After the exhausting day yesterday, group two set off on a bus, having a peaceful ride up the mountain, heading to their two activities for the day – visiting the Elephant Retirement Park and the Karen Hill Tribe. Then, with a sleepy bus ride back to Traidhos, the students took a break from two vigorous days with a movie night. 

Upon arrival, the team quickly split into two groups to prepare different varieties of food for the elephants. One group chopped up sugarcane and bananas into bite-size pieces for the elephants. Meanwhile, the other group mixed in medicinal herbs in addition to rice and bananas for the elephants to have nutrients for the day. These ingredients were then smashed into mush, which was then wrapped in banana leaf. The groups then took their freshly prepared food to go and feed the elephants. This lasted for a while, but once the students were done, they made their way down to the mud bath. This was where the elephants were placed and the students took turns giving the elephants a mud bath, which was then followed by a sand scrub, and washed off with cool water splashed on them. After cleaning away the grime, the students had lunch there, then said goodbye to their new huge mammal friends and headed off.

With their adrenaline raised, the energetic ride to the Karen Hill Tribe felt like a blur. There, group two walked to the home of the Karen villagers that would then show them the ways of their sustainable life. The students learned about a staple dessert, where they took turns to smash in sesame seeds into the sticky rice using sugarcane shoots. They also got a chance to acquire new knowledge about medicinal herbs that the Karen people use, as the nearest hospital is an hour drive away, with around three hours of waiting time, so the Karen people rely mostly on their natural remedies. After that, the group found out how the villagers make their clothing all sorts of colours – using natural dyes, including red wood tree bark, and a bright green leaf of a plant that they call “the bile of the fish” leaves, because of its vibrant colour. Finally, the kids wear taught how the Karen people made their clothing – weaving – and what the steps were to weave different articles of clothing. With a mini slingshot competition at the end to finish their fun time at the village, group two parted ways with their newfound enjoyment of a sustainable and simplistic lifestyle, driving back to Traidhos, where everyone gave in to drowsiness.

To end the tiring consecutive days, the students had a break from hustle and bustle of activity and settled in for a movie night. Even though the day was quite exhausting overtop of yesterday’s vigorous day, this didn’t stop the students from enjoying every moment of it.

Written by: Eunice Cordeiro Hoi & Eliana Joaquim Ho