My Life-Changing Encounter with Elephants at Phuket's National Park

Hello everyone!

This review really got to me, as it was all so sensory and emotional. I stumbled upon Phuket's national park, where the elephants are living it up in amazing conditions, and since I love elephants, I really wanted to check it out. The park is located in Chalong.

Phuket's like a mini-vacation from the world – the greenery, the heat, and the ocean all work together to calm your mind, and we didn't even bother looking up the park's schedule, prices, or whether we needed to book in advance. I just looked up the address, and we headed out. It's not far at all.

We took a nice road to get there.

Before the park, there were goats grazing. We were greeted by the park staff at the parking lot and they immediately asked if we had made a reservation. Of course, we hadn't booked anything, and to be honest, we were pretty lucky because we arrived right at the start of the tour. The girl told us that the tour runs twice a day, and that you're only allowed to feed the elephants by hand once a day, and we were really lucky to catch the feeding session. Then they quoted us the price, and we stepped aside for a moment to discuss it because, to our surprise, it was around 20,000 rubles. We didn't hesitate for long, and we agreed to pay, and they led us into the park. We walked up to a small building and immediately saw the ducks and geese wandering around freely inside and outside. It was all so adorable. Two of the geese were super friendly and attached to the people. One of the guides was hugging one of the geese, and it was something else. And then, when she walked away, the goose started running after her, squawking loudly. It was all so heartwarming that it made me tear up. They took us to a small room that doubled as a souvenir shop, a passageway, and a cash desk. We were asked to pay before the tour started. The woman at the cash desk was one of the park's founders, and she spoke perfect English. Nobody spoke Russian, but we managed to communicate with our basic knowledge. I was surprised to see that there were no Russian tourists among us.On the table in front of the cash desk, there was a cat

It turns out the cat was working as a sales consultant after the tour. I have to say, the next room we walked into was a real eye-opener. It was filled with rows of chairs, and we were all asked to grab a seat. I was clueless about what was going on, but I figured I'd just go with it.Our guide came over and spent about 30 minutes explaining the setup and history of the park. She told us about how they rescue elephants from circuses and other places where they're used as working animals, how they take care of the babies, the loads they can carry, the injuries they suffer, and even how elephants can turn on people when they're mistreated. It was pretty sobering stuff.

Each of the younger elephants in the sanctuary has its own heartbreaking story, and what these people are doing for them is truly admirable and inspiring.

Apparently, the high cost of visiting the park is all going towards caring for the elephants. They also told us that it can take up to 5 years to save up enough money to rescue one elephant from a bad situation. I think they've got around 6 elephants here right now.

The park has some strict rules, though - no riding the elephants or swimming with them. You can just observe them or feed them bananas under the supervision of the guides.

The tour is also limited to a certain number of people to avoid stressing out the elephants. The park itself is huge, so the elephants have plenty of space to roam around.

Our guide explained what we could expect from the tour:

It lasted for three hours.We fed the baby elephants bananas.Then we went to watch them graze.Next, we were taken to lunch, where the menu was vegetarian, and while we ate, we could watch the elephants swim.xa0

Now I'll tell you more about what happened.

After a thorough briefing, we were asked to wash our hands with soap and proceed further.

We washed our hands and followed the guide. We were led to a small platform, separated by a low fence. Behind the fence stood the elephants. Next to them stood local men, and they weren't aggressive towards them. They didn't touch them either. I think they were there just in case. We were told that these were female elephants, and then we'd be taken to see the males)

This was an incredible sight. They were all so massive and beautiful, it made me want to cry from happiness – and, spoiler alert, I couldn't help it later. Some of them had this adorable tuft of fur on their heads.Behind us, they set up many large baskets filled with mini-bananas, and we had to feed them to the elephants. We were asked to give the banana to the elephant's trunk and try not to touch their skin.

For me, this was like magic. I love animals, and any contact with an animal is something I find incredible. Even when I call my cat and she comes running – it's like magic to me, you know?

I took my first bunch of mini bananas and I didn't know which elephant to approach, but I just went to the one that was stretching its trunk out to me the farthest. The elephant carefully plucked the bananas from my hands with its trunk... and I just lost it. I started crying and I couldn't hold it in. I'm standing there, sobbing, and I'm wearing my sunglasses so the other tourists don't think I've lost it. But for me, it was one of those magical moments where I just couldn't contain my emotions.

My husband looked at me and he totally got it.The next bananas I handed out, I was a little more composed and I was giving them out with a lot of trepidation and respect, handing them over to these adorable trunks.

Each elephant would wrap its trunk around the little trunk before taking the banana from me, and then it would pop it into its mouth. It was so entertaining to watch, and it was all happening so smoothly. Their trunks are so agile and coordinated, despite looking a bit clumsy at first.

I've got to say, the setup for feeding the baby girls was a bit different from the guys. They were just on the other side of a fence, but it turned out to be a massive area behind the fence. The elephants weren't in a cage, they were just wandering around and we were led to them so we could safely feed the little ones through the fence. We were told that feeding them bananas isn't actually that great for their digestive system, so it's more of a treat for them. Not all tourists get to feed them bananas, and it's not something they do every time. Occasional banana treats don't seem to cause them any harm.

I was just as nervous feeding the baby boys as I was the girls, and then we were taken to another part of the sanctuary where we were seated in a row facing the elephant path. The elephants would walk along this path to get to the other side of the park for food, and we'd get to see them up close.

