It got better.

After one more mishap, things have gotten better. We knew our tour was to start at 12:30 where they would pick us up in the lobby. So after lunch when the guy in the lobby asked us our name and for our voucher, we thought we were good. Not. About 15 minutes out from the hotel he asks us if we did our Safari (the one scheduled for today) yesterday. I said no, this was what we were reporting for. He said, no, he was picking us up for the city tour. So he pulled over and called his boss.

Daniel talked to the boss and I called the other tour company to let them know there was a problem. After a few demands we headed back to the hotel. The city tour company was being kind of ornery because Daniel was not the one who had booked the tour and so they wouldn't be helpful, but I was on the phone with the Safari people for today letting them know we were going to be late back to the hotel. So we got back, out of the wrong van and into the right van and were on our way.

(I have to say here THANK YOU to my father-in-law who was the only one who had his camera on his carry on. We had 2 iphones between us, but the camera was nice. So glad he got new batteries and let me carry it through the day.)

We drove about 40 mins. through seaside roads and up and down steep hills and into Chalong Bay area. We were taken to the base area of the Siam Safari camp and then embarked on a wonderful adventure. 

 The happy campers in their  souvenir shop clothes headed to the Thai jungle. 

 Riding the tractor up to the elephant part.

 I felt about as tired as I look. I love my new pink shirt though. It's got some really nice embroidery on it. Daniel is also digging the linen clothes.

We rode behind this tractor up a steep hillside.

 I think we were moving about 1 mile per hour. Very slow.

 

We were introduced to Tin Tam who is a 34 year old Indian (Asian) elephant. the pink you see on her ear and truck develop as they age. In the late 1980s Thailand outlawed using elephants for logging and they have all been taken care of in sanctuaries like this one. This one is 18 years old.

This is what you ride on. It's a two person bench atop the elephant's back.

Daniel and I then "boarded" our elephant, "Bho So." She was 25.

 The jungle pathway that looped around. You can see the hat and back of the mahut who is in charge of Bho So. Each elephant has one mahut and each mahut is assigned only that one elephant and they are companions for life.

This is the view from the top of our loop. It Is Chalong Bay at the south end of Phuket Island.

 This is the green of the mountain side.

 The mahut uses his feet, or that hook you can see in his hands, to direct the elephants. Left ear means go right, right ear means go left, and a bonk on the forehead means back up. Their skin is about 1 inch thick. When he bonked her forehead it sounded like hitting a hollow coconut. Didn't really phase her.

 Our mahut took this picture. Excuse the flash and the leaning back. And can you see the little cold sores I'm fending off? Oddly enough tiger balm helps as well as the abreva every two hours.

I'm sorry this is a little fuzzy. But there you have it, we are on elephants. Daniel and I each took our shoes off at one point to feel their skin with our feet. It was amazing. Not really dry or leathery at all. The few hairs that are on their skin feel like a lot more when you touch them. Oddly enough, you can't feel any heat radiating from them.

Then it was time to treat our elephants to thank them for our ride.

 Of course you have to buy the basket of food for your elephant. Pineapple, sugar cane, watermelon, small bananas (which are very good by the way) and banana leaves. They get greedy as soon as they see that basket. It was pretty funny.

 Here we are with Bho So and her mahut. It was an awesome experience.

 This guy would tell Tin Tam "action" and she would pose with her mouth open and her trunk up and then he would flip her ear around your head. It was funny.

"Action"

Well I need to go to bed now so I have energy for the day tomorrow. I'll keep posting as we go.

And the best part of the day was when we got back to our room our luggage was there waiting for us. Drugs, cameras and clean clothes. Yay. we'll sleep well tonight.