At the Elephant Conservation Centre

After a breakfast snack on the open common room at Kanecha's overlooking the river, we headed for the Elephant Conservation Centre. It took us a while for the people at the ticket office to find our booking, but eventually we were able to drive to the accommodation building.

We were delighted to find a functional but spacious room in a very new building that gleams with cleanliness. We appear to be the only guests here. It took us a while to understand that we would be able to order our food at the restaurant in the park and that our breakfast would also be delivered from there to the hotel.

The park itself is a little disappointing to be honest. It was part of our deal to be allowed to drive anywhere in the park and to attend the show, in which about 10 elephants show the work instructions they have been taught to carry out. All a little contrived, but it was lovely to see families enjoying themselves. The environment is very natural and quite pretty. We had a pad thai lunch and Willi treated himself to a ride and we watched the show twice, which turned out to be rather clever as they were not identical.

Apart from those activities, there is not an awful lot to do here, but we were quite grateful for a bit of peace and quiet after the past few days. There are plenty of mosquitoes around, so although it has cooled down, we'll be spending our evening inside.Read more