Feel Good Friday - Elephant Nature Park

I’m feeling good this Friday because I'll soon be visiting Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand, an organization known for their compassionate approach to elephant rescue and rehabilitation.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Mae Taeng District near Chiang Mai, the mission of Elephant Nature Park (ENP) is to provide sanctuary for rescued elephants while promoting ethical, observation-based tourism. The park is home to more than 75 elephants who have been saved from torturous situations in the logging and tourism industries, along with hundreds of rescued dogs, cats, and water buffalo.

Founded by renowned conservationist Sangduen "Lek" Chailert, ENP is recognized as the first ethical elephant sanctuary of its kind in Asia. The park operates with a strict no-riding, no-performing policy. There are no bull hooks, no tricks, and no exploitation. Instead, elephants roam freely across 101 hectares, interacting with their herds, playing in rivers and mud pits, and living with dignity and respect. Watch the documentary Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story to learn more. 

Many of the elephants at ENP have heartbreaking stories. Some are blind or crippled from years of abuse. Others are orphans who lost their mothers far too young. At the sanctuary, these gentle giants receive the care they need and deserve. That means medical attention from four on-site veterinarians, nutritious food through the Elephant Food Bank, and the freedom to simply be elephants.

Beyond direct rescue, ENP has expanded its impact through several innovative programs. The Saddle Off program provides elephants with the opportunity to roam, socialize, and forage in natural habitats, while allowing visitors to have an authentic and intimate interaction with these gentle giants. The Jumbo Express mobile clinic brings veterinary care to elephants that cannot reach the sanctuary while the Farm to Herd initiative supports sustainable food sourcing.

The best, and most fun, way to support Elephant Nature Park is by booking a visit to the sanctuary in Chiang Mai. You can also amplify their message on social media. Follow ENP on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube and share their stories of rescue and rehabilitation with your network.

Goodbye Siem Reap, Hello Bangkok

From mama pigs by the outhouse to skyscrapers, mega malls and an extensive subway system, I was not fully prepared for the culture shock I would feel transitioning from Cambodia to Thailand. And just when I had learned a few phrases in Khmer, I need to forget them all and try to learn some Thai. Sawasdee kha! 

To wrap Cambodia, thanks to all the work the teams did after we left, we were able to finish both houses and latrines and have blessing ceremonies that got the families off to a good start. Not only will their houses better protect them from the rain, they are solar powered so they have light and a fan inside. Cooking will happen downstairs and there is also a water filtration system. It's quite a change for both families. 

Saturday, the team went to Angkor Wat. It's not just the temple you've seen in all the photos, it's a complex of over 72 major temples. We started outside the gate to watch the sunrise then began our tour at the main temple before taking a break back at our hotel and visiting two more - including Ta Prohm, which many will recognize as the Tomb Raider temple. It was a wonderful way to wrap up my time in Cambodia. 

Now in Bangkok I have been navigating the subway system semi successfully and yesterday I went on a whirlwind tour of the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun. All stunning in their own ways. The Grand Palace houses the Emerald Buddha, which is very cool but photos aren't allowed. Wat Pho is where the famous reclining Buddha is. He is 150 feet long - that's half a football field! Amazing. And Wat Arun is another spectacular structure covered in people wearing rented traditional Thai outfits and having their photos taken. 

After all that I met my friend Matt for dinner and he showed me around his neighborhood. We met at work 27 years ago and after promising I would visit him in Thailand, I finally made it. 

Today I walked around a less touristy, more hipster neighborhood and I'm getting ready for a food tour of Chinatown. Then it's off to Chiang Mai. What a whirlwind.

As always, the photos are showing up most recent to oldest in a giant stack below. The first picture is a bit of a spoiler alert for the subway sign I took on the Bangkok train when I first arrived but still worth including!

Feel Good Friday - APOPO Revisited

Six years ago, I wrote a post about APOPO, not knowing that one day I’d have a chance to visit the APOPO Visitor Center in Siem Reap. That makes today a perfect time to revisit this organization.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Morogoro, Tanzania, the mission of APOPO is "to develop detection animals technology to provide solutions for global problems in developing countries." They do this by training African giant pouched rats and technical survey dogs, nicknamed HeroRATs and HeroDOGs, to detect landmines and tuberculosis using their extraordinary sense of smell. 

Cambodia remains one of the most landmine-contaminated countries in the world, with an estimated 4 to 6 million mines and unexploded ordnance still buried in the soil. Since beginning operations there in 2014, APOPO has destroyed 8,008 landmines, 43,932 items of unexploded ordnance, and returned more than 73 million square meters of safe land to local communities.

These results are made possible by the speed and accuracy of the HeroRATs. The rats can detect the scent of explosives and search an area the size of a tennis court in just 30 minutes, a task that can take a human deminer with a metal detector up to four days. Each rat undergoes about a year of intensive training before being deployed to real minefields. In December 2025, 20 mine detection rats completed accreditation in Cambodia, increasing the team's capacity. 

Beyond landmine detection, APOPO has expanded into new lifesaving applications. HeroRATs now detect tuberculosis in Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Mozambique, identify wildlife trafficking products at commercial ports, and they're developing search and rescue capabilities for disaster response. 

APOPO has had a big impact in the communities they serve. They’ve destroyed more than 170,000 landmines and explosives globally and returned over 132 million square meters of safe land to communities, freeing more than 2.5 million people from the threat of explosives.

You can support APOPO in many ways. Adopt a HeroRAT to sponsor their training and work, make a donation, shop for merchandise, or visit the Visitor Center in Siem Reap. You can also amplify their message on social media by following APOPO on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube and share stories of these hero animals with your network.