Day 3 : Elephant Trekking & Wat Tham Sua

Day 3 and today, we actually had a few options of places to visit. We could go to the Hot Spring Waterfall, Emerald Pool, Elephant Trekking or Tiger Cave Temple. In the end, we arranged to experience elephant trekking and visit Wat Tham Sua or the Tiger Cave Temple.

After breakfast, we waited at the lobby for our pick up ....

 Our transport

And he brought us to the elephant sanctuary. By then, it was near 10.00 a.m., and it was really hot already!

 The elephant in front was our ride ... 

We had to go up to a raised platform to get onto the seat that was strapped to the elephant.

 Our bull elephant and his mahoot

And once a rope is tied across the seat - sort of a makeshift seat belt, we set off and made our way through the narrow treks around the compound. The mahoot had to constantly communicate with the elephant to urge him on .... and we see him rubbing the elephant's ears to guide him where to go. 

Sigh. Both S and I felt so sorry or the elephant and wished for the ride to be over quickly.

 Poor elephant ... 

The whole ride took about 40 minutes. Then we were served cold drinks and fresh pineapples. 

Snacks

Then we were brought to Wat Tham Sua which was nearby. 

 Inside the Tiger Cave ...

So why was it called the Tiger Cave Temple? 

The story ..... 

This is believed to be the most sacred temple in Krabi. It's also known for its  steeps 1270 steps, where visitors can climb up to reach a temple at the peak. 

Very steep steps 

 Looking down from above .... 

 I made my way up to 400 steps ... and turned back down ..... 

S reached the top and was rewarded with a 360 degrees view of Krabi. 

Splendid view on top after the strenuous climb ... 

I merely explored the grounds of the temple .... 

There were various images of the tiger, the namesake of the temple ....

2 hours later, we were picked up near the entrance of the temple and brought back to the elephant sanctuary ... 

 This was the platform from were we got on and off the elephant

 The mahoot bathing the elephant .... 

At the santuary, we waited for 2 groups of tourists to finish their rides, and then only our transport brought us back to Ao Nang ..... Our little pick up truck sat 13 passengers, and it was cramped and uncomfortable.

We requested for the driver to let us down at McDonald's Ao Nang, where we would grab a late lunch.

 Hey, there're dips here for sale .... 

S and I both had the Samurai Pork Burger ...

 Regular Pork Samurai Burger meal, THB214 including the dip for THB15

 Something different .... 

Pork patty with teriyaki sauce

The pork patty was softer than the chicken and beef varieties, and I found the sauce to be too sweet for my liking. By the time we finished our lunch, it was near 4.00 p.m. We walked back to the hotel to rest.

We decided to skip dinner ..... and opted for supper instead. But of course, we could not forego massages. We freshened up and then headed back to the main street to search for a massage parlour.... I had a Thai Oil Massage for THB300 per hour. S only wanted to do reflexology, at THB250 per hour.

Our bodies pampered, we went back to the shops for some souvenir shopping ..... and then buy supper back to our hotel to eat. Again, we plopped on the floor unglamorously to eat .... Lol. It was fun, though. 

 Yummy supper

Instant noodles, Spicy tom yum flavour which we bought from one of the many convenience stores along the main street; the local Chang beer, a grilled chicken thigh and papaya salad which we bought from the street vendors, THB50 each.

A 500 ml can only costs TBH480 .... which was really cheap

Our tummies full, we went to bed .... :P