Thailand - Day 3

This morning we were treated to an amazing breakfast, of croissants, fresh coffee and hot chocolate and local tropical fruits. Mmmmm!

We then hopped on a little minibus to travel over an hour to the Elephant Nature Park. This is just the most amazing place you can imagine. "Lek" Chailert is a tiny Thai lady from a northern hill tribe whose mission is to give working elephants a place to come to recover from overwork, abuse and just to have a safe haven in old age. Her philosophy is that Asian elephants should be treated not as livestock (as they are classified in Thailand) but as the magnificent, intelligent and threatened species that they are. She is truly an inspiring presence and the nature preserve she has built is a testament to her determination, and her love of ALL animals, elephants in particular. Taj and Jaya loved that in addition to the pachyderms, there were 43 dogs and 12 cats in residence, not to mention the water buffaloes and cows!

Before our own lunch, we got to feed the big guys:

And after our own delicious lunch, we got to give them a bath in the river:

And while they were drying off, they were kind enough to give us a few smooches:

Later that evening, with dinner, we were serenaded by students from a nearby village and a local shaman came and performed a ceremony blessing and welcoming us to the Elephant reserve. I was one of four people that he blessed with holy water and he tied a ceremonial thread on my left wrist, which I have yet to remove... Then off to our wonderful cabin to sleep in the glorious quiet, knowing that just outside our window, there were great beasts, happily eating, sleeping and keeping each other company in that large gentle way that only elephants have. Here is the view from our bathroom window:

Ready for Day Four!!