Thailand, Part 1
Day 49, February 15
We were supposed to wake up at 7am so we could pack up, get ready and eat breakfast all before the van came to pick us up for the overnight elephant sanctuary trip but my alarm’s volume was down too low so I never heard it. We didn’t end up waking up until 7:30 so we had to do all of that in 30 minutes. Somehow we managed to scramble and finish eating right as the van pulled up to get us.
Scrambled eggs, mayo on our breakfast salad and a hot dog with ham over it
We were the last stop so then we were on our way to the jungle. We stopped about half way to have a bathroom/coffee break. Then we continued on. The car ride in the back was really rough. My sister and I both had to take a dramamine for the car sickness.
Right before I had to take the dramamine
Somehow we made it there without either one of us getting sick although I was really close at times. The drive up to the jungle part where the elephants were, was extremely bumpy with a lot of tight curves. Some they even had to put it in reverse to fully make the turns. I have no pictures from this part because I was still feeling pretty car sick.
Once we got there we all had to grab some bags of food to carry to the pavilion area. I had the privilege of carrying the extremely, huge bag of salad. I didn’t realize the walk to the lodge was going to feel like more of a hike or I would have grabbed a lighter item.
Then other car loads joined us. The trainer gave us an overview of our day and told us about the elephants. At this sanctuary there were 6 female elephant and one young male elephant. There can only be one male elephant in a sanctuary at a time because they are very aggressive.
This sanctuary is a very ethical one so there was no riding on the backs because that is very, very cruel and hurts them. The elephants only know the local language spoken at the nearby villages so we really had to rely on the trainers to help us.
Check out our nifty shirts
We then got to separate in groups to go see the elephants. Our first stop was to see the 3 female elephants and feed them bananas. I was really surprised at how bristly they were. At first we were really timid around them. The area we were in was very small and the ground was uneven so any time they would start to walk, we would try to back up and then almost trip over something. But we got a lot of good pictures. *Warning an overload of elephant pictures coming up*
She kept bending her leg like this
Then we got to switch with the other group and go hang out with the other 4 elephants. There was one momma one that was 55 years old and pregnant. Female elephants are pregnant for 2 years so she still had a year to go but already looked pretty big. It was really cool to see the baby elephant protruding from her side. The young male was also over there. His name is Peter but they call him Naughty Boy because he pretty much did whatever he wanted. When we was tired of being fed, he’d roam off. When we was tired of being around people, he’d walk away. And the other two elephants were females in their 30’s.
Naughty Boy off by himself
To the left you can see the baby elephant bump
After that we went down to the river while the trainers gathered them up to bring them down to drink water. Seeing them come charging down the hill towards us/the river was pretty awesome. Some were making noise and others were just charging full speed. The trainers then kept telling one of the elephants something in their language and then the elephant would spray us with water. I happened to be in the front and got soaked but also got a really cool video on my GoPro.
Then it was time to head back to the pavilion area for lunch. We had rice, veggies, watermelon and chicken wings.
After lunch we had about 30 minuets of free time to just relax.
Then it was time for us to feed the elephants their “medicine”. We mashed white & wild rice with banana and then mixed some tree bark in with it. Then we rolled them up into balls. The elephants won’t eat the rice or bark without something sweet with it so that’s why it all has to be mixed together. This combo of items helps with their digestion because they inadvertently eat dirt and mud when trying to eat other items off the ground.
After we mixed this concoction together, we changed into our bathing suit to give them a mud bath after feeding them their medicine.
Then it was time for the mud bath. The trainers led the elephants into the mud area and immediately they started rolling around in it and playing. It was the most precious thing ever. We joined them and were able to rub the down with the mud to help them cool off. I got sprayed with the mud many times and was covered head to toe in it. But it was so worth it. Seeing them roll around in it and rub up against the ledge as if they were scratching their back was adorable.
At one point I was standing on the outer edge and the momma elephant was rubbing up against the ledge. I didn’t think she’d be able to get her leg up but she did (and very quickly) and hit my leg. It scrapped it up a little and I sort of twisted it because I was trying to get away. The trainer behind me grabbed me to pull me back at the same time. I only got a scrape on my left back leg and cut my big toe when it drug on the ground. I was fine but a little shaken.
I’m an elephant warrior
Then we headed to the river to rinse off. We first had to rinse them off, though. Again it was awesome to see them charging down to the water. They jumped in and started rolling and splashing around. We got buckets and started splashing them with water to rinse off the mud. After the were rinsed off they went back up to graze in the shade.
It was our turn to rinse off in the river now. The water was freezing so I just rinsed off my legs and was thinking/hoping there’d be a shower somewhere else that I could use but there wasn’t. I had to rinse off in the large bucket they had for washing hands and feet.
After that they served us tea and coffee and we relaxed until it was time to load back up. Some of us were staying overnight while others were headed back to the city area.
They dropped the overnight people off and we waited for a few others to join us. Once we were all accounted for, we loaded up in another truck and they took us to the village we’d be staying in overnight.
When we arrived we saw 4 new female elephants and one male. There was even a little baby one! We immediately set our stuff down and ran over to the elephants to meet them.
There was one named Diamond that was around 20 years old they said and it was one of her first days at the sanctuary. She was rescued from logging and had a large gash on her head that they were putting medicine on. Her eyes looked so tired and red. She had not been treated well at all at her last place and I think she was still trying to adjust. Since she was so new she wasn’t trained yet so didn’t know or understand what they were saying to her in their language. But she was still so calm. Again, I think she was so tired and hungry. So we stood there and kept feeding her while they took the other elephants up to the pasture area.
