#56 - Bananas for Elephants
Dear Dubrovnik,
Hard to believe the temperature difference between here and home is 92°F...! I'm not sure how I'll be able to handle such a shock! As it typically does, time seems to be flying by as we're making our final flight to Phuket to enjoy the beach and relax for a change before I fly off to home. My friend Nate has some mix-ups with the tickets and will be leaving a day after me so he'll get a little extra time in the sun though it sounds like he's ready to hit the ski slopes when he gets back.
When I last left off we were zipping over to Ao Nang on a longtail boat amid a brief fifteen-minute rain shower. After disembarking we trekked through town past dozens of tiny food carts and stands where we started to have a better sense of the true prices of food and beer. Railay has to import all of their food, water, and goods by boat so it's all a bit more expensive, though still only $3-$6 per meal, so we couldn't argue. After fifteen or so minutes of walking, we arrived to realize the hostel we were staying at had two locations, and we were supposed to be at the beach location (right where we got off the boat...!) Good news was they had a free shuttle and brought us down.
Upon arrival, the staff poured us shots of some fruity liquor and announced all of the events we could partake in if we so chose. Having climbed for eight hours, and then lugged our bags around in the rain, we decided to turn in for the night and were delighted to find that although basic, our place would greatly suffice to our needs. Two bunked beds with curtains around so others lights would keep you up, and luggage lockers and a shower. Though we found the shower to be cold, it was actually perfect for the 85° weather and got us energized enough to go hunt down some dinner.
Our final place ended up being an absolute riot as they had a live singer who we assume made up his own set list of songs that he was covering, all of which were totally not dinner songs. Robin Thicke – Good girl, Sugarhill Gang – Rappers Delight, Shaggy – It wasn’t me, to name a few in the set while we were there. But the crowd was LOVING it and he seemed 110% committed and passionate which made it a memorable, laughable, and enjoyable dinner. It was also the first time I had a meal with fresh, non-cooked veggies, which was an absolute treat as they seem quite hard to find.
Our first night went largely without remark, as our other two guests both were quiet never made a peep upon arrival. This is now to say we were expecting quiet, but it was an unexpected turn we really appreciated after a tough day of climbing. The next day we got up early and walked along the shore, which is really only two feet or so wide when tides were high as the towns are all realllllly
at
sea level. This begs the question of what happens when it rains hard, or more extreme when all those tsunami evacuation signs go into effect?
We ended up in a small ocean-side park that included a few art exhibits part of a larger show we’d seen all over Thailand. They were different works of art all with different interactive aspects. Some you had to walk on and the produced weird off-putting sounds, and others, like the one below, seek to evoke emotion, though I always wonder through translation what I’m missing or guessing about.
This was a very sad piece about a woman named Yai Sa who is said
to be waiting for her love to return from sea.
She waits in the same place for his return which he promised would be soon. The exhibit translates "The sun does not rise or set, as the sun does not move, it is the world that is spinning, and yet we choose to see it how it best works for us."
That afternoon we headed off to an elephant sanctuary where we met three old gals who were all over 50 years of age. The most interesting aspect of our tour was finding out the history of how the sanctuary came to be. The owner had been raised with a father who had elephants for entertainment growing up (such as the circus and giving tourists rides). Once older, the son, in turn, ended up buying elephants from such entertainers (at monstrously expensive costs) to give them a place to retire and live out their years.
So many climbable mountains!
Everywhere!
We learned a lot about elephants, including many elephants in good habitats grow to be over 100, sometimes upwards of 120 years old. And they can get lonely and sad, as I’m sure many people are aware animals can. They don’t have a stomach in the way we think of it and instead have a long intestine that drives their insatiable hunger. They eat between 200 to 600 pounds of food per day and drink upwards of 50 gallons of water. They spend about 12-18 hours a day eating and drinking so it’s no wonder they can consume so much and have the metabolic drive to do so. They also love mud and soaking in water.
But they really love bananas. Or should I clarify banana bread-RIPE bananas? Not only did they not like green bananas, but also they’d throw them! And one of the lady elephants, we met went so far as to squeeze the bananas and pop out the fruit before whipping the peels into oblivion. This was the same elephant who started bouncing up and down when they walked over and saw us all sitting at picnic tables.
Rejecting bananas deemed "to green."
Grabbing bananas
We were told elephants think humans are cute in the way humans think puppies are cute which made everyone in our tour group all the more enthusiastic to mash up bananas, rice, grain, and proteins into baseball sized treats to bring over and offer up to the elephants. They proceeded to vacuum up the treats and bananas like a grandmother would clean on the first warm day of Spring and then continued to wander their trunks towards peoples arms and giggling faces in search of anything else to nibble.
I was asked what elephants were like sometime after and really I’d have to say kind of like a dog and pig combined. There’s definitely the feeling that there’s a ‘who’ in there aware of what’s going on, and also a more urgent ‘thing’ seeking out more basic needs like food and water. Their skin is somewhere between a soft, old leather couch, and for anyone who has met a pig, well—a pig. Their trunks are very soft and they use the end of their nose with as much dexterity as a hand. The oldest elephant was peeling bananas with her truck, perhaps out of politeness where the youngest one continued to fling food into the air.
