We are through immigration and are waiting to board our flight in about 10 minutes!!! See you in the morning!!!
Euan & Charlotte
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Me likey Melaka
We have had a great time in Kuala Lumpur.
We had a very hectic day and managed to cram loads in! In the morning we went to the National Mosque and learned all about Islam. Its quite a modern building and was built some time in the late 60s. Its pretty cool, the roof is like an opening umbrella. Its pretty huge and can hold up to 15,000 people!!! Probably the best thing about visiting this mosque was the purple hooded cloak that Charlotte had to wear to cover up her slutty white western skin.
After this we caught the monorail to Time Square shopping centre. If you can imagine a shopping centre that has 3 or 4 times the ground floor area of Ocean Terminal and is 8 storeys high then that is what Time Square is like. The top 3 floors are dedicated to a theme park which has a massive rollercoaster zooming around the roof space of the mall. I went on it and it was pretty fantastic. Charlotte couldn't be convinced!
After this we went to the Malaysian Tourism centre to see a traditional Malaysian dance show which was pretty cool. It was really fast and energetic and the costumes were bright and colourful. At one point they got volunteers out of the audience to burst a balloon with a blow dart. Needless to say, there is now an ex-balloon in Malaysia, courtesy of me. I didn't tell them that I've done it before!
Afte this we went up KL Tower which sits in virgin rainforest right in the middle of the City! The tower is 276m tall and offers 360 degree views of the city. The lift travels at 6m/s and reaches the top in 58 seconds!
In the evening we had dinner on the 33rd floor of the Traders Hotel and watched the Petronas Twin towers light up as the sun went down. We got some great photos.
Yesterday we got a bus from KL to Melaka. Melaka was the largest port in South East Asia before Singapore was founded. It has been occupied by the Portugese, Dutch, French and British and the European influences can be seen in lots of the buildings as well as Chinese and Indian influences.
Today we have been on a replica pf a Portugese trading ship which was ok, but there was a lot of reading to do. Next we went to the Museum of enduring beauty which is all about things like scarification, long neck people, feet binding in China, wearing of lip plates and tattooing etc. It was pretty interesting. After this we went the Sultanate Palace, where the Sultan of Melaka used to live. There is no longer a Sultan in this Province. It was a huge long wooden building with intricate roofing and walls. Apparantly not one single nail was used in its construction.
Last night we went to the Cinema to see Dinner for Schmucks and tonight we are going back to see The Other Guys.
Its like John Lennon said; "You may say I'm adreamer, but I'm not."
That's a line in the movie.
Hope everyone is well. We miss you all loads and can't wait to see you on Sunday.
Laura, my phone ran out of credit while I was talking to you, sorry. Nevermind, I'll see you soon anyway!
We had a very hectic day and managed to cram loads in! In the morning we went to the National Mosque and learned all about Islam. Its quite a modern building and was built some time in the late 60s. Its pretty cool, the roof is like an opening umbrella. Its pretty huge and can hold up to 15,000 people!!! Probably the best thing about visiting this mosque was the purple hooded cloak that Charlotte had to wear to cover up her slutty white western skin.
After this we caught the monorail to Time Square shopping centre. If you can imagine a shopping centre that has 3 or 4 times the ground floor area of Ocean Terminal and is 8 storeys high then that is what Time Square is like. The top 3 floors are dedicated to a theme park which has a massive rollercoaster zooming around the roof space of the mall. I went on it and it was pretty fantastic. Charlotte couldn't be convinced!
After this we went to the Malaysian Tourism centre to see a traditional Malaysian dance show which was pretty cool. It was really fast and energetic and the costumes were bright and colourful. At one point they got volunteers out of the audience to burst a balloon with a blow dart. Needless to say, there is now an ex-balloon in Malaysia, courtesy of me. I didn't tell them that I've done it before!
