You know how they say “an elephant never forgets?” Well, we hope they haven’t forgotten us because we for sure haven’t forgotten them!
If you’ve ever been to Thailand or searched on the internet, you’ve probably come across pictures of elephants flooding your search. Although you will see many elephants roaming around Thailand, many of them are abused. Elephants are one of the strongest animals, however, their back is one of their weakest points on the body! So next time you see someone riding on the back of an elephant with a metal seat, its actually hurting the animal. We recommend if you are going to Thailand, find a near by elephant sanctuary and learn about the elephants by spending an entire day with them!
After the Introduction, we fed the Elephants.
The Animal Sanctuary we experienced in Thailand was called Elephant World https://www.elephantsworld.org/, in Kanchanaburi. It costs about $75/per person for one day, which is a bit pricey, but the experience is priceless. The cost included a pick up and return to/from our hotel, cost of admission and food! Yes, they do actually drive to everyones hotel/hostel, pick them up and take them to the sanctuary, so you don’t have to worry extra about transportation. Pick up time is around 9:00-9:30 am, and return time is 4:00 pm. For those of you who are backpacking through Thailand, they have storage cabins where you can safely store your backpack and belongings.
Watching the Elephants doing Elephant stuff 🙂
Once we arrived and checked in, we divided up into groups and started out adventures with the lovely elephants. Most of the elephants at the sanctuary were saved from entertainment (like circus) and trekking activities. We got a chance to feed them watermelon & honeydew melons and they even showed us how to prepare food for the elder and toothless elephants who were unable to eat the hard fruits. After feeding them we watched them play in the lake and eventually got into the water and washed them with large brushes. The volunteers and locals working at the sanctuary were so caring towards the animals and so educated about their health and well being. It was an incredible experience learning what it takes to take care for these gentle giants. We would highly recommend Elephant World to anyone looking to spend time with Elephants! If you are staying in Kanchanaburi make sure you check out Erawan falls as well!
Getting really close to the Elephants while washing them.
What to pack:
- Extra pair of clothes (you will get dirty and wet)
- Camera
- Sunscreen
- Hat
- Bug Repellant
- Flip flops
- Bananas for the elephants
