Cambodia / Day 90-94

Hello dear ones, I have some great photos of the elephants for you again. We have been in the jungle with them a few times in the past few days. It's so amazing how they can roam freely and still listen to their mahout. They really eat all day long. We just sit in the shade and watch them eat. It's strange, but they radiate a certain peacefulness while doing so, and I could watch them for hours.

On Monday, 9 new volunteers arrived, so we are now a total of 10. This allows us to do our work much faster and have more time for additional tasks that require more people. Today, for example, we helped build a larger dam in the jungle. That was a tiring and sweaty job, with 32 degrees in the sun.

In addition to the elephants and monkeys, we also have 32 dogs here. They were also rescued from the streets and can be adopted. However, since this project is not as well-known as the one in Thailand, the dogs here unfortunately stay much longer and it is likely that some of them will spend their lives here. The dogs here are also in a worse condition than in Thailand. One dog is missing a leg, another one a paw, and two cannot move their hind legs. Most of them have their injuries from car accidents, and the dog without a paw was trapped in a jungle animal trap. The one dog that cannot move its hind legs is still a puppy and so adorable. It always hops over to you and wants to play and lick you. Just cute and really sad. I hope that at least he will find a new and better home where he might also get a wheelchair for his hind legs.

I will be here until Sunday and then I will go back to Thailand. But this time not for another project but for a week of yoga on the beach. I think I deserve a little relaxation after over 3 months of volunteering.

I will write to you again.

Yours, Alex