Travel Throwback | Thailand, Part 3 | Vibrant Yogini
So I have shared quite a few of my travel stories so far but there are SO MANY MORE to come! I have only just touched the surface. :)
As i've mentioned before, my public online persona has always been focused on yoga and wellness. However, there is a whole other side to my life that I have not yet shown to the public eye. This side is my travel adventures. Prior to returning to England, I have been travelling the world for the last four years now and have had many diverse experiences in many different countries... even before that I had some amazing holidays! So now I am finally ready to share these private travel snaps with you, exclusively on the Steemit platform! I have been asked before if these photos are anywhere else online... the answer is: no :) Not many people hear about my travel stories, only my close friends and family, or perhaps the occasional stranger I meet out and about who shares theirs too. It's exciting for me to go back and reflect on some wonderful travel experiences! It's not that I was hiding my travel life, it is perhaps just because I am so passionate about yoga and wellness that this took over my online voice. What I love about Steemit, and being relatively new on the platform, is the ability to simply be ME! Whether that is talking all things yoga and wellness, talking about my travel memories, or just discussing literally ANYTHING with you guys! So here goes, in no particular order, just however I feel on the day... Today, I would like to share some more of my adventures of Thailand with you! In particular, my visit to the elephant sanctuary in Northern Thailand. Since I have written recently about seeing the elephants in Cambodia, I have elephant memories on the mind!!
Thailand - Part 3
Elephants are hands down my favourite animal of all time! They are such majestic and caring creatures. I love how they care for one another and create a loving family environment. Plus an elephant has a great memory - after all, you must have heard the saying 'an elephant never forgets!'
While in Thailand, I first saw elephants on my road trip to Pai however, they were immorally being kept in the tourism trade for elephant rides. Sadly this still goes on :(
I wanted to spend time with elephants, but in the wild, where they should be, enjoying their natural habitat!
After some research, I discovered 'Happy Elephant Home,' which was a sanctuary in the jungles of Northern Thailand. The sanctuary rescued elephants from the tourism trade and now allow them to roam free in the wild. The elephants come to the sanctuary when they want to be fed sugar cane treats or bananas, or if they want a wash by humans!
Luckily, it was out of season, so it was just my friend and I on the excursion to the elephant sanctuary!
When we arrived, the leader of the sanctuary gave us 'jungle' clothes to wear so that we didn't get ours too muddy and wet. I actually really liked the style!!! So comfortable and bright!
I think we both found the sticks in the photo for our hike!
The staff then taught us how to chop fruit with an axe on a wooden tree stump. We also grabbed some sugar cane and bananas and placed them in our cloth satchels (personal one shoulder bag) we were given.
Then we went off on our way to go and find the elephants in the jungle!
We found them at the watering hole.
To our magic surprise there was a baby elephant! It was SOOOO adorable! We had to be careful when the baby got excited and ran towards us as it could literally run us over! A few times I had to dodge out of the way when the baby was playing around!
The baby was rubbing itself on a tree, I tried to give it a little hug :)
We fed the elephants their treats to thank them for showing up for us!
We then walked with the elephants to the river. The sanctuary leader managed to make this happen by calling 'ma-ma' all the time which means 'follow/ come here' in Thai.
After they played in the river, we let the elephants get on their way back in the depths of the jungle!
Shortly after, a huge thunderstorm came! We got absolutely drenched but it was such a fun experience!
)We didn't want to leave! It was the best day ever!!
I hope you enjoyed the photos :D
Remember, these are from my personal collection and I have never shown them online before.
That's all for now! If you have any questions about the photos or this particular place in Thailand then please feel free to ask in the comments below :D
I will reveal more highlights from my travels around Thailand, and all the other places I have travelled to over time on the Travel Throwback posts! :D
Previous Posts:
Click here to read Taipei Part 1
Click here to read Taipei Part 2
Click here to read Australia Part 1
Click here to read Hong Kong Part 1
Click here to read Marshall Islands Part 1
Click here to read Thailand Part 1
Click here to read Thailand Part 2
Click here to read Tahiti Part 1
Click here to read Cook Islands part 1
Wishing you a beautiful day full of happiness and good vibes,
Namaste!
P.S. “The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy - it's all that matters." ~ Audrey Hepburn
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STOPBeautiful Yogini with beautiful angels .
Elephants are considered to be very lucky for humans whom they interact with. its our ancient indian/ hindu /buddhist belief. most people around the world know that and sadly you know why they hunt them down. You would know the feeling the moment the elephants are touching you / playing with you. they dont do this for every human on the planet. not a myth but a true fact.
This is so wonderful to hear! Thank you :)
In Cambodia, the elephant came to the river (by choice as they roam free and sometimes just come and eat the banana gifts then go off on their way), and let us scrub him and he rolled around under the river water playing! It was amazing! They told us that it is not guaranteed that they will stay and they can't make them stay as they are wild!