Afte this we went up KL Tower which sits in virgin rainforest right in the middle of the City! The tower is 276m tall and offers 360 degree views of the city. The lift travels at 6m/s and reaches the top in 58 seconds!
In the evening we had dinner on the 33rd floor of the Traders Hotel and watched the Petronas Twin towers light up as the sun went down. We got some great photos.
Yesterday we got a bus from KL to Melaka. Melaka was the largest port in South East Asia before Singapore was founded. It has been occupied by the Portugese, Dutch, French and British and the European influences can be seen in lots of the buildings as well as Chinese and Indian influences.
Today we have been on a replica pf a Portugese trading ship which was ok, but there was a lot of reading to do. Next we went to the Museum of enduring beauty which is all about things like scarification, long neck people, feet binding in China, wearing of lip plates and tattooing etc. It was pretty interesting. After this we went the Sultanate Palace, where the Sultan of Melaka used to live. There is no longer a Sultan in this Province. It was a huge long wooden building with intricate roofing and walls. Apparantly not one single nail was used in its construction.
Last night we went to the Cinema to see Dinner for Schmucks and tonight we are going back to see The Other Guys.
Its like John Lennon said; "You may say I'm adreamer, but I'm not."
That's a line in the movie.
Hope everyone is well. We miss you all loads and can't wait to see you on Sunday.
Laura, my phone ran out of credit while I was talking to you, sorry. Nevermind, I'll see you soon anyway!
Monday, 11 October 2010
10101010101010
Long day of trekking yesterday...
We got picked up in a 4x4 at 8:45 and driven along a windy road to the start point of our trek. The last 20 minutes or so was offroad and uphill! Our 4x4 was a Swiss Army Truck! Our driver kept telling us to look to the right, it was due to the bottomless drops on our left!
We stopped at 10:10:10 10/10/10 and had a beer! Nothing like drinking at 10 am before a trek through a humid jungle!
We were given hats made out of fern leaves before clambering through the jungle, up hills, down hills, over bamboo bridges, over fallen trees, under fallen trees, jumping on stepping stones (or in Charlotte's case just wading through the river!) This process repeated itself for about an hour until we came across the Rafflesia. It is the world's largest flower and is named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, of Raffles Hotel fame. (He may also have founded Singapore).
It is big and red and has a spiky centre. It is supposed to smell really bad, of rotten meat in order to attract flies but it wasn't as bad as was made out. After a few snaps we started our hour long trek back to the 4x4.
It was about this point that my arm was raped by a Malaysian Jungle Wasp. It is still sore!!!
Next stop was an aboriginal village for a blowpipe demonstration. They load up a pipe made from bamboo and shoot poison tipped darts through it for hunting. The ones used in the demonstrationwere not poison tipped and had a 30 metre range. Everyone had a shot of shooting at a polystyrene target, Charlotte is a natural! It is at this point we purchased perhaps the best souvenir in the history of souvenirs... Our very own blowpipe and darts!!!
After this we visited Boh Tea Plantation. The Cameron Highlands is a very famous tea producing region and there are plantations everywhere. The one we visited is owned by a Scottish Family! It hade a cafe with fantastice views over the tea covered slopes. We had a refreshing afternoon drink, I had a blackcurrant ice tea and Charlotte opted for a spot of Cameronian Gold. They washed down our scones and strawberry jam nicely!
Next stop was a butterfly and insect farm. We have a variety of photographs with us being attacked by bugs. We held millipedes, a three horned rhino beetle, giant weevils, a gecko, a moving leaf, a turtle and a big black nasty scorpion. The lad that worked there thought it was hillarious to grab a handful of scorpions and just chuck them on people's shirts! Luckily he didn't do that to me or he'd have found out how hillarious getting a punch in the puss is! I did hold a scorpion, just not for very long!
The last stop was a strawberry farm, we have all seen strawberry farms before and this one was no different. However the strawbs, jams and milkshakes to be found here were delicious!
