Elephants and Adventure Thailand Jan 17th.......

yay me too!

Hello hello! i am!! i'm super excited about this trip too!! something for me to look forward after exams :D

Hey, are you coming on your own? I'm 21 and have just left the Army and I'm bringing my mum with me for her first real adventure!

xxx

nope i'll be with a friend of mine from uni. wow the army! that's exciting. love to hear about that! awesome that your mum is coming. this will be my first real adventure too! whereabout are you guys from?

Were from Bexley in Kent. What about you? I'm actually leaving the army next week so I hope that Thailand will start off a great new year. Whats your names too? lol.. Im Sophie and my mums Maggie!!!

oh gosh i feel so rude! my name is Tina :D my friend's name is Andrea and we're both from Sydney, Australia - quite a long way from Kent! Have you been to thailand before? I've never been there before and have just heard stories about the place. I'm not quite sure what to expect! I think the main bit i'm looking forward to is the volunteer work at the Elephant Nature Park. I love animals and never had the chance to work with exotic animals/wildlife so this will be an awesome opportunity for me!

I wonder how many people are on this trip? don't be shy guys - just say hi :D

Ahhh brilliant, It's also awesome that your from the other side of the world. It would be amazing to have different people from different countries. How old are you? No, I've never been to Thailand but it seems like such a beautiful country! I herd that theres about 8 people on this trip so far, so come on people, speak up! xxx

Tour numbers

Hello everyone!

My name is Tristan and I am a Sales Consultant at The Imaginative Traveller.

I can indeed confirm that there are presently six oy you booked on the January 17th departure of the 'Elephants and Adventure' tour. Whilst this is a fairly low number, it will however allow the guide to devote a great deal of his or her time for you, and should ensure that you get the most in-depth experience of Thailand.

If you have any questions, please do get in touch.

Have a wonderful trip, and let us know of your experience when you get back!
__________________________
Regards,
Tristan Smith
Travel Consultant

•Email: tristan@imtrav.net
•Tel: (44) 01473 - 667337 (Direct Sales)
•Tel: (44) 01473 - 667333 (Agency Sales)

•The Imaginative Traveller Online

The Imaginative Travelle

ahh 6 people. that will be nice and cosy :D sophie, i'm only 20. and im sure this will be a pretty hot january and february for you. what do you get to do in the army? do you travel much?

You will love this trip, I've just returned ...

There were 6 people on my trip and Tristan is right it was a good number ,,,,

The time with the Elephants can be hard work but is very full filling ... You will be working with
about another 20 volunteers so there are plenty of interesting people to meet ...

Then later in the trip you get to go to some amazing places. I've been to Thailand six times before but this trip introduced me to new places which are some of the best I've been to.

I'm sure that you will have a great time ... you may find the links below of interest ....

Mark

http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/

http://www.treetopsjunglesafaris.com/tree-houses.htm

http://www.treetopsjunglesafaris.com/raft-houses.htm

Oh brilliant, thanks for the links Monty! Is there anything else you could tell us about the trip, ie.. anything particular that we should take with us, how much spending money etc?

The advice from ImTrav covers most things. The main things I can think of are;

Clothes -

Bring some old stuff that you don't mind getting dirty. When cutting grass (its more like bamboo) you might be glad of long sleeves and bottoms.This protects you from sun and scratches.

Don't bring too many .. Laundry is available for about 40B a kilo almost everywhere you stay including the Elephant park.

Waterproofs

Sandals - I had mine on most of the time and while I was at the Elephant park was glad mine had enclosed toes.

Money -

It depends on how much you buy in the markets at Bangkok, Chaing Mai and Krabi. While you are at the Elephant Park, Trekking, rafting and at the raft houses you only need money for drinks. All food is included during this time and the good is excellent and just keeps coming ...

Don't forget insect repellent and sun block ...

Let me know if you have any other questions. Now I'm back in the wet and cold UK its good to have an excuse to think of Thailand !!!

Cheers

Mark

Thank you for the advice Monty. If anything else comes up I'll come straight to you! x

oh wow. that's some good info there! :) i havent even thought about packing yet. i need to find myself a bag first! i believe suitcases is a bad idea for this trip lol so i'm trying to look for one of those backpacker type backpacks.

and i havent received my info pack from my travel agent too...sophie, have you got yours?

luggage

When thinking about luggage bear in mind the trip includes three overnight train journeys. You need to carry your bags along narrow walk ways on the train and then store it in fairly narrow racks. I'd say a travel pack is best. I must confess I got a little frustrated when I got caught behind a tour group who all had suitcases, it was chaos ...

