I stand, along with three other volunteers, watching one of the Elephant Nature Park’s veterinarian’s squirt antiseptic into the mangled foot of Sri Prae. It is purple, covered in medicine to keep it from getting infected. And, it’s disfigured, partially blown off after accidentally stepping on a land mine years back when she was inContinue reading “Volunteers and a vet: an afternoon of healing elephants”
Category Archives: Blog
Up-close with elephants: a photo essay of life with a herd
//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js // <![CDATA[ (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); // ]]> Thick, leathery gray legs covered with a layer of thick, wet, chocolate-colored dirt, surround me. At first, I am apprehensive. On all sides of me are six-ton elephants. Capable of plowing me over. I look over to Lek, the founder of Elephant Nature Park, withContinue reading “Up-close with elephants: a photo essay of life with a herd”
Ch-ch-ch-changes
Welcome to the all new d travels ’round! I know it looks different, and there’s some getting used to that will happen, but I am so excited to share what I (and by I, I really mean the talented Jesse McFarlane) have been working on since October. Why the change? Quite simply, I wanted toContinue reading “Ch-ch-ch-changes”
A trip to a Thai elementary school: a photo essay
Most of the time at Elephant Nature Park is spent at the park, caring for elephants and helping maintain the facilities. However, our calendar of volunteer activities clearly shows that on Thursday, we are heading out of the park to do some volunteer work at the village elementary school with the kids. I love myContinue reading “A trip to a Thai elementary school: a photo essay”
Knee-deep in mud: the planting grass adventure
Thank goodness I am wearing boots, because otherwise, when I am knee-deep in the thick, gloppy mud in the humid and overcast afternoon, my foot would come shooting out and cause me to face plant it into the neat little rows of grass we are planting. Our afternoon volunteer activity is another labor-intensive experience. ThisContinue reading “Knee-deep in mud: the planting grass adventure”
An inside look at Elephant Nature Park
Chai hands us each a huge bundle of bananas as we suit up in our rain gear. “For our walk,” he explains. I pull on my gum boots (with socks this time) and pull my poncho over my head, tucking my camera under it securely so it won’t get rained on. The clouds have beenContinue reading “An inside look at Elephant Nature Park”
They gave me a machete: a true story of corn-cutting
Our group of 10 piles into the back of a pickup truck at 8 a.m. We’re covered head-to-toe, largely to avoid ants crawling down our clothing and nipping us. I’ve got on a hat with fabric flaps, a long-sleeved shirt, a T-shirt, leggings, gum boots, and a pair of gloves. And, I’m not as coveredContinue reading “They gave me a machete: a true story of corn-cutting”
Cultural Tips for Thailand
“Chang, Chang, Chang,” we all sing, our shoulders tucked into our noses and our one arm hanging to depict an elephant trunk. It’s nighttime, and Jack and Chai have called us up to the conference room to teach us about Thai culture and the Thai language. The first thing that sticks in my head? ElephantContinue reading “Cultural Tips for Thailand”
I’m not full of it, I’m shoveling it
I wake up early on my first day — as soon as the light begins to sneak through the tiny cracks in the wood, and the more than 100 dogs begin to bark their “hellos” to their cat neighbors and the elephants start making their noises out my window. I’m too excited to sleep anyContinue reading “I’m not full of it, I’m shoveling it”
Blessings from a shaman
It starts as a drizzle after dinner … a soft pitter patter on the roof of the main area at the Park. It’s dark, so we can’t really see the full effect. But, we can hear it. Within minutes, that light little drizzle gives way to sheets of rain, dumping from the sky. As weContinue reading “Blessings from a shaman”
D Travels 'Round 