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...