Mark

Not long now

Only 5 weeks now, wooooooo! I was just wondering if there is any more than six on the tour yet? xxx

Elephants & Adventure 17 Jan

Hi Sophie

There are still 6 of you on the tour.

Have a great time - only about a month to go now!

Regards
Kelly

Not long...

Guess what guys, we have less than 2 weeks to go now! How much spendin money do you advise me to take anyone, and also, should some of be in dollars?

Sophie x

Elephants & Adventure 17 Jan - spending money

Hello there Sophie,

When I did this trip I probably spent around £20 a day, but some of the others on the tour got by on a LOT less than that - I helped run up and pay my boyfriend's bar tabs!

You spend hardly any money at the elephant park and the raft houses (just on drinks/snacks), and will probably need most money while you are staying in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Krabi.

Have fun guys - we can't wait to hear about it once you're back!

Thanks
Kelly

yay not long to go :D

Just wondering how family members etc from home can contact us (and vice versa) while on this trip?

A question for Tina and Andrea...

Hey girls... Hope you had a good New Year! I was just wondering, are you taking any 'going out' evening clothes for when were in Bangkok and Krabi etc? xxx

hey sophie! happy new year to u too!

for going out clothes, i'll be bringing one casual summer dress that i can wear day/night and also a sarong that i can wear as a dress/top. i'll be bringing another casual outfit (prob nice pair of loose pants and a top).

and the rest of the clothes im bringing are just shorts and shirts/singlets for the trek/volunteer work.

hope that helps?

...

Yeah that helps, now your making me think that I've packed too much! haha! x

How family can contact you on tour

Hello,

In answer to Tina's question about how family can contact you once you are on tour, there are several ways.

Lots of our group used their mobile phones - there is signal practically everywhere. There was quite a lot of texting going on, which is a great way to reassure family you are fine and having a great time. The only thing is to remember to put the phones away and concentrate on Thailand!

There are also lots of internet cafes everywhere - very cheap and easy.

In case of emergency, leave a copy of the Thailand Country dossier at home. There are local contact details at the very end of this dossier, including our UK office, our Bangkok office, and some 24 hour emergency mobile numbers for our regionally based manager (Bangkok). You can download the country dossier here:

http://www.imaginative-traveller.com/destinations/South-East-Asia/thaila...

Thanks,
Kelly

Sophie: i'm sure you didn't pack too much :) im only carrying a small bag (65L) so i can't really pack too much lol. anyways, i fly out tomorow so i guess ill see you and your mum soon :D

Kelly: Thanks for the info. Much Appreciated.

wow...

I dont fly out untill Thursday, so you'll be there early! Have you packed a sleeping bag? My mums bag is also 65l and mine is 85 i think but were leaving space at the top for shopping, haha!!!

almost there!!

no sleeping bag for me (no room!) i think they have sleeping mats there? if need be, im just using my beach towel to sleep on. lol. speaking of shopping, with my bags all packed, i don't have ALOT of room for shopping. oh wells, we'll see how i go eh? can't wait!

Sleeping bags on Elephants & Adventure

Hi All,

Just reading some comments about sleeping bags and thought I'd give you the lowdown. You don't need them on the trains as bedding is provided and this is clean. You also don't need them at the Elephant Park as you have accommodation with very comfy beds and clean linen.

You will want to use sleeping sheets (rather that sleeping bags, which would be too hot) on the overnight to "Haven" from the Elephant Park, during your jungle trekking and at the rafthouses. If you don't take one with you, there are indeed sleeping mats provided, plus blankets during the trekking, however I would recommend you take a sleeping sheet just so these aren't right against your skin as they are unlikely to be clean (being out in the remote jungle). At the rafthouses there are matresses but again I'd recommend a sleeping sheet to use with them.

You can get sleeping sheets from camping shops and they don't take up a lot of space in your luggage. Some of them come impregnated with insect repellent, some are cotton and some are silk. I had a cotton one, but the silk ones are much lighter and more compact (but also significantly more expensive).

Have fun all of you!
Cheers
Kelly

Thank you..

Thanks for the information Kelly. On the Thailand intinary its states that sleeping bags would be necessary during December and Janurary so that is what i have packed. Im sure i'll sort something out when we get there, I'm leaving for the airport now so thanks again for everything. Sophie x

Thanks Sophie!
I'd go by what the trip dossier says as I went in June which is a totally different time of year so you may well need one in January.
Thanks!
Kelly