This morning we left the Cameron Highlands at 7am and arrived here in Kuala Lumpur at 11am. KL is pretty cool so far and we are staying in China Town. This afternoon we visited Batu caves which is a Hindu shrine with a massive gold hindu god image outside (not sure which one). It is well worth a google image search as it was pretty impressive. The best thing about these caves is they were inhabited by packs of wild monkeys who try and steal your shit.
We are going to do some shopping in the hectic markets outside our hotel this evening before a busy day ahead tomorrow. A park, a mosque, a shopping centre, the worl's largest indoor rollercoaster, KL tower, the Petronas Towers, a traditional Malaysian dance show and an aquarium are all, hopefully, going to be squeezed into our packed schedule!
Hope everyone is sticking in and not doing any drugs. Take care,
Euan and Charlotte.
PS. Mother and Father Jackson, here are some instruction that I already gave you and wrote down for you but I will repeat myself. Firstly I work on ward one the telephone number is 0131 536 7876 phone between 11am-12, 2pm-5 or 6-11pm. Explain that you are my parents and would like to know what my shifts are. Please do this tonight. Thanks.
We got picked up in a 4x4 at 8:45 and driven along a windy road to the start point of our trek. The last 20 minutes or so was offroad and uphill! Our 4x4 was a Swiss Army Truck! Our driver kept telling us to look to the right, it was due to the bottomless drops on our left!
We stopped at 10:10:10 10/10/10 and had a beer! Nothing like drinking at 10 am before a trek through a humid jungle!
We were given hats made out of fern leaves before clambering through the jungle, up hills, down hills, over bamboo bridges, over fallen trees, under fallen trees, jumping on stepping stones (or in Charlotte's case just wading through the river!) This process repeated itself for about an hour until we came across the Rafflesia. It is the world's largest flower and is named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, of Raffles Hotel fame. (He may also have founded Singapore).
It is big and red and has a spiky centre. It is supposed to smell really bad, of rotten meat in order to attract flies but it wasn't as bad as was made out. After a few snaps we started our hour long trek back to the 4x4.
It was about this point that my arm was raped by a Malaysian Jungle Wasp. It is still sore!!!
Next stop was an aboriginal village for a blowpipe demonstration. They load up a pipe made from bamboo and shoot poison tipped darts through it for hunting. The ones used in the demonstrationwere not poison tipped and had a 30 metre range. Everyone had a shot of shooting at a polystyrene target, Charlotte is a natural! It is at this point we purchased perhaps the best souvenir in the history of souvenirs... Our very own blowpipe and darts!!!
After this we visited Boh Tea Plantation. The Cameron Highlands is a very famous tea producing region and there are plantations everywhere. The one we visited is owned by a Scottish Family! It hade a cafe with fantastice views over the tea covered slopes. We had a refreshing afternoon drink, I had a blackcurrant ice tea and Charlotte opted for a spot of Cameronian Gold. They washed down our scones and strawberry jam nicely!
Next stop was a butterfly and insect farm. We have a variety of photographs with us being attacked by bugs. We held millipedes, a three horned rhino beetle, giant weevils, a gecko, a moving leaf, a turtle and a big black nasty scorpion. The lad that worked there thought it was hillarious to grab a handful of scorpions and just chuck them on people's shirts! Luckily he didn't do that to me or he'd have found out how hillarious getting a punch in the puss is! I did hold a scorpion, just not for very long!
The last stop was a strawberry farm, we have all seen strawberry farms before and this one was no different. However the strawbs, jams and milkshakes to be found here were delicious!
This morning we left the Cameron Highlands at 7am and arrived here in Kuala Lumpur at 11am. KL is pretty cool so far and we are staying in China Town. This afternoon we visited Batu caves which is a Hindu shrine with a massive gold hindu god image outside (not sure which one). It is well worth a google image search as it was pretty impressive. The best thing about these caves is they were inhabited by packs of wild monkeys who try and steal your shit.
