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Published: March 25th 2012
Non-stop adventure! What a day!
We got up at 6.30, went down for breakfast at 7, and were picked up at 7.45. Early start and we didn’t get home until 6 pm, so we’re all pretty beat by now.
Our tour guide was a Thai cowboy – leather boots, denim jeans, big show-off belt buckle. Funny guy, very nice.He told us about Thailand, their culture, and language while we drove to the first place: a palace with monkeys you could feed by hand. The pictures pretty much say it all! We bought some food to feed them and Kaja and Kia especially got in close contact with some of the monkeys.
After the monkeys, we went to a mini zoo. As a member of WSPA, it hurt really bad to watch all the animals in tiny cages! One bear had claws that went around in what seemed like never-ending spirals because they had never been cut, and at the same time the bear was blind and sitting in a corner, swinging its head from side to side over and over again. Made my stomach hurt.
Happy to move on, we went to the jungle. And that’s when
we rode on elephants! I was lucky and got to sit on its neck, while the rest of the family sat on seats on their backs. I had been anxious that the elephants weren’t treated right, but that wasn’t the case and it was a great experience to be carried through the jungle on a full-grown Asian elephant (even if its hairs were long and stiff and digging into my bare legs).
We then bought some bananas to feed the elephants as thanks for giving us a ride – some might find that ridiculous, but it was nice.
Then we went to a sea turtle farm (read: conservation center)! CUTENESS OVERLOAD! Sea turtles between 15 days and 6 months - and a few older ones (“mama and papa”) - were kept until they were ready to be released into the wild. I will refrain from any turtle love declaration this time around. Let’s just say, I was a very happy tourist 😉
Finally, it was time for lunch. Local restaurant right by the beach. So why not go for a quick dive in the ocean afterwards? Strong current and a few good waves, it was a lot
of fun!
Then the day continued with a trip to a small waterfall where we also got in the water. It was cooler than the ocean, and if you stood under the waterfall, it provided a good neck massage. The locals also used the spot. The children climbed on the rocks and jumped off even if the water was fairly shallow. How great would it be having a waterfall in your backyard for the hot summer days?
We finished off the day with bamboo rafting. We thought it was going to be a wild ride on a bamboo raft down the river, but we were pretty tired by then and so we didn’t mind when it turned out to be a slow tour on a raft steered by a local.
An extra stop was made at a rubber plantation. Interesting to see how rubber is made. Apparently, Thailand exports over 70%!o(MISSING)f its rubber because it doesn’t have the necessary technology.
It was an awesome day! But I’m glad we don’t have any plans for tomorrow.
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Marte
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BABY SEA TURTLES!?
the only thing better than a sea turtle is BABY sea turtles!!!!!!