Today was packed with new experiences and adventures!
We started the day with a nice breakfast in the hotel, followed by some time near the river enjoying the scenery and sounds of nature; the environment was beautifully green and peaceful! Afterward, we hopped on the bus for a short drive to Elephants World, which is a sanctuary just outside Kanchanaburithat that takes in elephants from Thai owners when they aren’t able to care for them anymore.
When we got there, elephants of all sizes immediately approached us and stood all around us. After our guide gave us some background information, we were able to take pails of cut up watermelon and pumpkins to feed the elephants! Students were particularly excited about that because they were able to get close and feel the trunk of the elephant touch their hands.
After feeding the elephants, we got on a small bus and traveled to gather food for the elephants. We cut down plants using small machetes and loaded the plants on the bus. Once finished, we loaded the plants and drove to a different part of the sanctuary, where we fed both Asian and African elephants. We learned that many of the elephants are rescues, some from circuses and zoos.
One of the most memorable parts was when we had the chance to feed watermelon to the baby elephant and its mother. We learned that elephants are pregnant for over 2 years! In addition, we visited the oldest elephant at the sanctuary; it is 81 years old!
After feeding the elephants, we headed back to the main part of the sanctuary. We helped make food for the elephants by peeling bananas and mixing them into their medicine. Although feeding the elephants was exciting for others, many had mixed feelings about it. Being that close to such large animals was honestly exciting, yet nerve-wracking for some, and feeding them was a bit gross due to the saliva from their trunks.
After all of this, we were able to head to our most anticipated part of the day: getting in the water with the elephants!
But there was a caveat … we first had to get into the mud with the elephants because it cools them down. Not all of us wanted to do this, but those who did described the texture of the muddy water as something they have “never felt in their life.” They felt the elephant feces on the bottoms of their feet, but still decided to stay in the water and put the mud all over the elephants. That was until everyone immediately rushed out after witnessing an elephant poop in the water within 3 feet of us.
After this chaotic event, we were handed brushes and led into the river with the elephants to bathe them with water. This was many people‘s favorite part of the day because we were able to get up close to the elephants while also being playful with our peers. Even when the elephants continuously sprayed us with their trunks, the group was full of laughter and excitement.
Although our time with the elephants was done, we still had more to do there. Some students decided to take a quick shower after getting in the water with the elephants. Spirits were high and we were all extremely happy to be there. We had a small buffet style lunch, and we sat around tables with an amazing view. Off to the side, you could see Khwae Yai, the long river, and its amazing beauty. Chicken, noodles, and especially Thai tea, were all consumed. We all ate eagerly and were extremely satisfied with our meals. After about two hours, we parted ways with the elephant sanctuary, saying a sad goodbye to the elephants.
Now on the bus, we had a lengthy 3 hour drive to our next hotel. We stopped at 7-Eleven, our favorite place, to get some snacks and drinks. At last we arrived at our destination, the hotel. We all settled in pretty quickly, took showers and spent our time resting before heading to dinner. Our tour guide said that this food place was especially spectacular. It was a renowned place for chicken barbecue. Sitting down at our table tables we waited for our food to arrive. But before we started to eat dinner, we sang a very happy birthday to our chaperone Mr. Cotter. He was extremely surprised and happy to have celebrated his birthday a day early. Finally getting to the food we all talked and ate and laughed. Many memories were created and we reminisced over the day that we had. Elephants, good food and jokes were all things that we were happy to have shared with each other.
Exhausted and with our bellies filled, we headed back to the hotel. Some students went straight to bed and others decided to stay around to play card games. After we were all sent to our rooms at curfew we settled down and put our heads to our pillows.