We are going to do some shopping in the hectic markets outside our hotel this evening before a busy day ahead tomorrow. A park, a mosque, a shopping centre, the worl's largest indoor rollercoaster, KL tower, the Petronas Towers, a traditional Malaysian dance show and an aquarium are all, hopefully, going to be squeezed into our packed schedule!
Hope everyone is sticking in and not doing any drugs. Take care,
Euan and Charlotte.
PS. Mother and Father Jackson, here are some instruction that I already gave you and wrote down for you but I will repeat myself. Firstly I work on ward one the telephone number is 0131 536 7876 phone between 11am-12, 2pm-5 or 6-11pm. Explain that you are my parents and would like to know what my shifts are. Please do this tonight. Thanks.
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Highlands and Islands
So, Malaysia is pretty awesome. Had good fun crossing the border as, for the first time, they checked my passport photo... The lady behind the desk thought it was quite funny.
We had a hellishly long travel day to get here. We departed our hotel at 0630 to take a minivan to the pier, where we boarded a public bus. The bus then drove on to the ferry and we got off the bus. We were on the ferry for about an hour and a half back to the mainland. The public bus drove for about 6.5 hours to a bus station where we boarded another private minivan and drove an hour to the border. After going through the border shennanigans we were back in the van for a supposed three hour drive to Georgetown.
Georgetown is the main town on the Malaysian island of Penang. You can see the European, Chinese and Indian influences everywhere. Almost as soon as you cross the border from Thailand, you can tell that you are in a more prosperous nation. From the state of the roads, to the cars driving on it. It was about 2030 when we arrived there on Thursday.
Yesterday we used the free hop on hop off bus that goes around Georgetown to get a feel for the place. In the morning we went to a chocolate boutique and may or may not have bought some presents here. We went to Fort Cornwallis which was a fort built by an Englishman called Francis Light at some point in the 18th Century. It was far too hot to be reading everything! There were lots of cannons though, which was cool.
We then went to explore little India. It was quite dissapointing as we saw no little indians. Or Cowboys.
In the evening we went out for one of the best Indians ever. I had Chicken Tikka, which was very hot and Charlotte had a prawn Massala. She was very dissapointed that there was no Korma on the menu! In theevening we went to a massive shopping mall called Komtar and ended up going to the cinema with Katie and Jess to see some awful movie with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. It was OK actually. It works out well because next time we go to the cinema, I get to choose the movie. Charlotte promised!
This morning we left Georgetown on a minibus bound for the Cameron Highlands. The drive was ok, it only lasted about 4 hours but the roads were very winding. The views were amazing, more so than the other countryside we've driven through so far. The mountains are much bigger and there is greenery and trees as far as the eye can see. The place we are staying has literally one street. And there is a Starbucks. Boo.
Tomorrow we are going in a 4x4 and then for a trek where we will see the world's biggest flower, the Rafflesia. We will go to a butterfly and insect farm, a strawberry farm, a tea plantation and get a shot of a hunting blowpipe!!!
We took our drowned memory card to a camera shop today and all of our photos are present and correct! Yay!
Hope everyone is well, take it easy and we'll be home in about a week!!!
We had a hellishly long travel day to get here. We departed our hotel at 0630 to take a minivan to the pier, where we boarded a public bus. The bus then drove on to the ferry and we got off the bus. We were on the ferry for about an hour and a half back to the mainland. The public bus drove for about 6.5 hours to a bus station where we boarded another private minivan and drove an hour to the border. After going through the border shennanigans we were back in the van for a supposed three hour drive to Georgetown.
Georgetown is the main town on the Malaysian island of Penang. You can see the European, Chinese and Indian influences everywhere. Almost as soon as you cross the border from Thailand, you can tell that you are in a more prosperous nation. From the state of the roads, to the cars driving on it. It was about 2030 when we arrived there on Thursday.
