Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park - Phraya Nakhon Cave

Day 21

Finally! I've seen one of the most beautiful things ever! A temple, bathing in the sunlight, located in a cave: Phraya Nakhon Cave. 

Unfortunately there were some filmmakers shooting a documentary, so we were limited in our walk around the cave. But that didn't stop me from soaking up the splendor of this place and taking some pictures.

To access the cave you need to walk along a trail first that brings you to a beach. Normally, you can go there by boat, but the waves were to high for transfers. This trail was just stretching our legs!

At the foot of the mountain (at the beach) you start another trail that brings you to 430m high. This one is a bit more advanced than the other one, but still OK!

We chilled at the beach for a while after our hike and visit to the cave.

When we got back to the entrance of the park, we cruised to the other side of the park with our scooter. Believe it or not, everything went splendid with that thing! No accidents and we came across maybe 10 cars and a few other scooters on our way. Ideal for inexperienced bikers like us!

We visited the visitor center where we could read some more about the park in Thai and went walking around the Nature Trail to spot some animals. I don't think many tourists come here, because parts of the trail that haven't been used for a while. Plants have been living their own lives and wooden bridges miss some steps. We managed to spot a giant lizard (I wasn't fast enough to make a picture), a monkey (who I thought was dead, because he was lying very still on the wooden trail!), a fish with legs and some crabs.

Tomorrow we'll be heading to Bangkok, our last stop before we go home!

Chiang Mai: Elephant Nature Park

Day 8
A friend recommended a visit to Elephant Nature Park. It's a care center for rescued elephants. Instead of making money out of them they ask for volunteers who pay to come and help to keep the park up and running. The elephants are fed by the visitors, but the park also needs to be cleaned, the elephant kitchen needs to be run and lots of other jobs need to be done.

Most of these elephants have an awful history: circus, abuse by owner, car crashes, land mines, etc.It's a good thing those animals end up here to get a second chance instead of being exploited again for tourists pleasures like elephant riding. 

One elephant really got my attention: Meadow. Her both hips were broken because she was forced to mate. They tied her up so she couldn't move and had the male elephant climb her. Male elephants can get very aggressive while mating and because she couldn't move the weight on her hips became unbearable  I just can't believe how some people have such a lack of respect towards animals. These stories break my heart every time! We fed her and gave her a bath at the river. She has a very hard time to walk. Our tour guide told us that she learned to live with it. Her 'accident' happened about 10 years ago. She's amazing!

Another thing that amazed me was how they care for each other. They make friends within their herd just like people. Elephants who need extra care, attention and love are looked after by their friends. They defend the one that's sad or sick. One elephant had a miscarriage about 6 months ago. Two elephants approached her to take care of her because she was so sad. It was truly touching, this story.

After feeding the elephants we had lunch ourselves. After that we visited the clinic and washed both elephants who had to stay there for medical treatment. We also did some work in the kitchen by washing some pumpkins.
We got a tour around the whole domain to meet with all the elephant families. We got to take a look at a two month old. We couldn't get very close. The family protected the baby very well. At one point we even needed to run, because the auntie came closer and closer.

Not only elephants have their home here. Cats, dogs, waterbuffalos and other animals are also sheltered here. Dogs and cats can be adopted.
Every animal in this park is being looked after. They give them medical care, food and lots and lots of love. Certainly visit this park. Give your money a purpose instead of riding an elephant for pleasure. These ellies are not being cared after!
It was a fantastic trip and certainly the most 'money well spend'-attraction so far!

World Animal Day

One of my favourite days of the year: World Animal Day!
Tribute to my pets today! They make me complete!

Pin Up Pup

An Lemmens, a damn sexy Belgian television show host, has a heart for animals!

Just like me, she shares the opinion that too much animals wind up at a shelter.

These poor animals were abused, unwanted and/or not chipped so the owner couldn't be traced. 

Many people who get a pet still don't choose a shelter animal and I wonder why. Why pay hundreds (sometimes thousands) of euros when you can give a wonderful dog or cat from the shelter a second life for less money? 

Ann came up with the idea to draw the attention to these animals by posing with them in retro style. Her initiative is called 'Pin Up Pup' and the publicity is really working, because the animals and the shelters she poses with get a lot of adoption attention. 

We had a Boxer 'Delphy' when I grew up and still have some great memories left of her. My parents told me she helped me to learn how to walk by pushing her nose under my butt when I tried to stand up and walk. Funny story. She was my best friend. Unfortunately she got cancer (typically for this breed) and we had to put her down. I will never forget the day my parents dropped me off at my grandparents to drive to the vet. My mom came back to get us and was crying. 

I always thought our family wasn't complete without a dog, but my dad didn't want one anymore. I eventually gave up trying to convince him. 

About 3 years ago I had to take a 2 day internship at a shelter. On my second (and last day) at the shelter I met 'Boy'. He was found close to the freeway the day I began to work there. He was such a cute and happy dog and he totally stole my heart. He was looking kind of funny too. We think he's a mix between a Dachshund and a Rottweiler. 

