Bring on the Phlunts

Day 9 – as I told Alexe when I was a little girl I always wanted a pink “Phlunt” (elephant), and I had been looking forward to visiting the Pinnawela elephant orphanage on the last day of our tour, but I left with very mixed feelings. It was great to see the elephants and I know male elephants can be dangerous when in musk but I really hated seeing some of them in chains. They were apparently quite accustomed to it as at one stage one stood on his own trailing chain and promptly picked it up with his trunk and continued on.

Despite another very early start we didn’t get there in time for feeding but we did get to watch them enjoying the river and having a dust bath on the far bank. The behaviour of some of the other tourists was weird to say the least. Why drag your child kicking and screaming to pose for a photo in front of an elephant when he or she is quite obviously petrified? If I live to be a hundred I will never understand the human animal.

 

The elephant orphanage covers 24 acres and is home to around 70 elephants. It was started in 1975 with seven elephants. There are rumours that they are going to move the Colombo zoo to the site. After we had been watching for a while two or three large bull elephants with chains were led away up the hill and then a short time after a siren sounded. The elephants obviously recognised this as a single for home time and all started marching out of the water and up the hill. Including the poor guy on the bottom left with one deformed leg and a missing foot – apparently a land mine victim.

After the elephant orphanage we drove on to Colombo arriving late afternoon. We had a quick familiarisation tour and a quick sortie into Odel’s for those flying out on the Saturday to nab a few last minute souvenirs. Frank and I decided to return the following day and shop at a slightly more leisurely pace, but we did grab a gelati on the way out – God but it tasted good.

[BTW - when we left Kandalama (early) this morning I (or maybe Sylvia) managed to leave my thongs behind! Bare foot again! - Frank]

Day 10 Sunday 4th April. After a lovely long lie in (no 5am start today :-)) Frank and I took a tuk tuk back to Odel’s to grab some souvenirs. We bought 10 or 11 t-shirts, 4 sets of coconut shell earrings and pendant (made by a women’s cooperative society established in 2008), two dog harnesses with leads (in aid of funds for the stray dog population), some coasters made from recycled newspaper (fundraiser for tsunami affected people), and some “Pachyderm paper” (elephant dung paper made to support the elderly and disabled elephants at Pinnawela), oh and three glass paper weights. All up I think we spent about $190.

Then back to the hotel to pack and vacate the room by 3pm and then 6 hours to kill until it was time to go to the airport for the 1am flight home. I have to confess it was a rather tiring flight home after a pretty full-on trip but we wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Despite being a bit exhausted I got back to Skenes Creek feeling good to be home and very fortunate to have what we do and live where we are. There’s nothing like travel to make you appreciate what you have at home!