Yesterday we used the free hop on hop off bus that goes around Georgetown to get a feel for the place. In the morning we went to a chocolate boutique and may or may not have bought some presents here. We went to Fort Cornwallis which was a fort built by an Englishman called Francis Light at some point in the 18th Century. It was far too hot to be reading everything! There were lots of cannons though, which was cool.
We then went to explore little India. It was quite dissapointing as we saw no little indians. Or Cowboys.
In the evening we went out for one of the best Indians ever. I had Chicken Tikka, which was very hot and Charlotte had a prawn Massala. She was very dissapointed that there was no Korma on the menu! In theevening we went to a massive shopping mall called Komtar and ended up going to the cinema with Katie and Jess to see some awful movie with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. It was OK actually. It works out well because next time we go to the cinema, I get to choose the movie. Charlotte promised!
This morning we left Georgetown on a minibus bound for the Cameron Highlands. The drive was ok, it only lasted about 4 hours but the roads were very winding. The views were amazing, more so than the other countryside we've driven through so far. The mountains are much bigger and there is greenery and trees as far as the eye can see. The place we are staying has literally one street. And there is a Starbucks. Boo.
Tomorrow we are going in a 4x4 and then for a trek where we will see the world's biggest flower, the Rafflesia. We will go to a butterfly and insect farm, a strawberry farm, a tea plantation and get a shot of a hunting blowpipe!!!
We took our drowned memory card to a camera shop today and all of our photos are present and correct! Yay!
Hope everyone is well, take it easy and we'll be home in about a week!!!
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Operation Koh Samui.
We had another hefty travel day coming here and when we heard that it was by overnight coach we weren't too keen! However this was no ordinary bus this was pinked up luxury coach. The seats were wider here (and pink) so Euan didn't sweat on me this time, pink silk curtains and a lovely comfy red neck pillow thing! I managed to sleep for a reasonable amount of time, Euan however well you can never please him! We then caught a ferry to Koh Samui then a Songthaew to the hotel.
After enjoying some tasty Thai food (ensuring you all that we don't constantly eat Mickie D's) Euan, Jess and I headed for the beach! Sea was super, hot and lovely and scenery was stunning! In the evening we enjoyed some more Thai food and some cocktails. However it was no where near as good as Mini Bar man.
Yesterday Euan and I headed on a tour round part of the island. We saw a giant happy buddha, a giant gold buddha, rocks in the shape of male and female genitals (we have got some tasteful pictures of this), a mummified monk, a monkey show and a waterfall. Let me explain the rocks. They were indeed in the shape of a penis (willy, firemans pole) and a vagina (twat, foo foo, snapper). In fact there were two willies with different shapes (use your imagination). These rocks were made naturally I kid you not. The Mummified monk was a monk who died when meditating and has now been preserved in the same position. Its rather strange. It was an interesting morning and have seen things that we may never forget. It rained for the rest of yesterday so we ate and played connect 4 (Euan is a terrible cheat).
Last night we decided to sample some of the local fish as we are on an island. It was a bit more expensive (1090 baht) but the meal was delicious. We went to a BBQ restaurant where Euan and Jess shared a meat platter which contained two steaks, two tiger prawns, two racks of ribs, two pork chops and two chicken legs. Mim and I shared the seafood platter which contained two tiger prawns, two crabs, a red snapper, two squid and a handful of clams and mussels. Our plates also had corn on the cob, salad and roasted tatties and we received a free glass of wine. It was absolutely scrumptious. All of it was eaten.
Today has been a lazy day as we are preparing for a marathon journey to Penang.
Love to all. Hope everyone is well and missing us. xxxxxxxxxxxxx
After enjoying some tasty Thai food (ensuring you all that we don't constantly eat Mickie D's) Euan, Jess and I headed for the beach! Sea was super, hot and lovely and scenery was stunning! In the evening we enjoyed some more Thai food and some cocktails. However it was no where near as good as Mini Bar man.
