26/10/2014

Elephants, maybe

We're leaving in the morning to spend a day and a half at Khao Yai National Park where we might, if we're lucky, see some elephants. I'm not getting my hopes up. The elephants in Khao Yai are wild, not prisoners in some cruel roadside petting zoo. I hate things like that. But, regardless of what we may or may not see, it will also be nice getting out into nature for a bit. Bangkok is a fascinating city but it's also like being rumbled around in the very noisy gut of a gigantic beast.

We'll leave about 9 am. It won't be fun rolling our suitcases to the sky train. The sidewalks are very irregular but we've done it before plus it's only a couple of block to the station and there's an escalator. Then it's two stops to Victory Monument which functions as the hub for vans and buses going all over the country. There's no escalator back to the street we want so, when we get there, we'll have to bump our suitcases down three flights of stairs. That'll suck but, again, we've done it before. We booked a tour with Greenleaf and that's where we get the van. Then it's about a two and a half hour drive from Bangkok to Khao Yai. When we get to the park, we'll drop our bags in our room, have lunch at the guesthouse and then they'll take us out for the afternoon to see what we can see. And we'll be out all day next day. M. Lee, who did this tour a few years ago and didn't see any elephants, assures me it will be a very long, very bumpy day in the back of a pick up truck. Can't wait.

3 comments:

Kristiana said...

Well, how was the bumpy day? Any elephants?

asha said...

Good day. We saw lots of wildlife and yes, we saw an elephant! Paul, a young guy from Wyoming, spotted one from the moving truck. I pounded on the top of cab, the driver screeched to a stop, threw the truck in reverse, parked and we all jumped out and ran after a lone male elephant who was walking slowly along a path through the tall grass. Of course, we kept our distance but everyone managed to get a few photos before he strolled up over the hill and out of sight. I don't know if anything I took turned out. I haven't had time to check. It was a long, full two days. I crashed after dinner last night and we've been traveling all day today. We shall see.

Roy said...

Yay! Pictures! (hopefully)