A Rambling Writer Rerun: Thailand, part 13: Elephant Sanctuary
Your virtual Thailand vacation continues as Thor and I visit The Hillside Retreat Elephant Sanctuary next to the Khao Sok wilderness park.
NOTE: Due to health issues, Thor and I haven’t been able to do much travel the past few years, so here’s our Thailand trip from 2020. We were lucky to squeak through the pandemic flight closures that February of 2020 as we returned from our three-week trip. Now crazy times just keep getting crazier. So escape for a few minutes from our new American dystopia to a country as beautiful and colorful as a dream! I’ll interrupt the reruns with occasional book reviews or Geezer Adventures…. (This blog series began 3/15/2025.)
After our nature walk around Our Jungle House eco-lodge, Thor and I boarded a van for a short drive along the Khao Sok park border to visit the elephant sanctuary recommended as the most ethical of nearby tourist attractions. Along the way, we enjoyed the lush jungle scenery and the sight of elephants walking along the road with their trainers, mahouts, following behind on scooters. (Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a photo.) The elephants obviously knew where they were going.
The dramatic, rocky upthrusts of limestone karsts punctuate the lush greenery.
We were warned that some of the other elephant “experiences” were exploiting and overworking the elephants by giving tourists rides on their backs. The Hillside Retreat offers a nurturing home for retired or injured/rehabilitated Asian elephants. Many of the elephants have worked in logging or other fields not employing elephants as much now, and their owners/trainers, or mahouts, cannot afford the high cost of feeding them.
After a bit of education, our first task at the sanctuary was cutting up fruit to feed to our assigned elephant.
I’m posting my complete blog entries on my own author website at www.sarastamey.com, where you can finish this episode and enjoy all the accompanying photos. Please continue reading by clicking on the link below, then you can return here (use “go back” arrow above) to comment, ask questions, or join a conversation. We love your responses!
https://sarastamey.com/the-rambling-writer-visits-thailand-part-13-elephant-sanctuary/
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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and an International Pulpwood Queens Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). It’s also a love letter to the breathtaking wilderness of Sara’s native Pacific Northwest. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
