Day 2 – Still at the (awesome) park

Today’s experiences were quite similar to yesterday’s, but there are a lot of afterthoughts I’ve gathered in my head about this wonderful place.

Our tour guide, Jen, was nothing short of fantastic in this whole experience at the ENP. When he was explaining stories of the individual elephants and the hallmarks of their personalities, we could see the love he had for the elephants and his job. He replied lots of our questions really patiently and always with the intent of educating us so that we may pass on the knowledge to our friends and family to spread awareness on how elephants should be treated, and helped us gradually realize the importance of being a responsible tourist. It is one thing to want to learn about a country and another to want to learn, but on top of that, to appreciate the uniqueness of the culture so that you wish to preserve it as a form of respect and gratitude to the locals for sharing their culture with you. I think this is really the crux of conservation efforts; to learn and gather meaningful experiences from a place, all while remembering to leave the place in its best condition.

I had lots of fun touching the elephants, standing really close between two of the gentle giants for a photo and watching them have mud baths, learning about their lives.

The focus on conservation is also really obvious at the ENP. It promotes a vegetarian lifestyle, and the vegetarian buffets we had there were really awesome. There are plenty of recycling bins placed in the park for us all to do our part for the environment, and they have dog and cat shelters too. All in all, this is a place that encapsulates respect, admiration and awe for nature.

The scenery was amazing, the place spacious and surrounded by mountainous terrain. The expanse of the environment was relaxing and a reminder of the peace and serenity that lies outside of our hectic lifestyles, well within reach. At night, the stars were simply breathtaking. I have never, in my whole life, seen as many stars as bright as the ones we saw. Tonight, I was reminded of how small we are compared to what is out there.

Elephant Nature Park has reminded me of what I can do for the environment and of how awe-inspiring nature is. This place has taught me a lot.