We had two bucket list items in Thailand, and being so close, with flights so much less expensive than they would be from the states, we decided to make a quick trip to Phuket.
Using the last of our Marriott points, we stayed in a beautiful resort. We arrived around noon and spent the first day and most of the next lounging lazily at the pool. We ordered our lunch from the loungers and arranged room service to arrive at our room just before we would arrive from being out. It was a total of four days of special treatment! I truly count my blessings every single meal that I didn't shop for the food, prep the food or clean up the food!
The second day in the mid-afternoon we rented scooters and rode to a nearby beach town. Our hotel is located among local people, which is kind of fun. Taking into consideration we are in a high touristy area of Thailand, it is remarkable how much more developed Thailand is, economically, than Cambodia!
Adele and I got a cheap pedicure while Ceci took a turn riding the moped around with Geoff, then we went to a large outdoor massage place on the beach and got a 40-minute foot massage for ten bucks.
The next day we rode the scooters an hour to church, only it took us an hour and a half because we got lost! This was a great adventure. I felt a little James Bondish weaving through traffic, especially as they drive on the opposite side of the road. It feels very safe here on a moto because they are a basic part of traffic flow here. Everyone is watching for them. But there are more cars here than motos by far, and there are not motos pulling all sorts and sizes of loads behind them.
Church was in a small room in a hotel room, a unit just made in to a branch weeks before, and the attendees were mostly tourists! We were made to feel so welcome.
One of Adele's bucket list items was to interact with elephants. She had researched a good place to go, called Green Elephant Sanctuary Park here in Phuket.
Activists are trying to rescue elephants in shows or that are ridden by tourists. Like horses that pull city buggies, they are overworked and treated poorly, so we decided to not ride one, but care for them instead.
There were three, middle-aged (late 40s) female elephants at this sanctuary. Only female elephants are at sanctuaries interacting with humans, as the males are unpredictable and aggressive. First we fed them bananas and sugar cane.
Next we took them into a mud bath, which was pretty gross considering they were using the water as their toilet, but getting all muddy and rubbing it on their hairy, rough skin while they responded like dogs getting a good rub behind the ears was super fun!
The trainer thought it funny to have the elephant squirt people.
Did you know elephants think people are super cute like people think puppies are cute? I bet she thought these two were too cute to handle!
The last station was a fresh water shower where we brushed the elephants in a motion similar to scrubbing a floor. Again, they loved this.
I recently read a book called Modoc, a true story about a circus elephant, which made me love this experience even more. They have so much strength and power, yet seem so gentle and loving.
We had a few more bananas. Geoff set one on his head.
Ceci did it too. This was her view from below.
We learned that male elephants were used in war (think Hannibal conquering Rome), not only as war animals, but to fight themselves!
Amazing day that was loved by all. Interacting with elephants: CHECK!
Using the last of our Marriott points, we stayed in a beautiful resort. We arrived around noon and spent the first day and most of the next lounging lazily at the pool. We ordered our lunch from the loungers and arranged room service to arrive at our room just before we would arrive from being out. It was a total of four days of special treatment! I truly count my blessings every single meal that I didn't shop for the food, prep the food or clean up the food!
The second day in the mid-afternoon we rented scooters and rode to a nearby beach town. Our hotel is located among local people, which is kind of fun. Taking into consideration we are in a high touristy area of Thailand, it is remarkable how much more developed Thailand is, economically, than Cambodia!
Adele and I got a cheap pedicure while Ceci took a turn riding the moped around with Geoff, then we went to a large outdoor massage place on the beach and got a 40-minute foot massage for ten bucks.
The next day we rode the scooters an hour to church, only it took us an hour and a half because we got lost! This was a great adventure. I felt a little James Bondish weaving through traffic, especially as they drive on the opposite side of the road. It feels very safe here on a moto because they are a basic part of traffic flow here. Everyone is watching for them. But there are more cars here than motos by far, and there are not motos pulling all sorts and sizes of loads behind them.
Church was in a small room in a hotel room, a unit just made in to a branch weeks before, and the attendees were mostly tourists! We were made to feel so welcome.
One of Adele's bucket list items was to interact with elephants. She had researched a good place to go, called Green Elephant Sanctuary Park here in Phuket.
Activists are trying to rescue elephants in shows or that are ridden by tourists. Like horses that pull city buggies, they are overworked and treated poorly, so we decided to not ride one, but care for them instead.
There were three, middle-aged (late 40s) female elephants at this sanctuary. Only female elephants are at sanctuaries interacting with humans, as the males are unpredictable and aggressive. First we fed them bananas and sugar cane.
Next we took them into a mud bath, which was pretty gross considering they were using the water as their toilet, but getting all muddy and rubbing it on their hairy, rough skin while they responded like dogs getting a good rub behind the ears was super fun!
Then we took them to a "fresh water" pool to pour/throw buckets of water on them to wash the mud off. It felt like a water fight with the people on the other side of the elephant that we couldn't see, as both sides were launching buckets of water trying to get to the top of the elephant.
Did you know elephants think people are super cute like people think puppies are cute? I bet she thought these two were too cute to handle!
The last station was a fresh water shower where we brushed the elephants in a motion similar to scrubbing a floor. Again, they loved this.
I recently read a book called Modoc, a true story about a circus elephant, which made me love this experience even more. They have so much strength and power, yet seem so gentle and loving.
We had a few more bananas. Geoff set one on his head.
Ceci did it too. This was her view from below.
We learned that male elephants were used in war (think Hannibal conquering Rome), not only as war animals, but to fight themselves!
Amazing day that was loved by all. Interacting with elephants: CHECK!
Oh wow!! I'm amazed by all you are getting to do on this trip!! Spending a day with elephants is on my bucket list too.
ReplyDelete