Sawatdii Kha,
I hope you all had a wonderful week. My week was amazing and memorable...
First, a bit more about Dengue fever:
My friend, Yada, is almost back to normal. She sent me this link about the rise of Dengue cases in Thailand. I'm NEVER forgetting to put on my insect repellent...EVER!
Thailand reports spike in dengue cases amongst adults
Now on to the good stuff~
Highlight of the week:
1 Elephant Nature Park – For centuries
Asian Elephants have been used in Thailand as working and performing animals. There is a controversy these days about how elephants should be treated. One side
believes that elephants should be left to their natural habitat and not used for work –
while others believe they should be used to work and show off
their skills. There are still people
who abuse elephants in order to get them to work/perform. This Lonely Planet article discusses this controversy: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thailand/travel-tips-and-articles/how-to-interact-ethically-with-elephants-in-thailand
I have seen elephants at the zoo, and we used to see one regularly from afar during our stay in our first Bangkok apartment. However, seeing elephants the way I did at the Elephant Nature Park on Saturday was awesome!
To read more about this incredible park, and the person who had the vision to open it, go to this link: http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/
Many
of the elephants that we saw at the park were physically disabled due to past
abuse. The owner, Lek, purchased
these elephants (and lots of other animals) from their owners in order to allow them to spend their
remaining days in a sort of retirement village, where they are very well maintained. The entry fees pay for the upkeep of the animals at the park. Money well spent.
I was surprised at how good it felt to feed them, bathe them and
watch them interact with each other. Each
elephant has a mahout – an elephant keeper/caregiver - who is always nearby to take care of the elephant and keep things safe for all involved.
We all stood around and fed and rubbed the oldest elephant in the park - Mae Thai (Mother Thai). She's 80 years old! We watched the elephants cover themselves in mud (a way to stay cool and ward off insects). We saw the baby, Yendii (Happy) in one of the groups chase a water buffalo who was coming too close to the herd. Yendii's mother has a slanted back from overwork, so she can’t move around very well. Another female in the herd has taken it upon herself to become the Yendii's nanny and stays close to the him at all times. The Yendii went to its birth mother when wanted to nurse. There are so many stories about these elephants, that I could go on and on (but I won't). I could have watched and interacted with them for weeks! Here are some pictures to tell the rest of story:
We all stood around and fed and rubbed the oldest elephant in the park - Mae Thai (Mother Thai). She's 80 years old! We watched the elephants cover themselves in mud (a way to stay cool and ward off insects). We saw the baby, Yendii (Happy) in one of the groups chase a water buffalo who was coming too close to the herd. Yendii's mother has a slanted back from overwork, so she can’t move around very well. Another female in the herd has taken it upon herself to become the Yendii's nanny and stays close to the him at all times. The Yendii went to its birth mother when wanted to nurse. There are so many stories about these elephants, that I could go on and on (but I won't). I could have watched and interacted with them for weeks! Here are some pictures to tell the rest of story:
Feeding our elephant
Hanging out with Popcorn
So happy!
Beautiful location for beautiful elephants!
Bathing the elephant we all thought was pregnant - she's not!
That's all from me! As my former principal used to say..."Have an epic week!"
