Swimming with the elephants

Today we went to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Orphanage Sanctuary, about a two-hour drive from KL. It’s in the middle of nowhere, among a couple Orang Asli villages. The sanctuary is the base for what’s called the “Elephant Relocation Team,” which relocates elephants from areas where their habitats are endangered (mostly due to palm leaf plantation expansions) and they are running amuck. The healthy elephants are moved to Taman Negara, a huge national reserve; orphaned or sick elephants are moved to Kuala Gandah and then trained to help assist relocating wild elephants. Rumor has it the baby elephant from Jodie Foster’s Anna and the King lived at Kuala Gandah.

All in all, it was an amazing experience. It’s a really rag-tag setup, not at all like a petting zoo. We got to hand feed the elephants, ride them, and give them a bath. It’s easy to forget that elephants are hairy. We rode them into the river and for a painstaking moment as this 4-ton elephant was falling and I was falling with it, I was panicking. ‘I’m going to get crushed. I’m going to be that statistic. Oh my god.’ But obviously I’m still alive. It was pretty cool to swim with such a huge animal next to you. I’d definitely recommend this place. It’s a little off the beaten track, but it’s worth it. Plus, it’s free! (But we donated. Honest.)