Phuket Travel Forum

hi everyone im new to this site but not new to phuket. my husband and i are bringing freinds with with us in june and one of the things they want to do is go on a elephant trek or park we have done it in chang mai but not down here can anyone rec a day trip please.

I would wait until you got to Phuket, and then had a look at the many options at the street tourist agencies. We did a 2 hour trip ( which was long enough) but I know there are longer trips, and combination trips, eg rafting and elephants.

Enjoy

Regards

Mike

Hello Chenoah,
I know yourself and all of your friends will have a beautiful time in Phuket in June...However,I urge you to Google..."Thailand Environmental Concerns"(thaiwildorchids.com)Scroll down the page to-Elephant Trekking:What you might not know....??....This hopefully will open your eyes and hearts to a whole new world of elephant trekking in Thailand....And maybe even shed a tear for a baby elephant..!!
There are a squillion daytrips in Phuket that do not involve(trained)animals..
Book your daytrips at the countless tour counters dotted throughout Phuket and always ask for the best price...
All of the day trips are aimed at the tourist for the tourist.So,read all of the brochures and self decision is so satisfying...All of the trips are fun...!!
However,speedboats can be quite bumpy..!!

The most popular elephant trekking company which seems to have a fairly good name is Kok Chang Safari. There's some info here;
http://phuket-scuba-diving-club.blogspot.com/2007/08/kok-chang-elephant-safaris.html

All elephant ride companies on Phuket are complicit in the abuse of the animals, even if they claim to take good care of their stock. There is one company (the one Tina mentions) that is sometimes said to be a "sanctuary". Don't believe it since it's not true. It's a for-profit tour that exploits the animals in the same way that all the other elephant camps on the island do. Elephants are only trained to carry riders by going through a torturous and inhumane process called "Phajaan" See this National Geographic website for more information on the ritual: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/10/1016_021016_phajaan.html

I agree with TangoMango on this one. Avoid the tours that make use of entrapped animals and stick with the ones that show off the natural beauty of the island and nearby seas.

Yes, that's true, Marcia. There was a certain farang with vested interests making false assertions in an effort to make more money out of scamming tourists to Phuket. He promoted it on several travel forums as a rehabilitation centre for abused animals, pulling at everyone's heartstrings, of course. He even told them that the "sanctuary" didn't receive any funding from the government and would get tourists to donate money. He was receiving commissions for taking people there and kickbacks for everything else.

I know someone who used to work there - in fact, he's the one that took Charlie the Gibbon to the place (rescued from an old German guy). He told me that they really care about the animals there, which doesn't happen at all the places, and if people are going to use them no matter what, they may as well use the lesser of the evils.

My son & I went out to visit Charlie and some elephants with "Phuket Richard" south of Kata and although we didn't really enjoy it, we went on a short trek thru the jungle on the elephants with Charlie showing off (and sometimes falling & crashing his way thru the jungle).
Richard seemed to care about these creatures. We donated some money and hope that it helped in some way. Shame we got such bad food poisoning at the small lookout. Missed the Friday BBQ.

A shame to say your donation went straight into several people's pockets, but it's nice to know there are good hearted people like you out there.

By the way, Richard was banned from Kok Chang.

Yes...Tina's right...Your donation did not go to the preservation of an elephant...Guaranteed...!!...
Tina..??..Why was Richard banned from Kok Chang....??...
Does he and Megumi still do their Barbys and bar hop after...??...

For giving beer to the gibbon, Charlie. Yes, the bbq and bar night is still going strong, it's quite a thriving business.

Tina, I often wonder if Charley & Lum Yai (the brown female) had a baby gibbon? Lum Yai was pregant when we were there.

BTW look forward to meeting you up in Airlie in Sept.