ELEPHANT SANCTUARY!

Today was one of the best days of my life- we got to ride an elephant!! I learned that the elephants here don't begin training till they're around 15 years old and are almost always female because they are easier to train. Their rider/trainer is assigned to them when they themselves are children and they grow up together to build trust. In the states there are not many if any "beast of burden" left because we have machines that do the the hard/heavy work. It was very strange for me too see elephants and buffalo still being used in every day life in rural Thailand but are in zoos back home. The scenery in Thailand is also very different from back home, it's tropical here with rainforest and tons of exotic flowers, and the heat and humidity is so high it's almost unbearable. We also were able to try authentic curry and make rubber at the sanctuary which was also very different from anything I've ever done!