Hello again,

Having survived the maniacal driving on the freeways of Thailand I am now safely back at the desk with lots of great memories of a fantastic time-out. I arrived in Petchaburi on my daughter’s birthday as her special delivery, fast-post birthday present (thankfully she wasn’t disappointed). I spent some days at the wildlife rescue centre where she works as a very hands-on vet nurse come vet surgeon. One day I asked if I could watch her operate and was kindly granted permission provided that I didn’t ask any embarrassing questions – a curious trait of mothers all over the world, I think. Apparently I managed to behave myself and from then on was allowed to observe at will. I called it quits the day a village dog was brought in to the centre with a broken leg, which had to be amputated at the knee – not nice. I was so surprised after such a gruelling operation, (to me anyway) when his owners returned 12 hours later, made a small donation to the centre, picked him up and took him home. Those village dogs are sure tough!!!

I liked to watch the two baby elephants, a boy, Khun Kluay and a girl, Soythong, at play, especially in the water.  Whenever Soythong got out of the water Khun Kluay would come racing (he moves at speed) after her and push her back in. This went on until he had had enough and poor Soythong was exhausted. And I have proof that elephants really do never forget. Lucy had to give Khun Kluay an injection a few weeks ago and he seriously holds this against her (it must have hurt – hate to think of the size of the needle). Whenever Lucy and I walked near the baby elephant enclosure which was protected by a seemingly fragile electric fence, Khun Kluay would shriek, pin back his big bat ears and with the whites of his eyes bulging menacingly would come racing across the enclosure, gathering momentum in a ground shaking charge and finish in a cloud of dust whilst executing a delicate fine pointe halt worthy of Rudolf Nureyev, centimetres from the electric fence where we were standing – or rather where Lucy remained standing. I was already behind a tree some metres away, which in retrospect was a dumb place to hide out with a ton of ellie after me.

Til next time….

Hello Again,

I am taking a break from convents and monasteries and going to Thailand for a week of doing nothing much at all – hanging about on a beach and reading a few books is my idea of heaven. Looking forward to seeing my daughter who works in Petchaburi and just spending time together. However, we are not total sloths and she has arranged for us to do a jungle trek, which I am really looking forward to. It is her birthday next week so I am taking a much larger suitcase than my usual carry-on bag. The beauty of coming from a large family is that birthdays are always quite rewarding!!!

As well I will be spending time at the WFFT (Wildlife Friends of Thailand) elephant sanctuary and catching up with Bruce, the little 6 week old puppy who was brought in to the centre with his two back legs paralysed. Now he runs around on two legs and two wheels and judging from the photos, looks very happy about the arrangement. ‘Lucky’ might be a more appropriate name for him!!

Happy travelling!!