Jumbo-tour

Herasin aamulla siihen, etta joku paukutti oven takana. Kommin sangysta avaamaan oven, jonka takaa sisaan ryntasi C, lahestulkoon huutaen "Get your shit together - we're going to see baby elephants!". Kiukkuisena mutisin tasta yllattavasta heratyksesta ja puin pikaisesti paalle. C oli noussut aikaisin aamulla kaydakseen jututtamassa paikallisen matkatoimiston pomoa, tarjoten markkinointipalveluitaan ilmaisia retkia vastaan. Omistaja oli ollut ilmeisen innoissaan ideasta, ja kiireella siis lahdettiin kohti Malesian valtion yllapitamaa norsujen suojelualuetta. Puisto sijaitsee Pahangin alueella, itaisella puolella tata Malesian lantista saarta, jossa myos Taman Negaran sademetsat ovat. Matka puistoon kesti melko kauan, valilla pysahdyttiin vessatauolle, jonka aikana onnistuin ostamaan itselleni papaija-meloni -aamiaisen. Seuraava pysahdys oli peurapuistossa, jossa ruokittiin suloisia peuroja, ihmeteltiin monenmoisia lintuja, nahtiin iguaani nimelta Godzilla ja tulipa siina tohinassa myos pideltya valtavaa pytonia olkapaillani. Taalta matka jatkui suoraan elefanttipuistoon, jossa ensin syotiin lounas paikallisessa ravintolassa, sitten katsottiin kiinnostava dokumentti Malesian norsujen suojelusta - ja lopulta paastiin itse fanttien luokse. 

Nuo uljaat karsaelaimet ovat massiivisia! Aluksi norsujen kokoa vahan jannitti, mutta pian niiden kanssa jo oppi olemaan. Ensin paastiin hemmottelemaan norsuja pahkinoilla, sitten puiston norsut esittelivat rooliaan ihmisen apulaisena, jonka jalkeen ne palkittiin tuoreilla papaijoilla. Kun pahkinoiden kohdalla norsut yksinkertaisesti vain imaisevat ne karsaansa, ja siirtavat ne siita suuhun, papaijat sai antaa suoraan suuhun, ken uskalsi. Norsuilla on iso ja suloinen suu, voin kertoa. Hypattiin norsujen selkaan kokeilemaan milta tallaisilla elaimilla ratsastaminen tuntuu: kyyti oli tasaisen rauhallista, joskin valilla tuntui kuin tasapaino olisi kadonnut, fantin kaantyessa. Valtavat korvat lapsyttamassa jalkoja vasten saivat minut hihittamaan meidan norsun, Bangun, selassa. Kun norsukyyti oli ohi, vuorossa oli koko paivan ikimuistoisin osuus. Viereisessa joessa vesi oli suunnilleen kahluukorkuista,  ja kuumana paivana ihanan viilean tuntoista. Kyseessa ei kuitenkaan ollut mikaan tavallinen uimareissu, vaan mukaan tuli kaksi vauvanorsua. Fantit molskivat ja polskivat vedessa, valilla istuen, valilla kyljellaan maaten ja hiekkahieronnasta nauttien. Ne parskivat vetta karsillaan ja nauttivat, kun hoitajat & vedessaolijat hieroivat ja kastelivat niita. Kun joessa oli kylvetty riittavasti, kipittivat pikkunorsut kuuliaisesti hoitajien rinnalla takaisin kohti aitauksia. Ennen lahtoa kaytiin viela hyvailemassa muutamaa norsua, pahkinoiden kera. Aika ikimuistoinen paiva.

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I woke up this morning to someone banging on the door. As I opened it, still half asleep, C rushed in, nearly shouting "Get your shit together, we're going to see baby elephants!". He had woken up early to go do business with the local tour operator, and obviously succeeded well. Still tired and grumpy I mumbled something angrily, while getting myself ready as fast as I could. We were heading to the national elephant conservation park, run by the state of Malaysia. The park is located in Pahang area, where also the rainforest of Taman Negara is. It was a rather long drive, we made a quick toilet stop after some time and I managed to get some papayas and melons for breakfast. The drive continued, until we arrived to the deerpark on our way to the elephants. The park was nice: we got to feed the moosedeers, see a mousedeer (tiniest in the world), iguana called Godzilla, rabbits, guinea pigs, plenty of different birds.. and we even ended up holding a massive python on our shoulders. From here the trip continued straight to the elephant park, where we first dined in a local restaurant, then saw an interesting documentary about the elephant conservation in Malaysia - and finally got to go see the elephants themselves.

Those creatures are huge! At first I felt a little nervous due to their impressive size, but soon got used to it. First we got to pamper the jumbos with peanuts, then some of the elephants of the park showed their skills to the audience. This performance was of course rewarded, and we got to feed the giants with fresh papayas. When with peanuts you would simply pass them to the elephant who then picks them with its trunk, the papaya could be given straight to the mouth of the elephants, if you dared. A mouth of an elephant is big and cute, I can tell. We hopped on the back of an elephant and got to try how it feels to ride one. When the ride was over we got to the best part of the whole day. There was a river running through the park, and since it was a very warm day the cooling water was really nice. But it wasn't any regular swim I'm talking about. People who wanted to refresh themselves in the river were accompanied by two baby elephants, who were enjoying the bath by lying on the water, splashing water with their trunks and calmly sitting in the river, while the staff and people around them were massaging them with sand and pouring water on them. When the bath time was over, followed the baby elephants the staff back to their families. Before leaving we said bye to the elephants. Quite a memorable day.