After working at the Elephant Dung Paper Factory I traveled down to Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary. This is truly heaven on earth. BLES is a non-profit that rescues abused elephants and then lets them just BE elephants, they are the only Asian sanctuary that does this. There are no shows, and no tricks, you simply live amongst the elephants, help take care of them, and take part in watching them enjoy this new life.
Lom, Mee Chok and Pang Tong
Pang Suai
Mee Chok
Mee Chok
Each of these elephants was tortured physically and mentally due to the greed of humans, they each have wounds that will never fully heal. Despite this, after being shown love and respect, they have managed to forgive humans for the pain we caused them and now live alongside us. One particular elephant, Wassana, has a very traumatic history, but every morning, she wakes the entire sanctuary with her squeaks and trumpets of joy as she joins her friends for another day in the forest. After the honor of witnessing that, her simply joy of a new day, and all of the strength and forgiveness shown by each of the 13 elephants at BLES, it is impossible not to reevaluate your own attitudes.
Wassana coming down the hill...
Bong Beng and Tong Yui happily greeting Wassana
Lotus, the most recent arrival to BLES, was my instant favorite. (Don’t tell the others!) She is a bit of a diva, and knows exactly what she wants. She will only take fruit by hand, her favorite is apples but if you drop it on the ground she will not take it from you until you wash it. She is also not afraid to just take what she wants. Lotus joined us for lunch everyday at the observation deck. On two occasions she decided there must be good things to eat up the hill towards to the sanctuary and marched right up to eat their trees and the vegetable garden. Despite the attitude, she is also very caring and watches after the kids, Noah and Hope like a doting Nanny.
Lotus joining us for lunch.
Lotus, Katherine and Hope
Charging up the Hill.
This was a truly transformative and inspiring experience. Check back soon for the final post about my adventures in Thailand, next stop the Hill Tribe Villages above Chaing Rai.
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