18 Oct Watch out for elephants & monkeys
Elephants, bananas and monkeys everywhere – I have to tell you about!
Green bananas at the fresh market
This morning I got up early because we got a Khao Sok tour booking. After we picked up two very likely girls from England we firstly stopped at the fresh market in Ta Kuapa. I have been there a few times now but I really never get bored of seeing, trying and learning something new about all the food there.
Like today, Nueng told us that in Thailand, people use literally everything of a killed animal – they even serve the tongue of a cow or the stomach of a fish in a soup. He did not really smile when I ask him if it is delicious but anyway, the use everything when killing an animal which is a good thing. With some fresh, green grapes, bananas, peanuts and some chicken for on of our meat-loving guest we hopped back in the van.
… off to beautiful Khao Sok!
The next stop was the Khao Sok viewpoint. From this point we got an amaaazing view all over the national park and its green mountains and untouched nature. Of course, we took advantage of the view and did not leave the location without about 30 more pictures on our camera.
…did you ever take a mud-bath with an elephant? You have to! 😉
Such a gentle elephant!
After enjoying the nice view, we were ready for a real full-elephant experience. Firstly we were feeding the around 4000 kilogram weighted elephant lady with some sugar canes. The local guide told us that the elephants eat around 10 percent of their bodyweight – so this one need about 400 kilogram of food per day! No surprise that she just ate all of the sugar canes that we sticked in her trunk. Right after the feeding we took a mud (and maybe also some poo) bath with the big lady. Seeing and interacting with the elephants turned out as a real highlight for the guests and also for myself. It is such an amazing experience to get so close to these huge animals. And what I also want to mention is, that not only the guests and me, but also the elephants really seemed happy in their environment. We all had the impression that they are being treated well and cared for by their mahouts. With many of the experiences available in Thailand, there is always a constant niggling concern in the back of your mind with regards to how ethical each tourist attraction is run, however here we felt the genuine happiness and care for the elephants.
The adventure went on with bamboo rafting…
With still some mud on our body we went on to the bamboo rafting.
Bamboo rafting along the river
The guests took a seat on the natural bamboo raft and enjoyed a relaxing ride along the river. Surrounded by beautiful nature, this activity is perfect to simply enjoy the noises of the wildlife.
Hungry? Yes! Thai lunch is always a good option…
Local food is the best food!
Meanwhile we got quite hungry, so therefore we drove to the Jungle Restaurant next. The owners of the Worapoj Resort & Gyms are the Worapoj brothers. One of the brothers, Worapoj Petchkoom, is a famous Muay Thai fighter in Thailand who took part at the Olympic games in Athen in 2004 so this is what the Restaurant is famous for. Next door you can also find a gym for Thai boxing. Today we decided to keep it more relaxed so instead of trying out Thai boxing we just enjoyed a typical Thai lunch with deep fried vegetables, Massaman Curry, grilled chicken and more.
Get peanuts – get monkeys!
Fun with the monkeys at Wat Tham Phanthurat
The last stop we did for today was at a location full of nice and not angry or aggressive monkeys. Luckily, our guide Nueng bought some peanuts on the fresh market before so we had enough to feed the monkeys – “get peanuts – get monkeys 😉”.
We were able to get really close to them and moreover they took the peanuts directly from our hands. It was a nice experience to get so close to the monkeys and watch them playing around in the trees!
It has been another great day with a loot of fun and nice guests! You know what time is it know? Yes, it is time to exercise! As it just stopped to rain I will go for a quick run now. Yes – that is how I love to spend my days in Khao Lak =)
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