Read about my busy but rewarding experience helping at an ethical elephant refuge centre in Thailand.
A couple of months ago I volunteered in the amazing elephant sanctuary in Thailand and it’s definitely an experience I will never forget! It was based in a small town south of Bangkok which was close to bigger beach towns such as Hua Hin, so was located perfectly.
Before coming out the pre-departure team helped so much including receiving the pre-departure handbook and help when choosing the best health insurance, specifically for elephants. On arrival I was provided with free pickup from Bangkok and arriving into the volunteering space I was shown to my room where I met two girls immediately and we went to lunch together where it was so easy to meet everyone as the numbers were small enough to know everyone!
The program was very full on but you definitely were making the most of the time there! The days consisted of waking up for 6:30am and not finishing until 5pm. However, each day was different with the rotation of zones so you could handle different elephants each day all with different stories as to why they lived at the sanctuary. It also meant different mahouts each day who were all so friendly and funny so made the day incredibly easy. Most days consisted of washing them and cleaning cages, hand feeding them and also making them toys, in some zones you can even walk them!
"I would definitely recommend the project and would love to return one day soon!"
Although there was not much free time it meant days off were mainly for catching up on sleep! They offered help with taxis to nearby beaches as well as entry to the hotel on site with a pool overlooking the elephant enclosure.
For some people, who were only there for a week, they could also opt to join in with more volunteering in a chosen project area or even oversee the wildlife volunteers who covered all the other animals rescued: a lot of monkeys as well as gibbons, bears and even a cassowary!
Structures of the program kept the volunteers extremely mixed so you would work with a different group of people daily which was so lovely to meet new people but at the same time requests could also be made for who you wanted days off with. This meant meeting new people was extremely easy, especially when I was new in the first few days.
The accommodation was really nice with personal fans and shared with only three other people and some even had private en-suites. The food that was served changed daily creating a variety and a nice mix of western and Thai food depending on what you were in the mood for and it was all delicious!
I would definitely recommend the project and would love to return one day soon!
