Touchdown in Bangkok

After over 15 hours of traveling, we arrived in Bangkok late the night of June 17^th. We woke up eagerly on the 18^th ready to explore the city.  We decided to venture out into the city riding different tuk-tuks (motorized rickshaws) to explore. Although in some ways, Bangkok felt very much like Los Angeles especially in its more commercial areas, we explored a great amount of Thai history in a few short days.

We spent our second day admiring the beautiful grounds of the Grand Palace. The detail in the art and architecture was astounding and standing in front of the Emerald Buddha was very humbling. 

On our third day, we drove about 2.5 hours south of Bangkok to Phetchaburi where we visited our first animal rescue center, the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT).  WFFT houses rescued elephants as well as over 600 other animals that have been rescued from the illegal pet trade, animal shows, and other tourist attractions. Many of the animals were smuggled into Thailand as babies, but as they grew bigger (and often times, more aggressive), they became too dangerous for their owners to care for. The animals were subsequently dropped off at WFFT. Although the organization’s hope is to one day return many of these animals to their natural habitats in the wild, the sad reality is that many of the animals have been in domestic environments for too long and have lost their innate abilities to find food and stay safe from their natural predators in the wild. In these circumstances, WFFT builds remarkable enclosures for these animals so that they can live as comfortable a life as possible for the remainder of their lives. Please check out the incredible work this organization is doing https://www.wfft.org/. If you ever find yourself in Bangkok, take the time to travel to this inspiring and educational facility a few hours away. You won’t regret it!