Elephant Escape!

" Fat is Beautiful " - Print on souvenir- shirt

The last time i was there, no one was there. Only remains of human activities and elephants, having their tea break, welcomed us. It was after three. Blame it on the lack of homework.

This time, everything was right. Timing. Weather.

If you're wondering whats with these elephants, or the timing, or the weather i mentioned, it's the one day escape to Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary i'm talking about. I knew this place from our Geography lessons and read several articles relating to these huge mammals in this well kept habitat.

Route info: It's a 100 km drive from KL towards Kuantan (using the Karak highway). Taking the exit at Lanchang, turn right after the toll and follow the road signs leading to the Sanctuary. The road passes through kampung areas with several bends along the way.

Upon arrival, we had to register at the office to receive our stickers. No fees applied, but donations are utmost appreciated. The funds will be used either to aid in financial support of the transferring process of the wild elephants or the development of the sanctuary, and it is the donor that decides which option to select for the money donated.

I was much anticipating this trip because i enjoy being around animals. And whatmore knowing the activities lined up for visitors at the sanctuary excited me. From afar, the elephants look cute and adorable. When i got closer to them, i could see their fur and felt their rough, gritty texture of their skin. And they were big and strong.

With the elephant.

It wasn't my first time seeing elephants, just to clarify, but it is not everyday you get to see this huge creatures. And that makes this trip a rarity. The first activity was feeding the elephants. There were peanuts sold to us to be fed to the smaller, baby elephants. For the older ones, slices of papayas, bananas and cucumbers were basket-ed for us to feed the elephants. Some visitors took the bananas and stuck them in the elephants' trunk- two at a time!

The next activity gave us the chance to ride on the elephants. The elephant we rode was the oldest in the sanctuary- 36 years old. All elephants in the sanctuary were Asian elephants. Once we were up and it started to move, it was fast and the ride was bumpy. Nevertheless, i felt powerful being on the elephant- like an emperor.

On the elephant!

Belittled by them. Wouldn't it be great if an elephant could be my pet to bring me around?

The last activity was bathing with the elephants. Since i knew about this activity and that i will get wet in the river, i brought an extra pair of clothes. You have to when you go there because this is, undeniably, the best among the three. I didn't know what was going to happen to us- i thought all we were about to do was go into the river and splash around with the elephants. It wasn't. We got on an elephant and on the count of three, the elephant dropped us into the river.

Like a rollercoaster drop.

Into the water.

It was thrilling and when we were in the water, i did what i thought we will be doing- splashing around with the elephants!

Splashing, or bathing!

There's no need to worry in finding a place to change your clothes. The washrooms provided were pleasant. Seriously, it beats other public toilet! There are shower rooms in case you need to rinse off.

Leaving the place, saying goodbye to the elephants, i realized one thing- that we have lots here to discover. The sanctuary is a beautiful place. The garden is well kept, upgrading works are underway, facilities are organized, activities are punctual (activities start from 1.30pm and ends at 3pm so be sure to be there early to not miss out on the fun) and the elephants habitat, now home, surely looks promising. I recommend this place if you like elephants or just looking to have some fun for a day trip. Note, only 120 stickers are given per day to limit the crowd.

I don't mind going back there in the future. wc10 met the elephants!