We had a blast on our Elephant trekking excursion! We first saw a baby elephant show. He was 3 yrs old and could already play basketball, hula hoop, play the harmonica, dance, and give Thai massages! (you'll see what I mean). We then ventured to a snake show and monkey show before going on our 45 minute elephant trek. They people were so nice and not many others were there at the same time so most of the shows were special "for us". I'm always worried about places like these...do they take care of their animals? Are they well-fed and treated humane? As soon as we got here; I knew not to worry. They all got plenty of treats and plenty of TLC! This was about a half day event and it was hot; but we had so much fun we didn't even notice :)
I was the first for the Thai massage. You would not believe how heavy a baby elephant's trunk is!
He was trained to give kisses. We got many, many smooches from this elephant! It's like a giant, sloppy suction cup on your face. May be messy; but very sweet :) Tyler did his best to evade them!
The Bird Show! These hawks did some cool tricks and we got to be a part of the show
Stealing my hat mid flight
At the end you can give tips. We held the money up like this and let the hawk get the tip himself :) (The guy was giving me instructions during this time...I was slightly hesitant)
Who knew money could go so quickly!?
How often does a 14 month old get a chance to pet a hawk? Not that often...we also let him pet the.............
SNAKES!!! (no, just kidding...only I did :))
Shedding his skin. I absolutely loved this show! I think snakes are some of God's most beautiful creatures :)
PYTHON!!
If I were him, I would not be laughing at this KING COBRA!
The Monkey Show!
Getting tied up for the "Rescue Monkey" (as they call him) to come save me :)
My hero :)
Our elephant coming to greet us!
Our guide was so nice. He is also the baby elephant trainer and loves his elephants :)
Thailand looks pretty much like this....lush, green; beautiful!
He hopped off our elephant and volunteered to take some family photos for us.
We all got a chance to scoot down and sit on her. She was so gentle and patient.
Tyler's turn! He didn't know what to think of her rough skin :)
Where we sat; right behind the ears
She decided to pause for a snack; so we waited :)
Trudging through the mud. Look at those giant prints!! Every now and then she took a break and just stood there. Our guide didnt rush her...he just gave her a nudge behind the ear after a few minutes to let her know we were still waiting; then she slowly (and I mean slowly) continued :)
A break through the trees and this is what we saw!
We were gone for nearly 5 hours and Ty missed a nap but you could never tell....he was wide-eyed the whole time and loving it! Didn't fuss once!
Heading back
After we got done, we bought 2 pineapple baskets to feed the elephants. Andy and Ty fed the baby. Every time he gave him a pineapple, he leaned back and crossed his leg and made a loud trumpet with his trunk to say thank you. When we were done; he gave us all a few kisses on the cheek; even without his trainer commanding him. The trainer said he loves to give kisses and will give one to anyone willing to receive it :)
I got to feed the mama! You can't see her belly but she was huge and ready to give birth very soon! She was so sweet when taking the pineapple from me. When I was out I just gave her a big hug and petted her for a bit. She didnt move; just stared at me and gently nudged me with her trunk....It's like we were communicating. I think in that moment; I was the Elephant Whisperer :) haha!
The elephants are full; now its time to head back to the hotel
Racing out to see the sunset!
The restaurant at our hotel overlooking the ocean
I think the lack of a nap finally caught up with sleepy Tyler :)
Taking a walk through the market before bed. These soap carvings are everywhere. Who knew Palmolive could be so beautiful!
Good night!