Yesterday Euan and I headed on a tour round part of the island. We saw a giant happy buddha, a giant gold buddha, rocks in the shape of male and female genitals (we have got some tasteful pictures of this), a mummified monk, a monkey show and a waterfall. Let me explain the rocks. They were indeed in the shape of a penis (willy, firemans pole) and a vagina (twat, foo foo, snapper). In fact there were two willies with different shapes (use your imagination). These rocks were made naturally I kid you not. The Mummified monk was a monk who died when meditating and has now been preserved in the same position. Its rather strange. It was an interesting morning and have seen things that we may never forget. It rained for the rest of yesterday so we ate and played connect 4 (Euan is a terrible cheat).
Last night we decided to sample some of the local fish as we are on an island. It was a bit more expensive (1090 baht) but the meal was delicious. We went to a BBQ restaurant where Euan and Jess shared a meat platter which contained two steaks, two tiger prawns, two racks of ribs, two pork chops and two chicken legs. Mim and I shared the seafood platter which contained two tiger prawns, two crabs, a red snapper, two squid and a handful of clams and mussels. Our plates also had corn on the cob, salad and roasted tatties and we received a free glass of wine. It was absolutely scrumptious. All of it was eaten.
Today has been a lazy day as we are preparing for a marathon journey to Penang.
Love to all. Hope everyone is well and missing us. xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Mini Bar!
The past couple of days we have taken a step back to relax and catch up with ourselves, enjoying Bangkok. We went for our massage on Friday; I finally convinced Euan that he should give it a go as it's so cheap and very relaxing. He opted for the more manly massage, a traditional thai, where I stuck with my foot massage as my poor wee feet are getting awfy weary! In certain areas of our travels our tour leader has warned the men that they could be offered "extras" whilst enjoying a massage. We went to a nice spa thats a bit more expensive but a lot nicer rather than some of the ones on the street. Afterwards Euan was explaining what the massage entailed when he told me that the woman had asked him if he was hurt however being a wee bit paranoid he misheard her and began to panick! Asking her to repeat herself solved this. She then told him how hot he was, again Euan forgetting that he was pouring with sweat thought she was being inappropriate! This was all explained to me when we were enjoying our jasmine tea.
We enjoyed some street food that night. Let me set the scene; it was chucking it with rain so Mim took us to a table outside saying its rather dingy inside. We were sitting next to a building site on a slight slope! Food was good though. Euan and I decided to go for some cheap cocktails in one of the top five world bars, Mini Bar. Its very small but excellent cocktailmanship! Its our favourite place here!
Yesterday again was a laid back day. Enjoying a late breakfast then doing a spot of shopping for pressies as its cheap here and you guys aren't worth much! Last night we headed back to Mini Bar where our favourite barman told the whole street that we were his favourite customers! He's like family now.
Today we took a trip to the Grand Palace. It was heaving so many bloody tourists! The palace was surrounded by temples a Sri Lankan, Thai and Cambodian design. The Sri Lankan was covered in real gold 24 carrot, its apparently lucky to touch. All the temples were beautiful had so much detail of mosaic coloured mirrored tiles, statues and bells. In one of the temples there is a legendary jade Buddha, no one knows who carved it. The main part of the Grand Palace was desingned by the man who designed Buckingham Palace but Rama V, who was the king at the time didn't like the roof so replaced it with a Thai style roof. Thai people adore the king here it is an offense to insult the royal family. They have so many pictures of them all over Bangkok, shops, bars and even taxis. We had to wear trousers and t-shirts as you have to dress respectably.
We are just kicking back, maxing, relaxing all cool, shooting some b-ball outside of the school. Tonight we will be taking another overnight bus to Koh Samui where we will be staying for 3 nights.
