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Sarah Wesling writes...

...about her experience while volunteering in Thailand.

22 June 2004: There's a monkey on my back!
Hello all! I made it safely! The flight was long, but it's finished and I don't have to do it again for a month! Thank God for that! Getting to the center was interesting. There was a taxi driver who picked me up and drove REALLY quickly for the 2 1/2 hours it took to get here from Bangkok. He loved using his horn. Also, lane lines here are merely suggestions....nothing that demands following.

Today, I woke up to the sounds of gibbons singing which is amazing. It's a sound unlike anything I've ever heard! I spent the morning scrubbing cage floors. Doesn't sound like much fun but it's really not bad....and I got to be in the cage with the hornbills (birds) and some small monkeys. The latter thought it was funny to use us as moving jungle gyms. That will probably be the last contact I'll have with the animals because we really want them to shy from humans so they can be released.

There are all sorts of animals here....monkeys, some sun bears, hornbills, an alligator, a horse that thinks she's a dog, a sea otter a ferret, a tiger, and a pig. It's amazing the work that's being done here and I'm so happy to be a part of it. The pig (ironically named flip) is paralysed on one side so she can only lay down. She's really sweet though and loves attention. The tiger was mistreated as a cub and has severe damage to his central nervous system. It's horribly sad to see him walk. But he's getting better all the time they say and he's totally beautiful. It's quite humbling to be in the service of such amazing creatures!!

All my love (and please email because I can come to the village more often than I thought I'd be able to), Sarah ><>


27 June 2004: I'm in Love!
That's right. I'm in love with a beautiful red head. Her name is Nin and she's a beautiful gibbon. She talks to me. Well, kind of. If I walk by her cage and say "Oo", she'll make that sound back to me. She's a great singer. I'm working on my gibbon impersonations so that I can share some of the experience with you when I come home. I wish I had some kind of recorder. Perhaps some of you who are internet savy can find some singing gibbon sound bytes online.

Today I had several jobs. I started at 8 am (got to sleep in this morning) changing water bottles. Then, every 2 hours, I have to check them to be sure everyone's is full. One of the monkeys in the back dumped his bucket, a little trouble maker, so I had to right it (which is interesting when he keeps grabbing the stick I put in to over turn the tub) and refill it. Also today, I had to gather greens for Luna. She is a beautiful Dusky Langur who only eats greens. It's tricky however, because she's in a cage with some juvenile (in age and behavior) monkeys who like to steal the greens from her. Around 4 this afternoon, I have to clean the outside portion of the bear enclosure. That means we have to lure the 6 sun bears into the inside enclosure, lock it off and then go in the big space to clean. It's not as bad as it sounds. The fun part is that after, we hide their dinner in the trees and around the enclosure (to simulate them finding food in trees and on the ground) and watch them look for it.

One of the best parts about being on water is taking care of Flip. She's a wild pig who's paralyzed on one side, but she's the sweetest animal. She just loves when you talk to her or give her some water. I never thought I could have affection for a wild pig.

Talk with you soon.

Missing you!
Sarah ><>


30 June 2004: I'll Never Forget the Smell
The smell of rotting flesh. I know that sounds horrible, but it couldn't sound as horrible as it smelled and looked. On Monday night, I was in bed asleep when Daan knocked at my door. He said he was going with Amy on a rescue and wanted me to take over his feeding the following morning. I wasn't excited about giving up my morning to sleep in (on feeding, you have to start at 6:30 am), but of course I said yes.

The next morning, there was a new cage in the quarantine. In it was a small Asiatic Black Bear with half of his front right leg rotting away. He had been found in the jungle in a trap. Someone called Edwin at the Center to go get the bear. The guess is that it had been in the trap for three days or so.

The smell was overwhelming. We had to clean the area and the cage while the bear was at the vet, and it was almost too much to take. It was quite a sight: people with bandanas and their shirt fronts over their faces...eyes watering from the smell and from the image of the bear burned in their minds.

At the vet, the rest of the leg was amputated. Amy brought the leg back and set it on top of the freezer for us all to see. She took loads of pictures of the surgery and Mona and I looked at them. It was a bit stomach-churning, but really interesting. It really was amazing. Quite different from the surgery channel at home. It's like Emergency Vets....Live and in Person!

