At 7.50 as expected the transfer to Elephant Hills appeared. We said a fond farewell to our exclusive hotel and got onboard. We were the only ones, so we spread out and enjoyed the 2.5 hour trip across the Thai peninsula to the camp. It was a very scenic ride - the country is so lush and green. We arrived and all the paperwork with our names was ready on the table for us to fill in - so efficient. We also received a pink drink each - no idea what it was?
After a little wait, we were escorted to our tent - it is massive - and very well provisioned. A king sized bed for us and a single bed for Tom, a desk, wardrobe, dressing table and out the back a huge bathroom with shower and toilet. The main part of the tent was canvas, the bathroom cement. The whole tent was covered with a roof made of banana plant leaves and there were some hammocks and chairs out on the veranda. We had electric lights and fans. It was spotless and very comfortable. We may not have air conditioning, but it was as luxurious as it could be without it.
We were told to wait for the gong and then turn up for lunch. So, we heard the gong and set off to the dining room - we were in the nearest tent to it so were up first. Lunch was Thai - more fried rice with some toppings: chicken / pork / veggies. All very lovey and not too spicy.
After lunch we met our guide Nong, we got in a truck (reminded me a bit of an Encounter truck) and headed 10 minutes down the road to the elephant sanctuary. There were 11 elephants in total, all of which were female, their ages ranged from 17 to 79 (The 79 year old was called 'Not Young'!. All were rescued - mainly from logging operations. Each elephant has a buddy and a mahout. (I kept thinking Nong was saying there were baddies and was thinking that they don't really get on - but it was buddies!)
Some facts we learnt:
+ The trunk has 100,000 muscles
+ Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have smaller ears
+ Asian elephants have 1 finger on their trunks - African ones have 2
+ Asian elephants have 5 toe nails at the front and 4 behind (African have 4:3)
+ They weigh up to 4 tons
+ There are only 3.000 in the wild in Thailand (also 3,000 in captivity). There were 100,000 in 1900.
+ Their trunks can hold 25 litres of water.
We could stroke them, their trunks look smooth but are spiky because of hairs growing out of them. They were very placid.
We made them some snacks: each person was given 2 pineapples and some sugar cane which we had to cut up with a machete - yes, kids included! We also had a big bunch of bananas to break up and then we made them a parcel with a bulb of tamarind, salt and rice husks, rolled up with a banana leaf. We then got to feed the elephants. It was fun. Some of them were choosy, only wanting bananas or pineapples, whilst others ate what ever you gave them. We all ended up covered in elephant saliva. A lovely experience.
Afterwards, the elephants went in groups down to a pool for a splash. One pooed big time in it which was funny, but mainly they were having fun and we loved watching them. Could have stayed there all day.
However, we had other activities to do. First though Nong found us all some rambutans to eat - these were the mystery fruit from breakfast in Bangkok. They weren't lychees - but look and taste very similar to them.
We then headed down to the river, where we got in inflatable canoes and were paddled down the river, by a guide who was looking for wildlife. We saw 2 x Mangrove Cat Snakes hanging in trees, 4 otters, some frogs, a snake in the water, some long tailed macaques, butterflies and the most amazing karst scenery: sheer vertical cliffs rising out of the rainforest. It was a beautiful, if sweaty experience.
We then headed back to the camp, where we had a shower each, watched a film about the jungle, watched some Thai children do some traditional Thai dancing and had dinner - more rice with fried stuff and curry - all very lovely. We ate well.
Then a game of cribbage and to bed - we were all shattered!
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