Missing you all. Love you all and a massive Happy Birthday Dad (swampy)!! Hope you have a great day big hugs from us xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We enjoyed some street food that night. Let me set the scene; it was chucking it with rain so Mim took us to a table outside saying its rather dingy inside. We were sitting next to a building site on a slight slope! Food was good though. Euan and I decided to go for some cheap cocktails in one of the top five world bars, Mini Bar. Its very small but excellent cocktailmanship! Its our favourite place here!
Yesterday again was a laid back day. Enjoying a late breakfast then doing a spot of shopping for pressies as its cheap here and you guys aren't worth much! Last night we headed back to Mini Bar where our favourite barman told the whole street that we were his favourite customers! He's like family now.
Today we took a trip to the Grand Palace. It was heaving so many bloody tourists! The palace was surrounded by temples a Sri Lankan, Thai and Cambodian design. The Sri Lankan was covered in real gold 24 carrot, its apparently lucky to touch. All the temples were beautiful had so much detail of mosaic coloured mirrored tiles, statues and bells. In one of the temples there is a legendary jade Buddha, no one knows who carved it. The main part of the Grand Palace was desingned by the man who designed Buckingham Palace but Rama V, who was the king at the time didn't like the roof so replaced it with a Thai style roof. Thai people adore the king here it is an offense to insult the royal family. They have so many pictures of them all over Bangkok, shops, bars and even taxis. We had to wear trousers and t-shirts as you have to dress respectably.
We are just kicking back, maxing, relaxing all cool, shooting some b-ball outside of the school. Tonight we will be taking another overnight bus to Koh Samui where we will be staying for 3 nights.
Missing you all. Love you all and a massive Happy Birthday Dad (swampy)!! Hope you have a great day big hugs from us xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Never forget
Ok, so we are back in Bangkok after another overnight bus journey, from Chiang Mai. They turned on really loud shitty Thai pop music at about 05:20, what is wrong with these people?!
Yesterday was one of the most memorable days of the tour so far. We visited the Elephant Nature Park which is a really special and amazing place. It is one of many projects of a Thai lady called Lek, who has devoted her life to saving and caring for elephants. The park is basically a sanctuary for abused, mistreated and disabled elephants. We were there for the day but you can go and stay there for a few days at a time if you want.
The money that you pay to get in pays for the elephants food. They can eat up to 400kg of fresh fruit per day! There are currently 32 elephants there! There are other elephant camps you can go to which would have been cheaper, and you get to ride them and train them and the elephants perform tricks etc. However the elephants are not treated well and alot of the elephants at the place we went to have come from places like this.
When we arrived we got to feed the elephants their lunch, which was a massive bucket of fruit and veg each! Then we got to have our buffet lunch which was amazing! After this we met Lek who is an incredible woman. She has water buffalo, cats and dogs at the park too as she will do anything to help animals. She told us how a bear was on its way that they had rescued the night before!
Next we got to take the elephants down to the river and get in and wash them. It was the most amazing experince, we got so close to these brilliant creatures and it is something we will never forget. You don't get to ride the elephants here and they don't perform tricks but what we did was so special and it was for such a good cause. All the money raised here goes back into the park, for maintenance of the land and buildings and for food and medicine for the elephants. Everyone who works there is a volunteer. We spent the rest of the day feeding and washing the elephants some more and taking loads of photos with them!
Lek is also involved in raising awareness of the plight of Elephants in Asia and changing laws and people's attitudes. At the moment elephants are classed as livestock in Thailand and so have no more protection than cows or donkeys. In certain areas it is ok to take elephants into cities to basically beg from tourists. She also leases land from the government to take her elephantsto, to teach them to be wild again and forrage their own food. She is trying to make sure there is enough protected forrest and national parks to release elephants back to one day. She pours so much of her own money into this place and all the elephants they have rescued, they have basically had to buy from their owners, which is not cheap! Anything from $2,000-$20,000!
