We slept in mosquito nets in cute little bungalos at the edge of a jungle adjacent to the national park. We were warned of monkeys stealing our stuff if we leave anything on the porch. There was a frog in Sonia’s bed and I swear there was a leech at the top of my mosquito net towards the ceiling.
Immediately after stepping out of our transportation, which was basically the back of a pickup truck with a roof but open back (very safe…and to top it off, we spotted smelly durian fruits with us in the truck!), tiny ants started biting our feet. I’ve never felt ant bites until I came to this place, and I cannot say it was pleasant. My bug bites on this trip have been nothing compared to some other people’s though so I can’t complain!!
It was pouring when we arrived, and this unfortunately prevented us from being able to go to a hot spring or night jungle safari. We ended up playing card games and drinking instead :p
Some of us signed up for an elephant jungle trek for the following morning, rain or shine. We got lucky with the weather and had an amazing experience riding elephants!
My elephant’s name was Tompon (too similar to tampon for my liking) and the guy in charge of Tompon seemed to really enjoy being with the elephants. Although u couldn’t understand a word he was saying, he seemed to be giving Tompon words of encouragement if he wanted to go the wrong way or needed to continue walking. Some of the other workers were quick to hit the elephants’ hind leg with a stick, but my guy would rub Tompon’s ear and smile as he was having full on conversations with the elephant. Plus, he was generous with taking photos of me with my phone…he even took photos of the nature when I wasn’t even in the shot!
After getting off of the elephants, Tompon reached out to me with his trunk as if he was trying to hug me or hold my hand. It was so sweet! Maybe he was just looking for food but I was touched when he got jungle mud all over my arm. This elephant ride ended up being a perfect way to explore the national park in the mud 🙂
Teaching and Learning in the Journey of Life 