Day 5 - Mason Elephant Sanctuary

We woke up this morning to heavy rain bouncing off the ground and raining through the roof. By the time we were half way through breakfast the rain stopped and the sun came out causing steam to come off the rooves as the rain evaporated.

Today Roy organised for us to go to the Mason Elephant Sanctuary. We decided to just get a lift from the hotel which was pricy at 200K but at least we knew we'd get there.

Arriving at the park there was all sorts of options but I didn't feel comfortable going for the elephant rides or climbing on elephant in the water for pictures as I have read things how it's not ethical or good for the elephants. Overall it was a bittersweet experience. It was lovely to feed the 3 year old elephant and get hugged by the mummy elephant. You can feel the power in their trucks and the hair on them is really coarse but they were really gentle with everyone.

It was sad though to see the trainers in the water pinching the elephants skins so it would do tricks for those riding them in the water. There was also signs explaining that the law in Asia is that no elephant is allowed to roam free unattended so when their trainers weren't there they were all chained up. The park wasn't very big and I've seen zoos with better enclosures for night time.

But I had to keep reminding myself they had a better life here than they did in the elephant farms they were rescued from in Sumatra. Also if people like me didn't go to the sanctuary and the money stopped coming in then there would be no way they could upkeep the elephants and they would be killed. I hope the laws in Asia come more lax so they get more freedom. I also hope more people do research and go just to feed and see the elephants rather than ride them.

We were done with the park in a couple of hours so we then hired a grab car and went to Creyta.Read more