Me loving on Diamond
The purple on Diamond’s head is the medicine
Another Diamond picture because I love her
We then hung out until dinner time around 7ish. They served green curry with white rice and another veggie dish. Again, it was really good. Everything was very fresh and flavorful.
After we ate a group of us stayed up playing drinking game. It was amazing to see how many games were universal.
Our 2 new German friends and to the left, the owner of the elephant sanctuary
I was getting really cold and tired so I retired at 11pm. Our room was just one large open room that was not sealed off. We were exposed to the outside temperature. It was basically camping.
This was our sleeping set up for the night (the photo was taken during the day)
I had to layer up with everything I had because I didn’t know to pack warm items. I was thinking we’d be staying in a closed off room. So I slept in 4 shirts and jacket and 2 pairs of pants and used my sisters shirt to grab around my feet because I didn’t bring socks. So all bundled up, I tried to get some sleep because I was really tired.
Day 50, February 16
I was extremely cold and kept having to use the restroom at night which meant walking outside into the cold but I survived the night.
Breakfast was at 9 so I took off a few layers and went down to the pavilion area. It was scrambled eggs with carrots and onions in it and toast.
After breakfast, they brought the elephants down to where we were so we could hang out with them. I was taking pictures of the rice field when all of a sudden I hear this stomping noise and turned around to see them all charging down the hill. This sight will never get old to me. It is so cool and scary at the same time to see a herd of elephants come charging towards your direction. The bigger ones went right to where they were supposed to go but the 2 younger ones, mainly the baby, veered off the path and came towards where we were standing. Even though she is a young baby she is still huge and mighty. The trainers were yelling at her to get back but she was doing whatever she wanted.
I don’t think the young ones understand the trainers as well yet. They aren’t all that old to have learned enough, I don’t think. They finally got her away to stop charging at us and into the appropriate area.
Then they were all calm so we could go and pet them and feed them. I am really glad we chose to do the overnight excursion because yesterday I felt really timid around them but by the morning of the next day, I was much more relaxed around them. And they definitely pick up on that. I didn’t realize how smart elephants were. It blew me away.
Momma elephant feeding her baby
We said goodbye to these elephants and walked to another nearby village. We looked around their village before trekking on to a little river area where we stopped to have lunch.
Rooster sitting on the pig
Water buffalos
We had rice with veggies and watermelon.
Then we walked a little further to the Maewang Waterfall. I didn’t have any desire to get into the water. I was more focused on getting back to the elephants so I just sat on the rocks. The water was also extremely cold from what I was hearing.
While I was sitting there, another leader who was also sitting there. He yelled over to me hi and asked my name. I told him and then he told me his name was Eddy although I thought he said Eric so kept calling him that. He told me he was leading a trekking tour for a couple and that they were about to go white water rafting. He told me about his village and that he learned English from speaking with tourist like me.
It was then time for my group to head over to one last elephant camp so I said farewell to Eddy. We trekked a little ways and finally came to the camp.
There were 4 or 5 elephants at this camp. One was 75 years old and was rescued from logging in Burma. Her back is very mis-shaped from the logging. There were 2 other elephants that were rescued from the circus and one of the elephants kept dancing. Apparently she would have to dance to get food and/or not get whipped. It was very heartbreaking to see her sway back and forth. At first, I thought it was cute before I realized why she was doing this. Then it absolutely broke my heart. I kept feeding her bananas to try and get her to stop dancing. She would stop long enough to eat and then go right back to it. It made me really mad that anyone could be so cruel to the animals and made me want to start boycotting circuses.
The one on the right is the 75 year old
The one in the front was rescued from the circus. She was dancing in this picture.
It was extremely hard to say goodbye to the elephants at this place because it was the last time I’d get to interact with them. But we had to head back to town.
We were the last ones to get dropped off at our hostel. We went and checked in for another night, grabbed our bags that they were holding for us and went to the exact same beds as before. We dropped our stuff off and went in search of food. We found a place that looked nice and I got the Thai Basil. It was really good but a very small portion. So after dinner we went for dessert. We found a place nearby our hostel and I got the pumpkin in coconut cream.
Then it was back to our hostel to take a cold shower and go to bed. It has been a really exciting and fun past 2 days. I feel so lucky that I got to stay overnight at an elephant sanctuary and get to know the elephants. They are truly beautiful and incredibly smart creatures. I will never forget this experience and am already looking into other ones I can go to around the world.
Holly
February 17, 2017
I see what you did there… elephant pants at the elephant sanctuary! Also, we totally signed a petition for elephant rights when we went to the ice cream festival in college.
Jillian
February 17, 2017
Ok good! Glad you remembered!!
Momma Payne
February 17, 2017
Bless their hearts! They are so sweet. It is sad to think that there are people who are so mean to animals. But it is nice to know that there are people who take care of them.
Momma Payne
February 17, 2017
Bless their hearts! They are so sweet. It is sad to think that there are people who are so mean to animals. But it is nice to know that there are people who take care of them.
Jillian
February 17, 2017
I know. They were absolutely the sweetest things ever. The people that take care of them are amazing too. They have dedicated their lives to these elephants. It was a great experience and I am having serious elephant withdrawals today.