The bear is doing great. It's not thrilled to be in the cage, of course but it's lively and recovering from surgery. It'll make a nice addition to the rest of the bears here. I didn't go along on the rescue, and I didn't have anything to do with the surgery, but it feels good to be a part of a group that does such wonderful things.

On a lighter note, Amy, Daan Marli, Mona and I are going to the jungle on Friday! There's a spot to view wild gibbons and possibly tigers. I'm so excited. It's nice to be a little rewarded for hard work. We'll be gone for much of the day. The remainder of the week will be great for me and Mona. We're off tomorrow, and going to Hua Hin for the day, and then on Friday, we'll have some work in the morning, but then we're off to the jungle after lunch! I'll be sure to take loads of photos!

I love you all and hope that you're enjoying reading all of this!!!

Sarah ><>


3 July 2004: Thai massage - a contact sport
Mona, Mylene and I went to Hua Hin for our day off on Thursday. We had soooo much fun. We took a taxi at 10:30 am to Hua Hin. From the Center, it takes about 45-50 minutes to get there. We did loads of shopping and bargaining for items. I love bargaining! It's so much fun. That's the shame about shopping in the US....very little is negotiable. :(

After sitting on the beach for a while, we went to have Thai massages! It's SOOOOO different from a massage at home. They start by washing your feet (Thais expect your feet to be dirty. It's the lowest point of the body and everyone wears sandals because you take your shoes off when you go into a building). Then, you change into a large shirt and fisherman pants (I'll have to show you pictures when I get home). They don't use oils...they massage you through the clothes.

The whole massage is pushing and pulling and stretching. At one point I felt like I was in the circus. I was lying on my stomach, he was standing (yes standing) on the backs of my legs...he bent my legs so the tops of my feet were on the front of his knees and he was leaning over kneading into my back. I can only imagine what it must have looked like.

To massage, he used arms, legs, feet, forearms, hands...parts of it were like yoga being done TO you. It doesn't put you to sleep like a massage at home does, but afterwards, I felt like I'd been stretching for an hour...so limber and nice! I highly recommend it!!!

Walking through Hua Hin, I saw one of the saddest things. I know I said that about the bear, but at least we could help the bear. This might almost be worse because there's really nothing we can do about it. Everywhere, not just in Hua Hin, there are stray dogs. People on motorcycles just kick them as they ride by and it's really horrible. As we were walking down the street, we saw a dog hobbling along with his front right leg totally dislocated. I'm sure he was hit by a car and no one did anything about it. I'd say it happened quite a while ago because he wasn't yelping or anything and there were no visible wounds. It brought tears to my eyes to see this animal hop along on three legs with the fourth just dangling loosely underneath. I just don't understand people who don't have compassion for living creatures. We joke about hating cats or liking cats more than dogs, but it's not like (hopefully) we would mistreat an animal or leave it for dead or worse if it was hurt.

The jungle trip has been postponed until next Wednesday. Due to the bear rescue things have been really busy. Today was a nice day. I had feeding at 6:30 and then Gordon and I went around and cleaned some cages. I love cleaning Fred's cage. He's our weasel. He likes to hop about while we're cleaning his cage. Sometimes he plays with Samson and Pom Pui...two of the puppies at the center.

I also spent some time shampooing the dogs. That was an adventure. We got nine of the 10 (yes 10, but they have far better and more healthy lives with us than somewhere else). The only one left is Tulec. He likes me and will come when I call, but when anyone else comes near to help me move him into the bathroom, he leaves. He's too smart for us; he knows something's going on. I'll get him one of these days.

Much love!
Sarah ><>


5 July 2004: So I'm No Mahut!
A Mahut is an elephant trainer. Someone who works with elephants. At the center, there are four (well, now there are three...I'll tell you why in a minute) Asian elephants. They are sooooo beautiful. Today, two of the three elephant volunteers (I'm sure they'd rather I say "volunteers for the elephants") had their day off, and Brahm the staff person for the elephants was with a group of volunteers in the jungle. That left my roommate, Mylene, on her own with the Thai Mahuts to take care of the elephants today. Since I had a light day at the center, and the Forestry People were back (there will be another entry about that), I went to help Mylene with the elephants.

