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Elephant Hills, Thailand: Luxury Tent Next To The Rainforest

After my unforgettable encounter with the awsome Haha

and other elephants: return to Elephant Hills camp, where I really discover my spacious tent in details. Back tired, but full of pictures of this endless day started at dawn at Cheio Larn Lake, I took these pictures before collapsing. Or almost collapsing, because after, I have to go dinner…

The tent is awsome! Simply decorated and inspired by an African lodge revised Thai way. Each element recalls the elephants: stools, towel racks … like in the picture 6. Nicewooden floors: I take off our shoes before entering the tent. And my advice is do not leave your shoes outside, if you don’t want to find a colony of insects!

The tent is also comfortable, with mosquito nets everywhere

(pictures 2, 3 and 4). And I was able to sleep without a mosquito (or any other visible insect), a bless! Impeccable bedding next to the fan. But the big thing is the real bathroom (picture 5)! Yes, a real one: clean, pretty and useful (cold water only, it’s okay for me). Since leaving Chumphon, I’ve dreamed of it!

To conclude for my first “camping”experience in Thailand (LOL!), I love it! Another detail I found quite fun, the lock that serves as a key to close the tent (really old school process, lol). You should not need to make fifty back and forth to your tent in the evening, it quickly becomes bothering! Last picture: the path to the tents. 

Photos : © Mademoiselle Le K – Tous droits réservés

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ELEPHANT HILLS

Follow my whole trip in THAILAND and Twitter. I was hosted by the Royal Thai Embassy in Belgium and as usual all my opions are mine! You can also discover my other pictures in the Facebook of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Facebook of the Royal Thai Embassy in Belgium. ENJOY! 

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Elephant Hills, Thailand: Magic Moment With Elephants

Elephant Hills-Thailand-1-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2013

Life sometimes offers outstanding moment

that brings us back the wonder of childhood. Like this magic moment with the Asian elephants of Elephant Hills. Elephants protected and cared, an important point! My darling is Haha, the baby elephant born in Elephant Hills (pictures 1, 9, 11 & 12). Playful and so cute! Here, the relationship to the animal is respectful and there is no question of trekking on elephants for the pleasure of tourists at the expense of the health of the elephants. The program of the day is: preparing a meal and feeding the elephants. Honestly when I quickly read the program, I didn’t know what to really expect, everything seemed so organized!

After a road that seemed so long from the pier of Cheio Larn Lake, we arrived at Elephant Hills, near the jungle of Khao Sok natural park. Meeting with Jon and his team and having a quick lunch. The rush to drop my bags in my wow tent, inspired by an African lodge, reinterpreted in the Thai way (awsome!). And respond to urgent email : thanks god for the wifi in the common area and restaurant, a kind of large outdoor hut. We are in the largest rainforest in southern Thailand. And I bravely managed to stay without internet connection the previous two days on the floating hotel (what a challenge, LOL)!

Elephant Hills-Thailand-4A-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2013Elephant Hills-Thailand-3-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2013Elephant Hills-Thailand-5A-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2013Elephant Hills-Thailand-6A-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2013

A few minutes later, I am in a canoe down the Sok river

in torrential rain … which lasts unlike usual (picture 2). The scenery is just gorgeous. Arriving at my elephants buddies, I’m soaked to the bone. Pictures 3, 4 and 5: the preparation of meals, sugarcane (cut with a machete, a tense moment for me), pineapple, bananas, cucumbers and mixtures of seeds and fibers wrapped in banana leaf, for transit. In the end, a basket by elephant (picture 5).

And the next step, feeding a greedy and selective trunk, was my real odyssey! Each animal has its own character, his tastes and “affinities” (not sure to use the right word in English) ! Magical. My elephant, I say it because I immediately liked her, was an old chic lady really picky. She always leaves falling down all she doesn’t like or can’t chew! To the delight of her greedy neighbor who is a kind of vacuum food. The most impressive is, their eyes and look (picture 6). And agility of the trunk, which is always in motion, a sign of good health.

Elephant Hills-Thailand-2A-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2013Elephant Hills-Thailand-7-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2013Elephant Hills-Thailand-8-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2013

The mud bath

Picture 8: the mud bath to remove parasites, a must for this young elephant that enjoys diving, rolling in the muddy water and beating with its trunk the surface. Then the shower. It’s crazy how elephants love the water! After a demonstration where we learn how to wash them, I rinse with a hose the youngster crazy of mud. At first I was not very comfortable, but the elephant lying full length on the slab looks really peaceful. I’ve never approached an elephant so close!

Since childhood, the elephant has always been my favorite animal, my totem. I love its graceful and clumsy way of walking. Paradoxical because as a diver, I often prefer the underwater world. But these elephants are irresistible, so imagine for children: even a jaded teen couldn’t resist! A big thanks to the elephants (for their patience with us the humans), Jon for the explanations about them, the guards and the entire team at Elephant Hills for this unforgettable encounter with elephants.

Photos : © Mademoiselle Le K – Tous droits réservés

INFORMATIONS

ELEPHANT HILLS

Follow my whole trip in THAILAND and Twitter. I was hosted by the Royal Thai Embassy in Belgium and all my opions are mine. You can also discover my other pictures in the Facebook of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Facebook of the Royal Thai Embassy in Belgium. ENJOY!

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Thailand: Early Morning Boat Ride On The Chieo Larn Lake

Early morning wake-up to attend the sunrise

over the Chieo Larn Lake. I love these furtive hours, when there is an absolute calm. The water surface is as smooth as a mirror. We leave by boat from the hotel (pictures 2 & 3) to go to Klong Saeng, Klong Ek and Klong Yee.

The scenic beauty is breathtaking! More enigmatic and wilder than during our boat safari, the day before in the late afternoon (pictures 8, 9 & 10). More or less we pass through the same places today. No matter: I do not get tired of the haunting atmosphere around the Chieo Larn Lake … 

Exciting to play explorers (lol!). And for big fans of trekking with leeches and other extreme sensations, you can organize trekkings with a guide in the area. Some of us tried the experience!

And well let’s say… when I saw them coming back – after just a couple of hours – like wrecks (red as tomatoes, breathless, super dirty with bites of leeches and so on…), I was SO happy not to have participated to this great trekking of hell! Of course they explained me all the WOW things I missed! LOL!

Now the bottom of the air is fresh, while the sky is between cleared and threatening: the rainy season in Thailand. Slowly the mist surrounding the mountain tops, dissipates (pictures 1, 4,5, 6 & 7). Cold light, output of an array of a Seicento master. Sometimes the landscape reminds of Chinese prints. Next stop in the Khao Sok rainforest : Elephant Hills …

Photos : © Mademoiselle Le K – Tous droits réservés  

Follow my whole trip in THAILAND and Twitter. You can also discover my other pictures in the Facebook of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Facebook of the Royal Thai Embassy in BelgiumENJOY!

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DESTINATIONS & HOTEL REVIEWS