We had a pretty relaxing weekend here on Koh Lanta leading up to today’s excursion to Lanta Elephant Sanctuary.
On Friday night, we were craving some cheese so we went to the restaurant at the resort next door where they specialize in wood fired pizza. They’re also known for great cocktails and I had a superb Gin Gin, a drink made with gin, ginger and lime.
On Saturday, we hired a tuk-tuk to take us a few kilometers south to the next beach, Phra Ae Beach, aka Long Beach. (Every great island destination has a Long Beach!) Phra Ae has very nice sand and lots of shade provided by casuarina and palm trees that tower at the back of the beach. It also features a large public park, which in Thailand are referred to as “health parks”. Compared to our Klong Dao beach, the water is deeper and the beach is more narrow with a greater slope. It’s a very nice beach that probably shares top rank with Klong Dao in terms of accommodations, restaurants and bars. We walked to the rockier south end where I’d read there was some decent snorkeling. Alas, the visibility was low due to waves. We did see some small fish but the highlight for me was coming across a crab net. It appeared to have some sort of leopard print foam buoy attached to it that I guessed was used to find the net but as I got closer it started looking more organic. It was a honeycomb moray eel! They’re quite common in these waters. It was about 3ft long and unfortunately dead but it looked like it hadn’t been dead for long. Finding this neat sea creature made the snorkel worth it. We walked back north on the beach and stopped in at Two Scoops Gelato for some homemade ice cream. Aroy mak!
That afternoon, we headed back once again to Dr. Thai Massage. I was still a bit stiff from my speedboat trip on Thursday and wanted to get a massage that focused on my back, shoulders and neck. When we arrived, there were a few beds already occupied and no free masseuses around. There was a man there smoking a cigarette which was a bit of a surprise as I’d seen no men other than customers at Dr. Thai. After washing our feet, he told us to both lie down and got on his phone to summon the masseuses. As I listened to him on the phone, I got the sense that he ran the place. This might be Dr. Thai himself! Then he got to work—on me! He took my feet in his hands and said quietly, “Oh, pain,” and then he unleashed and gave me the most intense massage I’ve ever had. He used what felt like his full strength and body weight, going at every knot in my back and shoulders, using his hands, elbows and feet, up and down both my arms, cracking each finger, up my neck to my jaw and temples, then sat me up and finished with a final series of knot releasing, deep tissue rubs on my upper back and shoulders. Wow mak mak!
I chased the experience with a bottle of cold water and then a frosty Chang beer that I sipped while walking the beach. Another dinner at Chef Chalong followed: spicy Som Tam salad, a grilled cheese sandwich (a triple decker on sweet bread that was actually grilled, not fried) and duck stir fried with black pepper and crispy vegetables.
That night was Lunar New Year’s Eve and to mark this very important day on the Asian calendar, I went down to the beach at around 10:30pm. The beach bars and restaurants were lit up and busy but no one was down at the water. I jumped in for a late night swim and let the waves carry me back to shore, then returned to the villa for a dip in the pool.
On Sunday, Wind went for a body wrap and massage at the spa while I walked into Saladan to restock on beer and Thai chippies. I also bought an iced coffee from a stand for 35 Baht. I’ve been searching for Thailand’s signature Oliang coffee but so far, no one I’ve asked here in the south is familiar with it. It’s similar to iced coffee but Oliang has cardamon and other spices in it. Like the orange iced tea with milk that I also haven’t seen here, I guess it’s more of a northern Thai specialty and I’ll probably have better luck finding it when we head back to Bangkok.
For dinner we went to Kaw Kwang Bistro again and the three chili Som Tam I ordered was really, really spicy! The super friendly servers get a kick out of watching this farang deal with the heat. My eyes tear up, my knees go up and down and I slap my cheeks! Pet mak mak!! I keep coming back for more. Unexpectedly, we were treated to another fire show. Apparently the fire performer was trying out some new moves so this was more of a practice than a show. The dusk lighting was a nice backdrop and better for taking photos compared to the post-sunset show on Thursday.
Visiting With the Gentle Giants
Today we got picked up just after 10am in a songthaew, which is a converted truck or van that has a covered bed with two benches in the back. In addition to us, there was a couple from The Netherlands and their young girl (we actually saw this family last night at the fire show and at Chef Chalong last week), plus a couple from Germany. Our destination: Lanta Elephant Sanctuary, about 13 km south on Koh Lanta.
Elephants are the national animal of Thailand, representing strength, loyalty and longevity. (The name of my favourite Thai beer, Chang, means elephant in Thai.) There’s a long history of elephants being used in war, logging and other manual labour in Thailand. The elephants here are Indian elephants which are definitely large animals but smaller than African elephants. They can live 60-80 years and many owners can’t afford to care for them for the duration of their lives without the earnings from their labour. As a result, it’s common for elephants to be sold to zoos or back into illegal logging. Other elephant owners have turned to tourism to cover the cost of caring for these incredibly intelligent animals.
Lanta Elephant is the only sanctuary of its kind on Koh Lanta. There are a couple of other elephant outfits on the island but they allow elephant riding, which is no longer considered ethical. At Lanta Elephant, visitors can touch, feed and wash the elephants but riding is not permitted. According to the NGO World Animal Protection, a true sanctuary would allow for observation only. Lanta Elephant doesn’t fit that model but I felt pretty good about what I witnessed there today. They have three elephants at the Koh Lanta sanctuary (and more elephants at their Phuket and Krabi locations.) The mahouts who care for the elephants are keenly aware of their needs and health. We paid 1800 Baht each (about $74 CAD) for the two hour program and 80% of that goes directly toward the care of the elephants. The elephants were rescued from lives of labour and now roam free on 18 acres.
We were given a talk that lasted about 30 minutes which explained about the history of elephants in Thailand, elephant health and habits, and how these three elephants came to the sanctuary. Saw is a female aged 40 and is blind in one eye, Yu Yin is intersex, aged 45 and is deaf in one ear, and Somboun is a female aged 47 and doesn’t like hugs. We fed them bananas, then took them to the mud pits where people got in and covered the elephants with mud which is good for their skin. Then we walked with them down to a pond where they got in and had the mud washed off. I was satisfied with just feeding them bananas but Wind got in the mud with Yu Yin! We both really enjoyed spending time with the elephants. Looking into their eyes, you can see their intelligence and feel their gentle demeanor.
We rode the songtheaw north again and by the time we got back to the villa, it was mid-afternoon. I was really craving a burger so we headed down the beach to Black Coral Restaurant where I’d heard they make a good one. Along with a Greek salad, it made a good sized meal and neither of us needed any dinner tonight.
Visiting the elephants was an excursion that I’d really been looking forward to when planning this trip to Thailand and it was definitely a satisfying experience!