Week-end playing with the elephants...


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May 6th 2012
Published: May 7th 2012
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Here we are for another fun week-end outside Bangkok. I would first like to thank Shane for giving us the idea in the first place. This is the blog that bring us here Falling Off An Elephant. I have to admit, Shane pictures are way more impressive than mine!

We spent two days and a night just outside of Kanchanaburi, staying at Elephants World. Julia decided to join us last minute for this serious session of fun. The week-end ended between having fun with the elephants, learning about them...and relaxing in the middle of nowhere.



First step, we took a taxi to Tonburi bus station just outside Bangkok. There we boarded a bus for the two hours ride to Kanchanaburi where the people of Elephants World we waiting for us.



Most people will come to Elephants World for the day. They had 17 guests on Saturday, and only 11 the next day, but we were the only four staying for the night.



Elephant's World is a camp with 9 elephants. Most of them are retired from other camps where tourists used to spend their time riding them. I once did one of these one hour run with Leslie on the back of an elephant. It was fun, but a full tourist trap and I wasn't feeling very comfortable with the full experience. This place is different, it is not much about riding elephants rather than spending time with them and giving a hand to take care of them.



This is a place where children are really entertained, and adult can be back to their inner childhood. We spent time cooking for the elephants, picking up food for them, seeing how they receive first care, and even filing a burial hole with more soil.



We didn't spend much time riding the elephants...but that was ok, as we were not really there "only" for this. The best time of each day was clearly spending time bathing the elephants in the River Kwai.



Elephants World have few little bungalows by the river, so once everybody left the place after 4pm, we had the all ground for ourselves. Sadly, dinner was pretty average, but the lunches were nice thai food.



The pictures will clearly speak for themselves. We had a really fun time, giving an helping hand at the same time. On Saturday, we met a very nice family from Canada. Leslie and Tiffany spend their day with Taylor and Sarah....so much fun for those four kids.



You would not walk close to an African Elephant...way too dangerous...but now they certainly have another view on the Asian elephants...they won't see them anymore like they used to...in a zoo...Imagine, the older elephant here is 73 years old....that's something....will the youngest is a playful 5 years old kid!



So this was it, another fun week-end in Thailand. There is really so much to see aound Bangkok! We were back by dinner time at home. Leslie and Tiffany don't have school this Monday due to a public holiday....for me, it's back to business as usual....before heading the road again pretty soon!



Next entry coming soon...from a very different place....


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7th May 2012
I ended....under water!

Kammoon the elephant strikes again!
PA, you can now join an exclusive club - another Travelblogger to have been thrown into the Kwai River by Kammoon! Nice to see that I am not the only blogger on Travelblog to have received a dunking at Elephant's World. Glad you had a great time!
7th May 2012
Mowgli, a day to remember!

A display of poise
Leslie looks far better balanced on those elephants that I did - well done!
8th May 2012

Great Fun
Oh what a wonderful life you lead PA..I adore elephants you are so lucky to have them close by :)

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