Oh my gosh! Riding an elephant is not Not NOT like riding a horse!!! First, getting on is a challenge, but I managed. They sway so much when they walk that I constantly felt like I was going to fall off. Mona took some pictres, and I can only imagine what they looked like! We only rode a short way...from where they eat near the Center to the lake (yes lake) for a swim. So here I am, on the head of this elephant, heading into the lake.

It was really cool, but really scary. The youngest elephant, Nam Bo, likes to roll in the water...well...she kept rolling into me and my elephant. At one point, she took my shoe off. It was quite an experience. Tomorrow I'm with the elephants all day. We'll see how that goes. Wish me luck!

Oh, I said I'd tell you why there are only three elephants now. The Center doesn't own the elephants, we only care for them. In Thailand, elephants are considered livestock, like cattle, rather than wild animals, so anyone can own one. The owner of one of the elephants needed some money, so he sold the elephant. The Center tried to buy it, but the owner was asking double what you should have to pay, so we couldn't. It was really sad when they came with the truck to take her away. And the worst part is, we have no way of knowing where she's going or what she'll be doing there. She'll probably end up back in the tourist business and who knows how she'll be treated.

If you're ever in Thailand....don't ride the elephants. Asian elephants don't like the sun and cannot be in it all day. The elephants in the tourist business are mistreated and overworked....even for elephants. If you're here and you want to ride an elephant...come to our Rescue Center, make a small donation, and ride an elephant that you know is well cared for!!!


5 July 2004
A while ago, Edwin gave the queen some hornbills. In another month or so he's going to give her three more. Yesterday, Mona, Edwin, Amy, Mama Ooo, and I went to the queen's home (we were on our way to Hua Hin to see if we could find the dog I wrote about. We didn't, but Edwin said that the people in Hua Hin are pretty good about taking injured dogs to the dog rescue center in town there....so if we didn't find it, he said it was probably already taken there) to get some papers from her saying that we could have the bear because we were looking after it for her or something like that.

I didn't get to see the queen, unfortunately. We just picked the paper up from the gate. But we did get to go on the Royal grounds and see some of the animals she has there. It was really cool. We could only stay for 20 minutes or so because the queen was due to arrive and we didn't have a meeting with her. But I'd say that's the closest I've ever been to royalty!

The good news is that Edwin just got money from a large company in town to spay and neuter 75 dogs in our little village. That's awesome news. We can do 25 dogs for every 5,000 baht (1,000 baht is about 25 USD). We're hoping to raise a little more money so that we can make the number an even 100.

I can't believe my time here is half over! I miss you all soooo much, but at the same time, I don't want to leave here! This place and this work are amazing!! Please write and let me know how you are doing!


9 July 2004: It's A Jungle Out There
On Wednesday, a group of 7 volunteers packed some random things for lunch (jam or cucumber sandwiches, rambutans (which, if anyone goes to Jungle Jim's, please look for them; they're my new favorite fruit!!), crackers, whatever we could find) and loaded into the back of the Center truck. Amy and Nong were in the front taking us into the jungle for the day.

What an amazing day! We drove through some of the most beautiful forest in the open-air back of this pickup looking for the perfect spot to begin our hike. Entering the jungle was like stepping back in time. The air, because of the trees was so fresh! Newly created oxygen is actually a little sweet. There were mountains covered with trees in every direction; we were surrounded by purity. Everywhere you looked were hundreds (really) of butterflies flitting through that wonderful air.

The first animal we saw was a hornbill flying over head. Little did I know that would be one of dozens that we would see as we went on. These birds have huge beaks almost like a Toucan and a wing span of over a meter. Seeing them fly is breathtaking. The ones we saw are called giant hornbills (we have three wreathed hornbills at the Center; they're going to the Queen's Royal Project in a few weeks - that's where Mona and I went with Edwin last week), and from below, when they fly, you can see brilliant yellow markings underneath their black wings.