I immediately informed my family about my new boyfriend and I convinced my mom and sister to come and take a look. I knew they couldn't resist. My mom was a little skeptic at first, but she said I could have him if my dad said yes. Challenge accepted!

Surprisingly my dad came to the shelter without nagging and he said: "Ok, I give up, he's yours!". I started to cry, because I was finally getting a dog! I still don't believe he said yes!

We had to wait for 2 weeks before we could take him home with us, because the rightful owner should be given the time to claim the dog. I went to the shelter every day to walk him and counted the days we could take him home. 

We changed his name to 'Fré' and I think he's really happy with us. My mom really spoils him (too much sometimes, because he has a hard time listening to our commands).

So, you see, shelter dogs deserve a second chance!

If you think about getting a dog, I suppose you have good intentions. Choose a shelter dog, don't you think they will be better off with you than in a small cage?

Animal TV

We don't have TV at our appartment, so everytime we can claim the TV at one of our parents' house, we stare at it for hours while eating pizza.
I love watching Animal Planet and National Geographic. Big kitties, sea creatures, wildlife... Relaxing!

Road Kill

I just removed a dead cat from the road.

I hate it when cars run animals over and the drivers don't clean up their mess!

This is the second time I stop to bring a dead cat to the side of the road. I only do this when the animal is not all smashed apart, obviously. I bring the animal safely to the side of the road and then I check if it's still alive. If it would be alive, I would rush it to the vet...

The first time I did this, the cat was all stiff, so it was dead for a while. Today, the cat was still warm, so the accident happened not so long before I passed by, but he was dead. Poor kitty!

I think you're wondering why I'm so crazy to do this?

Just stop and think about how you would react when you saw your favourite pet sticking to the road, right in front of your doorstep. Wouldn't you wish that the driver went through the trouble of bringing your pet to the side of the road, so that other cars won't run it over time after time? I prefer a body to bury... 

Most pets are part of the family, so I always hit the brakes when an animal crosses the street!

Fat Kitty

I went to the vet with my fat old kitty today.
She's 18 years old and in 2010 she weighed 8,2 kilos. Quite the kittycat, huh?!

When I started my studies as a vet nurse, I decided to put her on a diet and make sure my other cats got premium food too. My parents went crazy if I told them. Like every other pet owner, they were convinced that supermarket food was so much cheaper than premiums. But nothing could be further from the truth!
When you are giving your pet a premium food, like Hills or Royal Canin, it's more likely you have to give a smaller portion than you did with your 'cheaper' pet food brand. Can't follow?
Well, premiums are balanced nutritions. This means, that all the minerals, vitamins and other stuff that your pet really needs, is perfectly present in that pet food. Nothing less, nothing more. Moreover! When you analyse various samples of different lots, the composition will be almost exactly the same. The advantage of this perfectly balanced food, is that there will be a lesser chance of food intolerance, diseases and other health problems.
To give you an example: Salt and sugar, is used in excessive amounts in cheaper foods for flavouring. Pets' bodies need these substances, like any other body. But in a bigger quantity than needed, these substances are dangerous for our health and therefore for your pet too. Too much salt will result in kidney problems and sugar will result in overweight. Giving your pet cheaper foods is like when you would go to Mc. D. every day. We all know how those people turn up, we all watch reality TV...
To come to the point: You will give a smaller amount of your premium food than your supermarket food, because your pet needs less portions to take in the same amount of nutrients. Your bag of supermarket food will be empty sooner than the premiums bag. In the end you will pay somewhere around the same amount of money for both. But with the premium pet food, they will eat less sugar and salt and will live a longer and healthier life. More time to cuddle!

So far for my conviction.
Back to MY fat cat! Eventually I convinced my parents to start the diet. We're feeding her Hills RD for three years now. This is a special prescription diet food to lose weight. It contains all the necessary nutrients and a great amount of high fibres to 'fill up the stomach'. She will stop eating because she's full.
Today she weighed 5,8 kilos. A good result, but it's taking to long for her to lose weight. My parents feed our cats at the same time and don't care if she eats from our other cat's food. Not good, but still, she's losing weight and that's the most important!
Hooray for Pluche!

Quote from the vet: "She looks very good for the age of 18 and she's doing very well!"
Effort pays off!

Last tips for your favourite pet:

• Give them dry pet food, not canned food. It's better for their teeth. Eating dry food is like brushing teeth for them.
• A bag of 'Premium Food' at the supermarket doesn't mean it's a balanced nutrition. Go to your vet or specialised pet store for more information.
  Some special ranges of pet food are only available at the vet.

Dog Walk

Sunny day!
We took a walk with the dog.
Perfect day!

In Urgent Need for Toilet

I got home today and found a destroyed toilet paper role on our kitchen floor.
Was our little kitty in distress?
Yet again, a crazy story about our little devil. But this time, no poo was found on the floor. 

Alien Invasion

I was scanning through some pictures on my boyfriend's cell and found this one...