February 2025: Walk with Elephants & Fill Your Bingo Card

There are highlights when I am out in the world adventuring that remind me of why I travel. This trip was just that for me because I got to feed and walk with elephants. We had the privilege of visiting the Mandalao Elephant Conservation and learning about their mission

They are …. “ An intimate non-riding experience focused on education and elephant welfare.”

Their Mission … “To demonstrate respect for and understanding of elephants by providing our guests a wholly educational and interactive experience.” And this is why I love to travel … to gain unique experiences that will forever change my life for the better. “

Their Goal … “To help visitors connect with elephants in the most natural way possible in elephant tourism today. It is our hope that this knowledge will spread, promoting increasingly humane and ethical treatment of elephants across Laos and beyond its borders.”

With our support … “We preserve and protect both captive elephants and those who remain in the wild. We do this through responsible tourism, education, and sustainable relationships with the local community.”

Now back to my epic adventure …

I have so longed dreamed of going to SE Asia. During my twenties, it was an exotic destination of my friends and friends of friends. A zone of the world that was always on my list, but one that just never became a boarding pass. So when the invitation to visit Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos arrived from my Antartica travel group, I immediately accepted. It idd not disappoint! As a travel enthusiast, I love perusing the itinerary but never get too attached to any experience or outing. For this trip, I was in awe of how much territory we were going to explore during our adventure.

We started in the city of Hanoi, Vietnam and did laughing yoga at dawn with locals, then we went sailing in the picturesque Ha Long Bay where we learned Thai Chi, next to charming Hoi An and attend Ms. Vy’s cooking school, next down to the bustling metropolis of Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City where we did a food tour on scooters during rush hour, then we flew to Siem Reap to tour Angkor Wat at dawn, and finally up to Luang Prabang, Lao to feed and walk with rescued elephants. I loved every moment and took tons of photos … there is so much color and beauty in this region of the world. It was a magical adventure!

And now I am dreaming of going to Thailand (and also because I arrived home to the Season 3 premier of the White Lotus which is set this season in Thailand!)

I also arrived home to my family that missed me very much … and I them. It is nice to be home until the next adventure beckons! While I was away, Sam was assigned a parking pass on his school campus, so my 23 years of being on call and driving kids places daily has officially come to an end. This will indeed be a new chapter for me … and one that I am most excited about for everyone involved! I did not like the travel crud that followed me home which took me out of commission for almost two weeks … but that is also one of the side effects of travel.