We were told to stay seated, not make any sudden movements, and just let the elephants come to us at their own pace. It was actually really cool because we got to see each elephant individually, and they moved at a snail's pace, giving us plenty of time to take in every detail.

I pulled out my camera and made sure I had the right angle before they started approaching us.

I was amazed by how long the first elephant took to approach us. She just stood there, munching on a branch, while the rest of the elephants were still making their way down the path. We were sitting there with my husband, and it was like watching a National Geographic documentary. She was so focused on her snack, and her trunk was expertly manipulating it. It was mesmerizing to watch. Eventually, she slowly made her way closer, probably to give the other tourists a better view. I think the tourists behind us were really hoping she'd come over to them.

The second elephant arrived, and she did the same thing – just standing there, munching on a branch, right in front of us. We were all frozen in place, but at some point, I started to notice that the elephant was slowly turning towards me. It took a while, but eventually, I realized she was moving in my direction, still munching on her branch. I tensed up. The staff behind us reminded me to stay still and calm, so I didn't move a muscle.The elephant drew closer, but my husband couldn't help himself and jerked back in surprise. The staff reassured him, but I just sat there, frozen, as the elephant moved closer to me. I had no idea what was going to happen next, but I just kept watching. Would she trample me or not? I have no idea. I guess my self-preservation instinct was on vacation that day.

She came up really close to me, but didn't touch me. She started rummaging around my legs with her trunk, and I reached out to touch it, but the girl behind me stopped me. The little elephant was unsatisfied with her search and slowly backed away from me, and we ended up sweating another 100 drops on top of the ones we'd already lost to the heat ✊

From the screenshot in the video, you can see just how close she came to me)

Screenshot from the video, so you can see just how close she came to me I'd seen videos online where an elephant might knock someone with its trunk or do worse. But this was just some crazy stuff that happened. I figure if any of these elephants or one of them was actually a threat, we wouldn't have been seated like this without any barriers.

She didn't approach the other tourists and didn't give them the time of day. I don't know why she chose me, maybe she liked my zebra-print flip flops and the same-colored phone case. Either way, I'm taking it as some kind of magical experience. I kept repeating it to my husband during the rest of our trip: 'Imagine an elephant approaching me! Just think about it!' ✌

We waited in awe as the rest of the elephants made their way past us. Some were already gone, not stopping at all. Occasionally, two would stop and stand facing the tourists.

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Then we were led to the elephant route on a different terrain, a bit higher up on a hill. There were thatched structures with roofs and benches for us to sit in the shade and watch the elephants. There was also a cooler with water.

We spent around 30 minutes or more on this location.

There were no fences. We sat at a distance from the elephants, but far enough to see them clearly. If we wanted, any elephant could have come up to us. Next to us was Princess, but she was busy with her own thing. More on her later)

The elephants scattered in all directions. Some went to eat on one side, some on the other, some disappeared into the jungle, some alone, some in groups. The tourists were also split into several groups, each with their own guide. Not every guide interacted with us, though. We got a super friendly girl, I'm not sure what her nationality is, but she spoke English with us. When we didn't understand each other, Google Translate came to the rescue.

She told us about each elephant.

One of the elephants had a massive scar on its hind leg, and she told us it was probably caused by a deliberately poisoned metal object. They don't know the exact circumstances, but the little guy is alive and healthy. Some elephants were working under the open sky, and the sun left them with sunburn marks on their skin.

Sadly, not all the elephants have tusks due to cruel treatment.

Some have had their tails pulled out, which is just awful to think about.

But the guide also shared some heartwarming stories:

One of the elephants is named Princess, and she's a total diva - we saw her begging for more food from the staff and getting it, and she even loved getting sprayed with water from a hose!

That's Princess There are three elephant friends who always stick together and never argue. Then there are the older elephants who wander around on their own.Overall, the elephants seem to be doing well - they're being taken care of, fed, and indulged.

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Next, we were taken to another part of the park on a hill, where the dining hall was set up. As we entered, we were given cold, scrunched-up towels infused with insect repellent - a lifesaver on that hot day!

The buffet was amazing, with a huge variety of dishes. I was blown away by how delicious vegetarian food can be.

Sitting down at the table was a great spot to observe the rhinos. There was a little pond below where the rhinos would come to play. Again, the rhinos weren't rushed, and this time, not all of them decided to take a dip. We were told the boys didn't want to get in, but we were happy with the ones who did, because three rhino girlfriends put on a show in the pond - they sprayed each other and themselves with water from their horns, dove in and out, and generally had a blast. It was all really entertaining, and I ended up filming a lot of video.

An older rhino lady also came by, but she decided to hang back in the jungle and cover herself in sand using her horn. That was kind of adorable too.

I appreciated that the staff didn't rush them or try to force them to play for the sake of a show. We stood there for a while, watching the rhinos play, and then they started to disperse. We were also told that our fantastic tour had come to an end, and we were slowly led towards the exit.

I've been to some amazing sanctuaries on Phuket that rescue and give a peaceful, happy life to these incredible creatures. This isn't the only one, but it's definitely worth a visit. If you're in the area, make sure to stop by.

And please, avoid places where elephants are used for rides.

I know I've gone on a bit of a tangent, but I just wanted to share my experience with you. Thanks for reading my review!

If you're ever on Phuket, be sure to check out places like this!