Koh Samui Elephant Trek

While we were in Koh Samui we chose to go on an all day tour, we spoke with the tour director and I said I wanted to go Elephant trekking and Erle wanted to watch the Tigers and the monkeys show. She said it was all good for combining them all plus a few extra bonus things as well. Was quite expensive because it included a nice lunch.
We were picked up in a lovely new air conditioned luxury van then picked up a German family with a couple of small children and taken  to the Elephant trek place.
There was a Mother and baby elephant there to pat and 2 other half grown elephants that we could buy food for too. Most people did just that specially for the mother elephant.

We were taken over to meet the elephant we were to ride, Erle immediately decided not to ride the elephant at all so I was taken by myself on a nice quiet elephant with a mahout. 
We wandered along a nice jungle path past many other elephants with

passengers. I was really enjoying the quiet plod along listening to the birds and other wee things scuffling in the undergrowth. As soon as we were well away from the other tourist my mahout started asking if I wanted my photo taken, he would hop off and take the pic for only 300 bart ( thai money) he said, I told him no as Erle would take plenty of photos. Then he dragged out some necklaces that I might like to buy, but I didnt want to, then he started telling how he had a wife and several children and the elephant and he needed lots of money for all of this and surely I would like to give him money. Err no thanks, then it was but give me a tip. So I got a 20 bart note out and gave it to him and he laughed out loud and I thought he might throw it away even. I reminded him that I had paid for the trek and he would be paid from that and he laughed again. I actually started to get vaguely disturbed by him cause I was on my own with him and the elephant, but he seemed to think better of it and just walked me back to the stand that I had got on to the elephant and said good bye.


 Fortunately Erle did take some photos  while I was on my on my trek.
Now to walk to waterfall.



Was quite glad to be off and back on the ground, Erle and I then went for a lovely walk up to a waterfall I had spotted while on my trek There were many tourists swimming in the pool at base of waterfall, it was nice a cool there, we had intended to swim too but there were lots of big sharp rocks in the water and we didn't want to risk being hurt so just watched the others for a time .






Then we  werewalking back to where all the brightly coloured stalls were and did some shopping.

 While I did enjoy being o the elephant the behavior of the mahout annoyed me. But there was still lots of other things to come in our tour.