2023 Colorado Springs Thailand Elephant Expedition
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The Long Trek Home
Helping Locals and Elephants alike
Soap, candles, and conservation
Written by John
At the pavilion resort we stayed the night. And then in the morning we have breakfast Which was French toast eggs fried rice toast with butter fruit juice and a lot of other good things and then we drove for five hours to Kui Buri National park
We made many stops to 7-Eleven And then when we got to Baan Rai Kong Mun our accommodations for the next two nights. And then we met the leader of bring the elephant home and then we drove to a farmers house and they showed us around the farm and other farms around their farm and then we had a conversation after dinner with all the farmers who are working to remove pineapples from their growing area because the elephants really like it and the farmers are OK with the elephants but they have to use firecrackers and cap gun To scare The elephants off so they don’t eat the farmers pineapples we also learned about the Tom Yum Project which is where the farmers are planting things like lemon grass which a the elephants do not like so they will stay away from their farms we also made soap and candles which was a really fun addition to our little adventure today in all today it was a really good day
Elephants!
Written by Michael W & Sierra
Our day began with us waking up on the houseboat we were staying on from the night before. Once we were all awake, we went to eat breakfast. Most of the kids ate breakfast by the water. Nearing the end of breakfast, we moved the boat back to where we were originally parked. We got out to go to the bus and drove about an hour to the elephant sanctuary. We got to feed the elephants with Pineapple leaves they gave us. Once we finished that, we made treats for the elephants, consisting of Sticky Rice, Bananas, and Tamarin. We mixed them and shaped them into balls. We handed them out to the elephants then went back in to cut watermelons to give to them as well. We caught the watermelon into 4ths and put them in baskets to distribute. After they ate, we went on a hike with them. We walked down a little and hung out by the river. While we were there, the elephants cleaned themselves by throwing dirt over themselves. We walked a little further, and we sat down on the seats that used to be used for elephant tours. At the end of the hike, we came across a house. We played a traditional Thai game. I would describe it as volleyball with your feet. Then, we went to go eat lunch back at the elephant sanctuary, and we saw a few cats there. We left to go to the resort, and we had about an hour before we left to go to The Ourland Pavilion. We arrived, and got to the question of: How can we make an environmental difference at home? To help form our answers, we got into groups and shared ideas with each other. Finally, we got into a circle and shared out ideas. Once we finished, we got to pet/hold a snake they brought out. We were all tired from the long day, so we soon went back to the resort, where we could get our rest for the next day.
House boat day
We woke to another amazing Thai breakfast. After packing and cleaning up, we did one of the more nerve racking activities; opening a bee hive and getting a delicious honey snack. Only one person got bitten but people were definitely nervous. After that we got in the van again and drove off to a plant and tree nursery. There, we potted saplings and learned more about native plants and reforestation. Now after that, we came to probably the most sad and emotional part of the journey, saying our goodbyes to our hosts in Chongsadao community. We exchanged gifts and learned about the necklace that the sub-district leader was wearing; an idol of buddha that was 700 years old! We boarded the van and headed to the next step of the journey which was the house boat. The house boat was not what any of us was expecting. It was basically a two story house floating down the river. We all settled into our rooms which were crowded with our friends. After this, we got towed up the river by a smaller boat and we could float down the kwai river to see some water falls, beautiful jungles, and rock formations. We had fun and climbed behind a water fall into a cave. After that we parked the boat farther away from people and jumped out onto the sandy beach. We ran until we tripped into the water, skipped rocks, and swam. For the rest of the night we had a chill time playing cards on the boat and eating dinner. Last we all fell asleep in our beds.
Building an Experience
Written by Michael F, Jasmine & Kaden
Today we started by having breakfast with our host family, then we headed off to build a dam. We all got in an assembly line and passed limestone rocks to one another until we got to a wire box that we dropped them in. We did this in three different places, and overall it took about 3 hours and when we finished, we ate lunch with the locals who helped us build it. After lunch we took a quick swim and the river, then went on a hike in the forest. After the hike we went back to the village for some free time. We also went to 7-11 to get some snacks and soda. We then made our own fried rice and these little jello like things. Then we did a group reflection on what we had learned that day and went to bed.
Trip to Kachanaburi
Written by Michael W, Alyson & Jon
Our day started with us leaving Bangkok and getting on the road to drive to Chong Sadao. We took two buses to get there and although some of us became a little car sick, we made it safely and all excited for our first activities in Kachanaburi. Arriving at where we were staying for the next couple days, we had an orientation for what we would be doing over the course of the trip, while also meeting our OurLand guides. Following this, we got to have lunch and found our cabins before heading to the nearby river. Before getting into the river, we got to learn some new things about the birds we could see along the river. Soon after, we hopped in and floated down the river for a little bit. We were soon planning to head down a trail, however, an elephant was on it. We instead just headed up to the OurLand camp building. We were up there for a while, playing games, eating dinner and eventually sitting around the campfire, to talk about, and draw our expectations and hopes for our trip in Thailand. After we finished, we were tired out, and drove home. While we were leaving the camp, we saw an elephant in front of us. The elephant left, and we continued our drive. We arrived back at our cabins to take showers, and finally went to sleep.
Dazed and Confused and Jet-lagged and Excited!!
Written by Cierra, CJ, and Neil
Last night we got off the plane, got in a minivan which took us to the hotel. Everyone was tired, then we still walked to the mall to get family style Thai food. We went back to the hotel and everyone was tired so we slept. This morning we did an orientation and we learned the culture and what we can and cannot do, and we learned some words in Thai. We then walked up to the mall and exchanged money, and then we ate lunch at this really good noodle place. We got on the BTS Sky Train and after that we got on a thai long-boat and had a tour guide, and there was lots of catfish and then we got to throw bread to the fish. We even saw huge lizards (water monitors). Then we went to the temple of the first king; it was really big, and we looked around. Went to another temple and we had to climb stairs. Then we came back to the hotel and took a break before walking around and going to the food court in another local mall and ate until we were too full; it was very cheap, there were tons of options, and it was all very yummy. We walked back to the hotel but stopped to buy a bag if cooked grasshoppers and meal worms and each took our turn trying this very nutritious Thai cuisine! Off to Kanchanaburi tmrw for more adventure!