We were all up very early for our excursion and had breakfast at 6.30 and were on our way by 7.00!!!! Holiday!!!!
We were in a small mini bus and only us and the guide and driver. We drove till 8.30 and then had a coffee stop. Heather was having a major panic attack due, I think, to not knowing what she was going on i.e. an elephant!!
We drove on up the island and crossed over the bridge that joins Phuket to mainland Thailand. There is a new bridge being built as the old one was damaged in the tsunami as all this area is where it hit. We drove to a tsunami monument and I don't think I have ever experienced anything quite like it, very emotional to think of so many people dying. We were shown boat 813 which was a police boat that had been moored one nautical mile offshore and was there to protect the young son and daughter of the Princess of Thailand. When the tsunami struck the boat was washed inland and ended up in a field over a mile inland. When you turn towards the sea and look at the distance it is unbelievable that a boat so big could come so far carried on a wave. The Princess' son was one of the casualties and she asked that the boat be left there as a monument and she visits each year.
There are now escape routes marked from the beach to high ground and they are called 'Tsunami escape routes'. They also have an early warning system in place which is tested once a year. To have only 45 minutes, which is the time it took from the earthquake to the wave, to get to high ground is not long but it would have saved so many lives.
We then continued on up into the hills and jungle to where we were to ride the elephants for 1.30min. A quick trip to a toilet of sorts and then we were given a bottle of water and had to climb onto a platform to get on our elephants. I went with Heather as she was scared to go on her own. Jon looked like a king sitting up on his on his own.
The ride was more comfortable than I expected and our elephant was called Pla Koh I think and was 20 years old. Our trip took us through rubber plantations and we could see the rubber trees being tapped, just like the picture in my geography book I drew when I was 11!!! It was really hot and steamy. We rode to a waterfall where we had been told we could swim but it was not very pretty and no good for swimming.
After a 15 minute break we got back on the elephants and back to the start but this time Heather went on her own and Jon was with me. James rode all the way back sitting on the elephants neck. We had a welcome shower of rain on the way back but it didn't last long.We got back and were given another bottle of water and we could buy a basket of pineapple to feed the elephants with and then our guide gave us a frozen towel to wipe our hands with which was most welcome. We then drove to a lookout point and had some photos taken, the view was good but it would have been better on a clear day.
On the way to lunch we stopped at the monkey caves. The monkeys only come down once a day to feed but there were none there.
Then off to a little house in the jungle for a really nice lunch of Thai food which was not too hot. The owners had two Gibbon monkeys tied up on chains and they were so tame and docile but the chains were too short and we all felt very sorry for them, poor things. By now it had started to rain and we had to go on a canoe ride so we put our raincoats on and got back on the bus for a five minute drive to a really steep and slippery bank that we all just managed to get down in one piece and into the canoes. I was with Heather again and even though it was raining it was warm rain and really very nice and peaceful. It was mostly smooth but we went down a few rapids. Because of the rain we didn't see much wildlife just a baby turtle and a lizard and a spider. We were very wet by the time we got back to the bus.
We went once again to see the monkeys but they were not there so we set off on a very wet journey back which took two and a half hours and in wet clothes was not very nice. We stopped at ta service area for the loo which was a hole in the ground and we bought some crisps and chocolate to see us home as we were hungry. I think the driver had a death wish as he drove like a maniac and made some very dodgy manoeuvres but we all got back safely.
We got in to our room and had a very welcome shower and got ready for dinner. We had dinner at Two Chefs a place just up the road and it was very good and we had lots of cocktails.
As it was Kirsty and James last night we stopped at bar on way home for another drink - coconut cocktail - non alcoholic and watched the football. It was hard saying goodbye to them but it won't be long before I see them again in January. I didn't want her to be upset that we wouldn't see them in the morning but getting up to say goodbye at 5.00 would not be fun and Kirsty is not a morning person.
Rain nearly all day apart from elephant trek
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