After they ate we followed them to the mud pits where we sat in the mud and ever so gingerly one of the elephants joined us to see what the fuss was about. They then proceeded to shower themselves (and us) with dirt and mud and would accept balls of mud, as well as belly scratches. I made what I thought to be a good mud ball, which the elephant then preceded to evaluate in her trunk, and slowly lower to the ground, where she then continued to step on it as though to pretend that had not happened.
This boy was in heaven
The mudball I offered being assessed
And rejected outright
We then walked over to a nearby watering hole where the elephants and most of us got in the water for a bit. All in all, I think it is an incredible facility and it’s very clear the employees and the ground themselves are perfectly dedicated to giving elephants the best rest of their lives possible. I always struggle with attractions that in any way focus on animals as it feels there really is no way to not treat them like objects for our viewing indulgence. But it felt nice to know there are people trying to do good, even when some other aspects of the area proved people were in their trades for the wrong reason.
After returning to town we lazed around and had another nice dinner, though I swear I drank at least 5 limes in my noodle dish. That night one of our roommates proved to be less than desirable and by all accounts probably should have gone to see a medic after he tried to get into his bunk and fell ass-over-teakettle onto his head. Drama ensued, but eventually, we couldn’t care enough or get any sleep and we both passed out and awoke early to go get some fresh air before heading off to Bangkok.
We had breakfast at the same place we had the day before where the waitress had messed up Nate’s order (which he obviously didn’t make a stink about) and upon our arrival, the manager came over to thank us for coming back and gave us our coffees for free which was a nice feeling. We then took a shuttle to the airport where Nate had his monkey key confiscated (after three or four flights?) and we set off for a city of mystification. We arrived at night to see lights as far as the eye could see, but not of the skyscraping variety, but more like low sprawling twinkling fog.
Bangkok proved to be everything and nothing we’d expected all at once. Many folks rolled their eyes when we’d said we were heading off there, (and many of those folks we later saw on our plane) but it really didn’t feel like the oppressive city either of us had expected. Out of the touristic areas, it reminded me a lot of India, just quieter, and lusher. Our hostel here proved again to have a bathroom/ shower situation that left me wondering how I’d existed without having a place so quaint and stylish to brush my teeth and contemplate my thoughts under steamy jets of water.
We spent the next two days walking around with no real goals or signs to see as the tourist destinations were utterly swamped for the holiday, but happened upon an incredible book store where we bought postcards for less then a penny each that were all handcrafted with old-as-time polaroid’s on yellowing cardstock, each bearing a poorly translated proverb or saying in English. (I wish I’d bought hundreds of them.)
We then had what we both officially declared the cheapest meal of the trip, which was arguably also the most authentic. After touring the flower markets we ended up near the outskirts of town before you cross the river and found a non-English speaking hole-in-the-wall where we could see three or four generations all in one spot, each attentively watching the younger who was prepping more of the dishes offered. Beers included I believe we spent around $1.50 - $2.00 total for our meals with not a smidge of room for more. After this, we crossed the bridge and toured around the tiny back streets until we happened upon an outdoor gym (very fun) and then crossed back over to start our journey ho
me. We walked over 13 miles that day, and it felt like it. We spent the evening and night walking Khao San Road trying different foods and sipping beers, and pressing them against our sunburns. I've never seen more Seven Eleven's in my whole life, probably because they were actually on every street corner. But they certainly were popular, and useful. Nate even discovered all the water brands were owned by the beer companies and found he had a certain taste for some waters over others based on his feeling of the beer flavors.
More food than I'd seen in one place for sure!
Pigeon leaving the temple
Nate capturing only a handful of pics with his 'dad-esque'-ness
The next morning we arose and hopped a bus back to the airport to fly to Phuket for our final days in Thailand. The next hostel we were in was immaculate and ran about $11 per night. I actually did take photos of this one for inspiration for someday in the future when I get to design my house’ bathroom. My future-partner won’t understand where my aesthetic genius is coming from! ;)
Anyhow, we spent these last two days lazing on the beach and having dinner on the beach and walking on the beach because we both knew there was over a foot and a half of snow awaiting us back in Vermont. We didn’t
get into Phuket proper and it actually worked out well that we were near a nature reserve and I think we both were due for a quieter phase as we both felt the gentle tug of New England calling us home.
Beach sunsets
Trying to chase these incredibly fast, translucent crabs
Nate had to stay on for another day due to that whole ticket mix-up but I packed my bag and kept in touch through the different airports and time-zones after which he eventually did the same. Thailand certainly wasn’t Dubrovnik, but it gave me a renewed zeal for Asia along with an insatiable appetite for new food. Lucky that I find myself in a city that admires food as much as I do!
And until next time,
ขอบคุณมาอีกครั้ง!
K̄hxbkhuṇ mā xīk khrậng!