At the beginning of the twentieth century there were 100,000 elephants in Thailand. now there are around 5,000. Since logging was banned in 1989 it left a lot of elephants without work and so they were mainly used for tourism. The way they are trained is appalling, they are taken from their mothers and put in a tiny cage and beaten and abused for days in order to break their spirit and make them submissive to their handlers.
Please visit their website and sign the petitions below:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/street-begging-elephants/
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/against-elephant-abuse-in-thailand/
http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/
We are now back in Bankok and Mim has joined us again although still not sure she's 100%. We are going to visit the Grand Palace this weekend. Right now I think we are going to go for massages...
Hope everyone is ok. Congratulations to Mark and Vicky who have a new arrival called Ella Rose.
Mum it is Vodafone, which if you read back to the blog where I first asked you, I did specify. However I did get your text and have, eventually, been able to successfully top up my phone. Thank you. Vivien I would take you up on your offer, but I'm rather fond of my knee caps.
Food has been good, although we have lined the pockets of a certain red-headed clown called Ronald...
Yesterday was one of the most memorable days of the tour so far. We visited the Elephant Nature Park which is a really special and amazing place. It is one of many projects of a Thai lady called Lek, who has devoted her life to saving and caring for elephants. The park is basically a sanctuary for abused, mistreated and disabled elephants. We were there for the day but you can go and stay there for a few days at a time if you want.
The money that you pay to get in pays for the elephants food. They can eat up to 400kg of fresh fruit per day! There are currently 32 elephants there! There are other elephant camps you can go to which would have been cheaper, and you get to ride them and train them and the elephants perform tricks etc. However the elephants are not treated well and alot of the elephants at the place we went to have come from places like this.
When we arrived we got to feed the elephants their lunch, which was a massive bucket of fruit and veg each! Then we got to have our buffet lunch which was amazing! After this we met Lek who is an incredible woman. She has water buffalo, cats and dogs at the park too as she will do anything to help animals. She told us how a bear was on its way that they had rescued the night before!
Next we got to take the elephants down to the river and get in and wash them. It was the most amazing experince, we got so close to these brilliant creatures and it is something we will never forget. You don't get to ride the elephants here and they don't perform tricks but what we did was so special and it was for such a good cause. All the money raised here goes back into the park, for maintenance of the land and buildings and for food and medicine for the elephants. Everyone who works there is a volunteer. We spent the rest of the day feeding and washing the elephants some more and taking loads of photos with them!
Lek is also involved in raising awareness of the plight of Elephants in Asia and changing laws and people's attitudes. At the moment elephants are classed as livestock in Thailand and so have no more protection than cows or donkeys. In certain areas it is ok to take elephants into cities to basically beg from tourists. She also leases land from the government to take her elephantsto, to teach them to be wild again and forrage their own food. She is trying to make sure there is enough protected forrest and national parks to release elephants back to one day. She pours so much of her own money into this place and all the elephants they have rescued, they have basically had to buy from their owners, which is not cheap! Anything from $2,000-$20,000!
At the beginning of the twentieth century there were 100,000 elephants in Thailand. now there are around 5,000. Since logging was banned in 1989 it left a lot of elephants without work and so they were mainly used for tourism. The way they are trained is appalling, they are taken from their mothers and put in a tiny cage and beaten and abused for days in order to break their spirit and make them submissive to their handlers.
Please visit their website and sign the petitions below:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/street-begging-elephants/
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/against-elephant-abuse-in-thailand/
http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/
We are now back in Bankok and Mim has joined us again although still not sure she's 100%. We are going to visit the Grand Palace this weekend. Right now I think we are going to go for massages...
Hope everyone is ok. Congratulations to Mark and Vicky who have a new arrival called Ella Rose.
Mum it is Vodafone, which if you read back to the blog where I first asked you, I did specify. However I did get your text and have, eventually, been able to successfully top up my phone. Thank you. Vivien I would take you up on your offer, but I'm rather fond of my knee caps.
Food has been good, although we have lined the pockets of a certain red-headed clown called Ronald...
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