Hi everyone!
We have been in Thailand for about 24 hours now, and as we said earlier, we are starting our first week here volunteering at the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand where Rony is taking care of the primates and I (Talia) am with the elephants.
Before we begin and post a few pictures, we wanted to let you know a few things. First of all, we flew with Royal Jordanian and it was, at least for me, one of the best experiences I've had as far as airlines are concerned. I definitely recommend it.
We were picked up by a driver from the reserve and had a gorgeous 3-hour ride to the reserve:
Beautiful temples, typical villages, 20 students back from school on a small pick-up truck (some were standing on the tailgate)!
We arrived just before dinner, which was much like the first day of school. We knew no one, everyone was talking to each other, and we were trying to figure out where to sit.
Major fail. :-)
First of all, the Thai food prepared by the staff is delicious. Second, everyone is incredibly nice, and they all introduced themselves to us when they first saw us. We can't remember anyone's names yet, but we can probably tell you what country everyone came from: Oz, Tassie, South Africa, Norway, Germany (East and West), Italy, USA, UK, France and Switzerland ...for now. Yesterday evening was especially exciting for Rony who was able to meet Tommy, an old friend who he volunteered with last time he was at the reserve, who is now the volunteer coordinator. We went to our room, took the coldest shower of our lives, and passed out around 10 pm.
Rony says that the center has changed a lot since last time he was here: The reserve is probably twice as big now as it was before.
This morning we woke up at 6 (yes, SIX) to start the early morning feed. Rony was with the primates, and I was with the elephants, and let me tell you, it takes about 30 seconds to get over their size and fall completely in love with them.
Basically, along with another volunteer, we fed the elephants, played with them, fed them some more, watered them, fed them some more, cleaned their poop (for real!) and, in a special event for today, I had the immense priviledge of shoveling elephant poop (for real!) from the elephant area and using it as fertilizer in another area of the reserve.
Rony took care of the primates and has done basically the same: Clearing cages of poop, feeding the monkeys, and cleaning some more.
Once we finished our day, around 5, we got to enjoy our evening with a few activities organized by the reserve: We went to a batcave and watched the bats go hunt for food in the area, and now we are writing to you from the town of Cha'am where we went to dinner and beers with most of the rest of the volunteers. We have to mention again that everyone is really tons of fun.
We haven't had a chance to take many pictures yet - and we're exhausted beyond belief - but Tommy, the volunteer corrdinator took us on a tour of the reserve today and we took a few pictures, so here are a few for your viewing pleasure. The connection at this Internet cafe kinda sucks and keeps crashing, so we won't upload many pics today, but we will later on. Talk to you soon!
We have been in Thailand for about 24 hours now, and as we said earlier, we are starting our first week here volunteering at the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand where Rony is taking care of the primates and I (Talia) am with the elephants.
Before we begin and post a few pictures, we wanted to let you know a few things. First of all, we flew with Royal Jordanian and it was, at least for me, one of the best experiences I've had as far as airlines are concerned. I definitely recommend it.
We were picked up by a driver from the reserve and had a gorgeous 3-hour ride to the reserve:
Beautiful temples, typical villages, 20 students back from school on a small pick-up truck (some were standing on the tailgate)!
We arrived just before dinner, which was much like the first day of school. We knew no one, everyone was talking to each other, and we were trying to figure out where to sit.
Major fail. :-)
First of all, the Thai food prepared by the staff is delicious. Second, everyone is incredibly nice, and they all introduced themselves to us when they first saw us. We can't remember anyone's names yet, but we can probably tell you what country everyone came from: Oz, Tassie, South Africa, Norway, Germany (East and West), Italy, USA, UK, France and Switzerland ...for now. Yesterday evening was especially exciting for Rony who was able to meet Tommy, an old friend who he volunteered with last time he was at the reserve, who is now the volunteer coordinator. We went to our room, took the coldest shower of our lives, and passed out around 10 pm.
Rony says that the center has changed a lot since last time he was here: The reserve is probably twice as big now as it was before.
This morning we woke up at 6 (yes, SIX) to start the early morning feed. Rony was with the primates, and I was with the elephants, and let me tell you, it takes about 30 seconds to get over their size and fall completely in love with them.
Basically, along with another volunteer, we fed the elephants, played with them, fed them some more, watered them, fed them some more, cleaned their poop (for real!) and, in a special event for today, I had the immense priviledge of shoveling elephant poop (for real!) from the elephant area and using it as fertilizer in another area of the reserve.
Rony took care of the primates and has done basically the same: Clearing cages of poop, feeding the monkeys, and cleaning some more.
Once we finished our day, around 5, we got to enjoy our evening with a few activities organized by the reserve: We went to a batcave and watched the bats go hunt for food in the area, and now we are writing to you from the town of Cha'am where we went to dinner and beers with most of the rest of the volunteers. We have to mention again that everyone is really tons of fun.
We haven't had a chance to take many pictures yet - and we're exhausted beyond belief - but Tommy, the volunteer corrdinator took us on a tour of the reserve today and we took a few pictures, so here are a few for your viewing pleasure. The connection at this Internet cafe kinda sucks and keeps crashing, so we won't upload many pics today, but we will later on. Talk to you soon!
On the train on the way to the airport
Macac (not sure about the spelling yet) - isn't he gorgeous?
Gibbon - You have no clue how hard it was to take this picture - he kept running around like crazy!
Gibbons - The guy just looked like he was sunbathing
I am so excited for you Talia. It sounds like the beginning of a great experience for you!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds amazing! Can't wait to read more! :-)
ReplyDeleteHow amazing - gotta get pictures of the elephants! I'm sure my 5 year old will be your biggest fan. I am so happy that you found a wonderful man to share such an awesome experience with! Have fun, be careful, and keep shoveling poop!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're having a blast! Can't wait to see pics of you taking care of the animals (especially the elephants!) Have fun and don't forget to update... <3
ReplyDeleteMuy fun! Sounds like a fascinating experience. You both look great.
ReplyDeleteIt already looks so nice! Take as many pictures as you can to preserve all the good memories.
ReplyDeleteLoving it. You understand that now we're going to need daily updates just like this.
ReplyDeleteYay I got to see your face just before Shabbat and I was just talking about you with my parents.
ReplyDeleteLove you hun and send my regards to The Boy :)
Ofra