I am a huge animal lover
but I am always cautious when I comes to interacting with animals when I travel. My favorites are puppies! And, they are
everywhere in some regions! In Central America and Asia, there are so many
stray dogs everywhere. Being surrounded
by so many dogs would usually sounds like heaven to me but, the reality of it
is a lot of these dogs are very ill, mistreated (often right in front of you),
or are aggressive. It’s important to be
aware of your surroundings and where you are walking so that you don’t
accidently step on or kick any dogs laying on the ground, which happened to a friend
of mine. It’s often tempting to pet
them, especially the cute little puppies but it’s probably not the wisest
choice. You can never be sure what
diseases they may have, so it’s best to just admire their cuteness from
afar. Most countries do not require
their animals to be vaccinated.
You’ll notice that some hostels may have
animals at them. Many hostels that are
very out-doorsy or open aired may have a dog or cat that lives there or roams
the area. They become very comfortable
with tourists and visitors. In Santa
Teresa, Costa Rica, our hostel bunk room didn’t have any glass or screens in
the windows, just bars. We returned to
the room and found a small cat laying on one of our suitcases on the bed. In Costa Rica, Albania, and a few other countries,
I remember my hostel having a dog that lived there. They were always very friendly but I still
never really touched them. On the island
of Flores in Tikal, Guatemala, the small hostel that I stayed at was pretty
much a zoo! It had everything from dogs, cats, big rabbits, lizards, and birds
running around. They even had a plastic
tube maze attached to the ceiling with some sort of rodents running around in
them.
Monkeys are another one
of my favorite animals so I am in awe when I see them running around
nearby. Although they are cute, they can
be quite dangerous. Monkeys are commonly
seen in Central and South America and all over Asia, as well as other regions. In Cambodia, I encountered larger monkeys
when I was walking alone down a long, quiet road which started walking towards
me. In Thailand, I had a small monkey
jump on my shoulder on the beach.
Monkeys are known to steal from people.
They love anything shiny so pay close attention to your jewelry,
cameras, watches, purses, sunglasses, and anything else. They even steal your drinks and food. One monkey in Thailand came up and stole my
mom’s friend’s plastic soda cup and drank it and ate the ice. They even drink from the can itself! They aren’t afraid of people so be aware when
there are monkeys around. Watch your
belongings when you leave them on the beach and go for a swim. Be careful because they are known to bite
too. This happened to a friend of a
friend who encountered a monkey in her hostel room and she scared it. She had to be rushed to a hospital hours away
in Indonesia.
There are so many
different types of animals to see when you travel. I got to visit the tigers in Thailand. You get to choose which size tigers you’d
like to take pictures with in their cages.
My mom, her friend, and I chose the medium sized ones, which were
actually very big! I was very nervous
stepping into the tiger’s den. Who wouldn’t be?! But, I had to make sure that I kept calm
because they obviously can sense if you are scared. Many people say that the tigers are given
sedatives to stay calm, allowing tourists to touch them but, the establishment,
Tiger Kingdom, reassured and informed us that the tigers are lazy animals and
sleep the majority of the day, just like house cats. They are also raised by the handlers since
they were babies so they are use to being touching them. There obviously were rules to not approach
them from the front, not to touch their faces, paws, or tails.
Who doesn’t love
elephants? I always wanted to ride an
elephant in Thailand but when I got there, I met a few tourists who told me
about their terrible experience riding the elephants and how they wish that
they never did it. The reason being is
that since riding elephants is such a huge tourist activity and drives a lot of
revenue for developing countries, the elephant handlers go to any costs without
considering the elephant’s well-being.
In order to get the elephants to walk faster (the faster they walk, the
quicker the tour ends, and the quicker the tour ends, the sooner another can
begin and more money is made) they hit them with big metal hooks. You will notice a lot of wear and tear on the
elephant’s sides and ears. This is why
my friend disliked this elephant ride so much.
He said that he even asked the handler not to hit the elephant. Who wants to see something so horrific on
what is suppose to be such an enjoyable and memorable life experience? I wouldn’t bare to witness such an act. But, not all companies are like that. You must really do your research and ask
around to find a nice, respectable, and honorable company to take you on an
enjoyable elephant ride. There is a
place called the Elephant Nature Park in Chaing Mai in northern Thailand. This is a place that is very respectaible and
well-known for volunteers spending time taking care of the elephants by feeding
and bathing them. They also offer
elephant ride tours there too. It cost a
bit more but it’s definitely worth it. I
didn’t go there but I wish I had because I hear such great things about
it. My mom, her friend, and I were able
to feed a baby elephant one day though. We were on a sight-seeing tour in
Phuket, Thailand and we passed some elephants and some people on the side of
the road while heading up a mountainside.
On the way down, we stopped, paid a few dollars, and got a little basket
of fruit and vegetables. I fed the baby
elephant named Charlie, my puppy’s name!
It took a while to get use to feeding him because he was so strong. Charlie made me laugh and he filled my heart
with happiness.
I have seen so many
types of animals along my travels. I
have seen howling monkeys while climbing the Indian ruins in Guatemala (they
sound like dinosaurs they’re so loud!) and in Colombia, sloths in Costa Rica,
snakes in Cambodia (they scattered away as I walked and startled them), giant
spiders in the Philippines (disgusting!), I road camels in the Sahara Desert in
Morocco, there are beautiful birds everywhere, something part raccoon and part
anteater in Costa Rica, iguanas in Aruba, baby lizards in Central America, and
many more.
For more information on
the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand visit http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/
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