Jumping Right In

Monday, June 16th 2014
Today was my first morning in Thailand! After a breakfast of eggs, cornflakes, toast, bacon, and juice we headed out to the Elephant Nature Park (ENP). We all got volunteer t-shirts (they are really nice!) and water bottles with cloth holders so you can carry them over your shoulder like a purse and watched an elephant documentary on the way there. Once we arrived we learned the rules, met and fed some of the elephants, and had a little tour. We had a few free minutes before lunch so I walked through the gift shop and got an elephant ring!! Lunch was buffet style and had tons of different kinds of Thai food. Everything at ENP is vegetarian so hopefully I get enough protein! After lunch we moved into our rooms. There are two rooms of two and two rooms of three, I was in one with three people (including myself of course!). The four rooms are all in one small, square building and there is a bathroom across from each room with a toilet, sink, and shower. It is really nice because we are so close and the way the building is built (very open) you are able to have a conversation with anyone in our group if you talk loud enough! All the beds have big bug nets that hang from the ceiling and make you feel like a princess! Once we settled in we went to watch another documentary then had an orientation and got our rough schedule for the week. The we got to bathe some elephants! They stood in the river and ate dinner from baskets while we got in the river, filled buckets with water, and threw the water on their backs, it was so much fun!! At 6 we had a blessing ceremony and the villagers and the shaman came to bless us and the village kids played music. The shaman took all of our bad luck and put it in a banana leaf boat that they sent away down the river. Then we got blessed, good luck that are made from white yarn. We have to wear them for at least three days but no more than seven because if they get too dirty they won't be lucky anymore because the white color is the lucky part. When we take them off we aren't allowed to cut them, we have to tear each string of yarn with our hands and then we have to keep them with us in our bag. Dinner was next and it was a buffet as well but with less options than lunch. There were these delicious stir fried potatoes and deep fried mushrooms that were amazing! After dinner I had a Thai massage and it was fantastic! Because you are clothed they can massage more muscles (like your glutes and inner thighs) with out it being really weird. They also do a lot of range of motion stuff and tons of stretching. It was only 150 baht for an hour, which is around $5! I am having a blast and making sure to stay hydrated so I don't get sick! I can't wait for tomorrow!

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 25, 2014 at 1:41 PM

    What a great first day! And I have a feeling you'll be getting a massage EVERY day :)

    ReplyDelete

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