Lewis goes elephant trekking and visits some Thai waterfalls

Lewis the Lion was having a bit of a moral dilemma. Before he had started his worldwide journey, he’d thought that he would like to go elephant trekking somewhere en route but now he had the opportunity, he just wasn’t so sure? Wasn’t it cruel to the elephants to expect them to carry tourists on their backs? Surely they should be free in the wild?

Eventually, on his last day in Koh Phagnan, he decided that maybe if he chose a company which was eco-friendly at least hopefully, they’d be the sort of company that would take good care of the animals too? He therefore booked up on a package that would involve some elephant jungle trekking, lunch, a climb up to some waterfalls and a cultural visit to one of the island’s Chinese temples.

He tentatively climbed up some steps onto a platform, as the elephant was unchained from under a shaded awning. It plod-plodded towards them. Lewis the Lion thought it looked rather sad and resigned to the fact that this is what it had to do or else. Lewis therefore felt a little bit sad too, as he, Helen and Sinead clambered onto the seat on top of the elephant. He almost wished that he wasn’t doing this as it felt rather cruel and almost wished that this trek would come to an end quickly. He especially willed the time away when its trainer jumped up and sat on its head but Lewis the Lion noticed that he had a pick in his hand. He hoped that this wasn’t being used cruelly against the elephant? But he couldn’t get off now: he just had to sit and bear it until the elephant dropped them off again at the platform. He knew he should be enjoying the experience in this lush jungle as he rocked from side to side on the elephant’s back, but the truth is, he wasn’t. The elephant trundled along a difficult jungle path and at one time had to exert a real spurt to get up a steep, muddy bank. In that moment, Lewis the Lion swore to himself that he would never go elephant trekking again. There just seemed to be something unnatural about it, even though he knew that it was a popular tourist activity in places like Thailand and India.

Lewis the Lion gave a big sigh of relief when it was time to get off the elephant. He was only happy when he could feed it some bananas and almost felt like it was his way of apologising for it having taken him on its back! There was also a monkey there too, that cheekily also wanted some bananas!

As Lewis the Lion looked onto the yard where the elephant was being chained back up again, he wondered if it was happy? Here there was a shrine to the elephant god, Ganesh so he knew that here in Thailand that elephants are respected animals. He just had these nagging doubts in his mind.

He was now only glad that it was time to say goodbye to the elephant, the chickens and the monkey and head off to discover some of Koh Phagnan’s natural wonders: a fantastic viewpoint and some wonderful waterfalls. It took quite an effort to get to the viewpoint as it was a hot and humid day and the track was uneven and Lewis the Lion had to use the tree roots and trunks as leverage to ascend. He was therefore proud of his achievement when he eventually arrived at the top of the mountainside and could survey the view of Koh Phagnan from above. After relishing the moment, they next carefully descended back down the mountain. The girls by this point, together with their guide were only grateful for the clear pool of water at the base of one of the waterfalls where they could swim and cool off (and there was another hiker, Aziz who joined them). Lewis the Lion laughed as they frolicked in the water and got truly splashed as they edged their way between the rocks and stood underneath the powerful waterfall. What a gloriously relaxing day out! However, the fun wasn’t over yet as after a huge Thai lunch, the friends were then taken to visit a huge Chinese Temple, which Lewis the Lion will tell you about in his next blog.

Lewis the Lion felt uncomfortable trekking on the elephant’s back. If you were to go to Thailand, would you like to ride on an elephant’s back? Why or why not?