Day 8

Janet and I were both up before 7. We talked for a good hour or so, and then went downstairs to wait for the ENP van. I put my camera on someone’s motorbike and took a picture of the both of us. Half an hour past by, then we saw a grey van pull up. Janet and I got all excited and almost got into the wrong van. The van didn’t even have the ENP logo on the side, but the lady sitting in the front looked like one of the ENP day visitor guides.
Finally, Burm came by and picked us up. First, we picked up Mabel, a girl from Australia. Next, we picked up Lauren and Sarah, who are past volunteers from last year. Then, we picked up Tiffany and Jesse, a mother and son from Australia. We were dropped off at the office so they could pay complete their paperwork and get their swag. I played with the dogs, taking care not to excite the puppy that got too crazy yesterday.

One of the girls from Singapore was back. I thought she slept in the same room as our neighbours’ last week but she came by herself. I found out that it’s her fourth time at the park.

Lauren, Sarah and I have watched the “live in the moment” documentary before so slept most of the way to the Park. I woke up right when we were winding down the hill where you get your first glimpse of the park. You see elephants grazing with straw huts in the background. The sight is sort of surreal and it makes you so excited. Going to touch an elephant soon!

I dropped off my bags in my room and went to find Kham Paan. She was waiting under the observation deck to be fed. My heart skipped a beat when I saw her! She’s so beautiful.
I was right on time! Angelo went to get her basket. She had watermelon and soo many cucumbers.
Doctor Pack, Laurel and Lisa came by to give Kham Paan salted rice balls and red beans. I think they feed her too fast and too much because she ended up spitting a lot of it out. It was like she threw it up because she opened her mouth and it all came out (good thing I wasn’t standing by her then!) but it didn’t come from her stomach, she was just holding all the food in her mouth.

When they left, we fed her a couple of cucumbers and she did the same thing. After that, I stopped standing under her while I passed her food. I was afraid I'd get cucumber guts on me! That sly old elephant, she probably just didn’t like the cucumbers and thought she could get away with spitting it out.

After she finished her basket, she was picking at the food she spit up. I gathered it up and tried to make a ball but the rice wasn’t sticky anymore. I scooped it up and did the best I could and put it in her trunk for her. The food wasn’t gross. It was just wet rice, cucumber bits and red beans. But halfway through, I realized how disgusting the idea of it was. I remember thinking of how I must be crazy for this elephant if I didn’t even give a second thought to touching her throw up.

Angelo asked me if I wore rings. I thought it was such an odd question. I showed him my dragon boat ring. He showed me a ring on his wedding ring finger (I don’t think he’s married. Thai people don’t have the same custom as us for wedding rings). He said it was made out of elephant hair that he found. He made it himself. It was a simple braided ring but I was really impressed.


She went to get a drink from the river and I went to wash her basket.
I went to watch Sri Nuan feed. Since I started feeding Kham Paan every meal, the only thing I’ve missed is Sri Nuan’s impatience before every feeding time. She comes closer and closer to the platform until she’s leaning on the logs and it looks like it’s going to give way. Her mahout is really nice too. He always has a big smile for me.

Kham Paan was snacking on grass when I came back. Honestly, elephants eat ALL the time.
Angelo threw two watermelons and a pumpkin down by her feet.
I saw a plastic bag floating down the river. It was still a far way off when I spotted it so I had time to make my way down the slope and wade into the river to get it. Angelo watched me going down there. He probably thought I was silly. I got pretty wet but I’m glad I went to get it. The bag was huge.

I had lunch with Tiff, Jesse and Mabel. Mabel and I went back to our room to drop off her bag. I left the three of them to change and went back to the beach because Kham Paan bathes earlier than the rest.

I had to lure her in with bread again. My skirt got all wet, but I didn’t need to change. It’s made of really light material so I only had to wring the water out and it was soon dry.

Out of the water, she started throwing pebbles on her body and scratching her underside. I found her a scratching stick the same time as Angelo but I got to give her mine because his was smaller.

