Day 7: Koh Samui Elephant Sanctuary

Today we got up again in the middle of the night, okay, 06:00 am is normal for others, for us it often feels like the night has just begun:-) But we also experienced the beautiful sunrise during breakfast, even though we were separated. We let Samuel sleep as long as possible. He had breakfast on the way. We were picked up by a small bus and drove across the entire island. Honestly, we were not particularly impressed by the sight of the rest of the island. The main road and the traffic were just as extreme as where we come from, and the famous Chaweng also made a very hectic run-down impression on us. I assume that there are beautiful little detours into the small alleys and streets off the main road everywhere, otherwise we would not understand what tourists really find on Koh Samui.

So, as announced yesterday, we went to the Elephant Sanctuary at 07:45 am. These are elephant farms for rescued elephants, where they are well treated and can simply live their lives without violence, torture, or the terrible elephant riding or work. Even though I still had the impression that they are going through their routine here, they are used to it and maybe it doesn't bother them to be with nice people. In any case, we can tell you, it was an experience.

First, we made the food for the elephants ourselves. We had to mash and shape pumpkins, bananas, sticky rice, and flour into balls. That was a sticky affair. Surprisingly, Joe let me do it, but Zwergi (Samuel) helped me dutifully and kept mixing banana peels into the bowl:-) Then we lined up with the plates and the elephants were brought in. So there I was, the scaredy-cat, with the plate in my hand, and of course, the elephant came straight towards me at full speed. My options were to run away or calm him down with the food. Since I had heard that elephants can run quite fast, I decided to stay still just to be on the safe side and fed him with the delicious mango balls. The elephant was thrilled and moved on to the next plate. Samuel was not quite so thrilled, apparently his protective instincts for Mama kicked in, and he got a bit restless...okay...he screamed...but luckily it stopped soon. "Our" elephant was still small compared to the others and looked like he was constantly laughing or grinning. Simply impressive and beautiful. Surprisingly, it felt hard for us, even though the skin looked a bit velvety up close. Afterwards, we were allowed to watch them mud bath. The mud protects the animals from the sun. Surprisingly, we didn't get mud bathed. Then we walked a short distance into the jungle where the 3 of them were allowed to scratch and rub against the trees as they pleased. Now we also understand how elephants can knock down trees. There's strength behind it, it's incredible. It was just cool to watch. We were also able to visit two more elephants at the "station" and feed them bamboo, one was very old, already 60 years old and blind, and a younger one. Since keeping the animals is extremely expensive, an elephant eats up to 200 kg per day, unfortunately, only individual animals can be rescued again and again, but there are already 3 farms on Koh Samui. The highlight was a final joint bath with the elephants, where the visitors washed them, but we opted to just watch. Take a look at the pictures, we will definitely never forget the visit and are happy to have supported such a great facility.

After the excursion, I treated myself to a relaxing foot massage while Joe was enjoying the pool with Samuel. In the evening, we went to the playroom with Samuel one last time so he could tire himself out, and there we met a very nice young family from Upper Austria, who coincidentally booked the same two accommodations for the next 2 weeks as we did, but in reverse order of time. Apparently, we have similar taste when it comes to resorts and beaches:-) After Samuel fell asleep, I actually treated myself to a second massage of the day and got something for our room from...of course, our dear Bahnhofsrestaurant.

Tomorrow, apparently, in the morning, we are actually allowed to go to a bank to get our ATM card, we will take the ferry to Koh Phangan at noon. We hope it will be a bit quieter there because we are slowly no longer feeling well-rested with all the traffic and hustle and bustle here. It's different when you can just chill on the beautiful beach or by the pool, but since Zwerg (Samuel) is not thrilled about it...Well, we wish you a nice day and would of course also appreciate your comments on our blog and pictures, or just say hello:-) Love, Karin&Joe&Samuel