Elephants!

On Monday we went on a "safari tour" that included a number of interesting stops, but the main highlight of the day was definitely the elephants:




We started with an elephant show that included elephants kicking balls, elephants moving logs, and even elephants painting pictures. Here is one of the pictures they painted:




It may sound exploitative, but the general consensus seems to be that these elephants have it a lot better than they did in the days when they were used for logging, as war machines, etc.

There were elephants of all sizes. Big elephants, medium elephants, even little baby elephants:




We also watched the elephants take a bath in the river.

Next we got to ride an elephant through the jungle for about an hour. It doesn't sound like much, but it was more than enough. For full effect, we enjoyed a monsoonal rain for about half the trip.




Next we rode a bamboo raft a couple of kilometers down a river. They even let us each drive for a while:



Next stop was the monkey school, where they train monkeys to collect coconuts, and
to perform stupid tricks. Apparently a good monkey can collect 800-1000 coconuts per day.

But the monkeys are mean. Here is Kate right before the monkey bit her:




And here she is right after:



In the evening we went and watched some Thai boxing - a must-see in Thailand. They start them young in Thailand, here is one of the fighters from the 65-lb class. Note that he is wearing his lucky Batman trunks for his big fight.