Nathon (Koh Sumui) Thailand

Nathon is a Thai resort island. Prior to the 1970s it was a fishing town with no roads, but once tourism was discovered the infrastructure developed rapidly. It is known for its beaches, Buddhist monuments and markets. We are here for one day so I chose to go to one of the several elephant sanctuaries.

Attitudes about the treatment of animals is changing. Using elephants for labor or entertainment is increasingly frowned upon. The ones in this sanctuary of 16 were either used for logging, giving tourist rides, other labor or abandoned. They are Asian elephants, a little smaller than their African relatives and they have smaller ears. The sanctuary has a long boardwalk elevated above the park. Tourists (like me) can feed the elephants from the boardwalk. We were given palm leaves, sugar cane, and bananas. The bananas were the favorites.

And, oh yes, I saw one more life bird, a stripe throated bulbul.Read more