Angelo gave me a ring made of Kham Paan’s hair. He found the hairs where she sleeps. When I took a closer look at the ring, I was surprised by how thick the hair was. I thought his ring was so thick because he braided many hairs but now I realize it was just with three strands. He used thinner hairs for my ring and it is pointed on one side. His is a flat band all across. It fit perfectly on the middle finger of my left hand.

After I got the ring, many staff at the park asked me how I got it. Many were concerned/surprised. At first, I thought I did something wrong because of their tone. Then, Eric told me that elephant hair from the tail is a prized thing. In the way elephants shoo flies away with their tails, it’s believed that the hair from the tail will protect you from bad luck. Many people will pluck hairs from the elephant. Which is obviously cruel, but also painful.

Not every elephant has nice tail hair like Kham Paan. Many elephants at the park only have a stump of a tail because the bottom was cut off. Now that she’s not so skinny, I think she’s considered to be very beautiful compared to the rest. She doesn’t have huge wounds/sores (only small insect bites) or swollen/knobbly legs. He ears aren’t big, but they’re not torn and saggy.

I went up to the observation deck to pet the dogs. Here’s Duke sleeping.
This was my favourite dog when I first came. His fur is luxurious. I loove petting him.
Monday is the day off for volunteers. I asked, but there was no help needed in the kitchen. Kham Paan was off in the field somewhere I couldn’t see. The day visitors and other volunteers were watching a documentary. I was actually quite bored. I decided to walk to the village. I picked up a soya milk drink for myself and some shrimp crackers and corn rolls for the dogs. On the way back, I stopped by Number One’s territory and fed his pack.

Kham Paan wasn’t at the beach yet, so I waited on the observation deck. I didn’t even recognize her when she came. I thought she was another elephant with Angelo. She was caked in mud. Her colour was darker so the shadows around her face was different. Oh, I laughed and laughed at her. I’ve never seen her so muddy before!
When she got to the deck, she scratched herself on the support stands and left mud everywhere.
The baskets were already on the deck and I think she could smell it.
She usually feeds in the shade, but it wasn’t too hot today and she had a thick layer of mud on.
She dried up as she was feeding.
After bath time was the standard scratch routine. We had to stop every couple of steps for her to scratch something new.
Can you tell she’s scratching her ear? Shoulder and then back.
hehe She’s so big, fat and droopy. I like this one.
I heard that Lek sings Faa Mai to sleep every night so I went over to their shelter. She was sitting right under Faa Mai’s head and singing Que Sera Sera.
It was very touching. The little elephant soon got tired. She was swaying, and then she lay down.
Chang Yim was having fun with Pom in the back.
Then he got tired of that and he wanted to wake Faa Mai up.
Matt tried to distract him with some water, but that only worked for a while.
Chang Yim tried to kick Faa Mai with his left leg. Pom pulled him back.
He tried with his back leg, but Faa Mai’s mother used her trunk on him.
He tried with his right leg,
but Faa Mai’s mother kicked him away.
Finally, he tried lying down. He crept under and woke her up. I like how his mahout is just watching him do this. haha
Matt showed me elephant teeth!
Seeing Faa Mai put to bed made me feel sleepy. I went back to my room and took a nap. Last night really tired me out. A lady actually came in to change Mabel’s sheets and I didn’t wake up.

We had a late dinner because of the orientation ceremony. I volunteered to sit next to the shaman and have him tie my bracelet. The ceremony seemed shorter this time even though there were more people.

After dinner, we did introductions of everyone. It was getting late, so I called it a night. Mabel stayed for a massage. I found Duke and Baumi on the way home. Duke slept on my bed. Baumi slept on Mabel’s bed. Mabel had said she didn’t want a dog on her bed so I shooed him off but he jumped back on after I got into bed. I figured that she’d shoo him off herself when she got back.

Mabel didn’t wake me up when she came back from her massage but I did wake up in the middle of the night. I saw Baumi sleeping at the foot of her bed (all sprawled out, like always. Melita said he doesn’t know how to sleep on a bed with a human because he’s still a puppy). When I mentioned it the next morning, Mabel said she didn’t even know he was ever on her bed! He jumped up in the middle of the night and I let him out in the morning before she got up. Sneaky puppy haha.