of their holiday money. The elephants were adorned with body paint reading Help Japan and collected donations in a box they held in their trunks.They danced on the street to attract more tourists to donate more money. The campaign was organised by the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal in an effort to help victims of the quake in Japan where almost 350,000 people are in shelters around the country after being evacuated.Thailand donated 205 million baht (6.77 million U.S. dollars) and also sent at least 24 tons of aid supplies to Japan.More than 8,600 people have been confirmed dead by Japans National Police Agency, while 13,262 are reported missing.
