Phuket - Elephant Trek

I had a sleep in this morning - well as much of a sleep in that could be had with the construction going on next door. Once up I got to sample my hotel's breakfast for the first time (nothing to rave about at all unfortunately). Checked out some more of the activities and decided to go elephant trekking in the afternoon, so while I was waiting for pick up enjoyed a morning reading by the pool and swimming :) First chance of my holiday to relax. Very happy about that!

The elephant trek was at this place just north of Patong. As I was only doing the trek (not as part of a tour) I was the only one there. The elephants were pretty cool but got lots of funny looks again because on my own. It seems a girl travelling on her own is a very strange thing in Thailand. Every tour guide, taxi etc I've had so far has looked at me twice when they ask 'just one?' and I say 'yes just one'. Some of them even double check! hehe. On the plus side they're all extra nice to me because of it :)

So anyway we start the ride and its pretty cool although not the nicest of settings but still fun and you get to see where some of the locals live (it's not such a pretty site but very interesting). Nice views at the top, so I got lots of photos.

On the way back the guy indicated whether I wanted to sit on the elephant's neck (where he sits) - I think he took pity on me because I was on my own.. uhoh time going to run out back in a sec! need to reset my internet account!

Ok back... So yes the elephant guy asks me if I want to sit where he sits, on the neck. I thought it was just to take a photo but of course I jumped at the chance. Amazing feeling sitting there with an elephants ears beating against your leg. The guide takes a photo and then proceeds to tell the elephant to walk. We start walking back, the guide checks how I'm doing from the ground and i must have had a huge grin on my face because I got to stay there for the rest of the trek. I was so happy! It was amazing. Back at camp I got to feed my elephant and give it a hug for a final photo. Such an awesome day!


My back has been pretty sore thanks to the bumpy boat ride, the hard thai beds & pillows, and then the elephant trek so I decided to treat myself to a thai massage. I have to say it was the strangest massage I have ever had. It hurts, a lot! The not only use their hands but their elbows, knees and feet. So they dig in pretty deep. They also move all your limbs and body into weird positions to try and click you, my body obliged with quite a few hearty clicks which made the thai women laugh every time. The woman spoke barely any english but was pretty lovely and again guessed I was on my own and gave me a big smile and a pat on the arm, hehe. 11/2 hours later it was all over and despite the pain I was incredibly relaxed and my body was feeling a lot looser. All for about $20.

So now I'm back at the internet cafe having a pastry and juice and waiting for the pouring rain to stop! One of the receptionist girls has recommended a thai restaurant to me (because surprisingly I haven't yet had any thai food!) so I'm waiting to see if the cloud clears a bit first before I go and find a tuk-tuk or taxi (got to ride my first tuk-tuk yesterday which was fun). May go back and have another margarita first, it's only a block away from the internet cafe. :)

So yes the food has surprised me. I have a few people ask me about the food and what I'm eating. Well the problem in Phuket is it's so touristy there is every type of food you can imagine (and therefore not many authentic Thai places!). All the hotels serve american breakfasts and the buffet lunch/dinners are very westernised to. They have stir frys but they also have spag bol and chips! Then I had mexican for dinner because I couldn't resist but not very thai. Although the thai know how to put a kick in their food and it was the hottest mexican I'd ever eaten which made it yum! So if I make it to this restaurant tonight I have hope for a little more traditional cuisine :)

I'm going through the money pretty quick here too but I may only get here once so gotta make the most of it! :)