An old elephant....

Sponsored by the non-profit organization Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand and established in 2001, the center is a great facility. It is located about 40 km northeast of Hua Hin and also includes a very nice lodge with 11 rooms.

It's not cheap, but since our vacation is coming to an end and we haven't used up our budget by far, there wasn't much to consider and we booked two nights here.

There are not only 25 elephants here (the oldest is 72), but also nearly 30 bears, various species of monkeys, otters, birds, lizards, turtles, cats and a tiger.

There is a clinic, over 100 permanent staff and up to 75 volunteers who work here for a week or up to a year and pay 10 euros per day.

As overnight guests, we were free to roam the grounds, feed elephants with bananas and enjoy the whole thing in peace.