NEW SERIES of
Inside Luxury Travel continues in the UK tonight - 2100hrs on Travel Channel (Sky 251) - with British Columbia, Canada!
I am a very lucky boy - in the past 10 years or so I have visited over fifty Four Seasons hotels & resorts around the world. Each one has a charm ... or something special about it BUT today I had the greatest Four Seasons experience and I am not sure it can ever be topped.
Up at 0500 and meet the boys and the Tented Camp manager Michel
Volk at reception and drive for 5 minutes to breakfast.
Waiting for us were 3 gorgeous elephants ... 2 babies and a "teenager". They had breakfast waiting for them too! A HUGE table of fresh fruit & veggies. An adult can weigh 4 tons and they eat 10% of their body-weight a day! Even these babies are about a ton!
Also with them was John Roberts - Director of Elephants! Surely - the coolest job title in the world? John is from Devon in England ... my back-yard. He heads www.helpingelephants.org ... Elephants have been used here in Thailand for manual work for centuries but as time has gone along, the pachyderms and their mahouts (Hindi word for elephant keeper) have been
work-less. SO these gentle creatures wander the country looking for food .. John & the charity rescue these
ellies and the mahouts and look after them here. There are 29 of them in the area! They cost around $12,000 a year to maintain and there is no shortage of sponsors ... but the more they get, the more
ellies they rescue. The
ellies and mahouts (& families) have a good life here and as God's creatures, why shouldn't they?
The morning was then spent with Michael - talking Tented Camp and wandering about the 60 hectare site. The Camp is "all inclusive" and costs a lot to stay here ... but for the experience, it's worth it. I am saving all my pennies for a return visit!
The area is malaria free by the way ... It's dry now BUT the best time to come think is "green season" - May to September - rain at night - dry(-
ish) during the day but lush ... and the elephants are happiest then too!!
The afternoon was an experience I will NEVER forget. I went to mahout school! I learnt how to ride an elephant (getting on & off), how to steer one and how to stop/start! With John, I spent a few hours
gallumping about ... ending up in the River
Ruak for a swim and a shower, courtesy of my elephant -
Yuki (Japanese for "snow").
Yuki was once the face of Coca-Cola in Japan and was found wandering the streets in Thailand ... and was rescued. I could have EASILY taken her home with me to live with Bert & Ernie in the back garden! BUT
ellies don't sweat so wee a lot & poo huge amounts!
A truly, truly memorable day and STILL mosquito-bite free!
Tonight I sleep with all the tent flaps open again! It's DIVINE!
Song of the Day: Baby Elephant Walk - Henry Mancini
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN2xQ2zqmCIWeather: Elephantastic!
baby
ellie +
michael volk
baby girl
"
pepsi" showing off
feeding time!
slobbery kiss!
a happy Tim!
beer & cigar on my terrace
jumping on Yuki ..
gallumping
more
gallumping!
bath time?
oh yes!!! john stays on .. i don't!
Yuki had left a gift for me on my bed tonight!
My view this morning from Tent Number 2
Breakfast with friends
Lazy monkey needs hand feeding
and a tickle ...
Four hour car journey from Chiang Rai to Chiang Rai. This is the half-way hut .. ! I joke not ... 
first up, "wat arun" - "the temple of dawn". 67 metres high. it's one of the most beautiful buildings in Bangkok. this side of the city was originally the "capital" but because of annual flooding, was moved over the other side of the river.