We left the truck near a stream and started walking. Immediately, we saw a group of dusky langurs in the trees. (Luna is the dusky langur here at the Center) Amy said that langurs will usually stick around and let you watch them for a while. So we did. I would say that there were 15 or so climbing, swinging, eating, watching us. The best was when they would leap from tree to tree. They're fearless and have amazing accuracy. We were quite lucky and saw a female with a baby! It's funny because langurs have such distinct markings on their heads and faces, and the babies look nothing like them!! It looked like someone tried to make a stuffed baby gibbon (the infant was orange and had a round head), but failed, and then handed it to the langur. Even through binoculars, the infant looked fake. This bright orange fur ball stuck out like a sore thumb, but it was amazing that we spotted it.

We walked some more and saw all kinds of wild life. We saw tons of birds, some giant squirrels (which, again, are like a meter long) sleeping in a tree, and some gibbons. We saw wild gibbons swinging overhead in the jungle (it was one of those moments where I have to pinch myself and say, Hey, wait a minute, I'm in THAILAND!!). Amy said she's seen this family of gibbons before, but it looked like this time there were two groups with overlapping territories. They were calling back and forth to each other. I've written before about the singing the gibbons do here at the Center. It's also a territorial thing. It was so cool to hear. We sat down and just watched them for more than half an hour. They kept crossing back and forth over our heads way up in the trees (again we saw a female with an infant, but this time it at least looked like the same species) which was amazing. Gibbons' arms are about the length of an adult human's arms, so you can imagine how well they can swing!

Once the gibbons had had enough of us watching them, they moved on and so did we. We found a nice spot the elephants had cleared for us (basically trampling all of the bamboo trees and anything else in their path) near the next stream and sat down for lunch. It was a nice break from the hiking, and all of you who've known me for a while know how much I love to walk up and down a stream. The water was so crisp and clear. I could have stayed there forever. I can't wait for you to see my photos.

Ok, stop reading for a moment, hold out your hand palm up and spread out your fingers. Look at the size of you hand that way and how far apart your fingers are. Another fun thing we saw was a HUGE yellow (yes yellow) spider web and in the center was a spider the size of that outstretched hand you were just looking at. It was sooo cool (because it was on the web and not in my bed) and I hope my pictures of it turned out well.

After walking a bit farther taking in more butterflies, langurs and birds, we walked back to the truck (spotting the gibbons again briefly) and began the drive the rest of the way up the mountain.

The higher we got, the sweeter the air became and the more hornbills we saw gliding overhead. It was so amazing to see them soaring across the canyons.

At the very top of the mountain was some of the most beautiful viewing I've ever seen. From the spot where we ate lunch, it was a 30-35 minute drive to the top, but it was so worth it. Standing on the edge of the mountain, looking over to the tops of other mountains and down into the valleys, I found myself wondering how anyone could see what I saw and not believe in God. His touch was everywhere; every tree was fingerprinted with perfection.

Our ride home was just as much of an adventure. As we were riding back down the mountain, it began to rain. Growing up, I rode roller coasters at Kings Island in the rain and I remember it feeling like needles pelting me as we crested each hill. That was like being beaten with feathers compared to this. The 7 of us were all crouched together as close as we could talking about the wonderful ponchos and raincoats we'd brought with us that were sitting nicely folded in our suitcases back at the Center. We were flying at about 120 km/h through the biggest storm I'd seen up to that point in Thailand. It was very much NOT fun. But, I suppose it was part of the adventure of the day.

Eventually it stopped raining, and that 120 km/h did a great job of drying us off almost completely by the time we got home.

All in all, it was an amazing day. We got back just in time to shower (which felt nice and warm compared to the temperature our bodies had all dropped to on the drive home), put on some nice dry clothes, and hop back in a taxi for the Wednesday night Cha Am market.

Tomorrow, Mona and Mylene and I are on our way to Hua Hin again for a day off. Mylene is leaving on Monday, so she's only staying in Hua Hin for Saturday, but Mona and I are going to find somewhere to stay the night and come back to the Center on Sunday evening. Mona's leaving Thursday. I don't know what I'm going to do. You know how sometimes you meet someone, and the connection is instant and effortless. She got here the same day that I did, so my Center experience has included her since the beginning. My life will go on of course, but much of what's been great here has been being with Mona. I'll find some way to survive.


12 July 2004: 7 Days
I leave the Center in 7 days. I just can't believe it! This really feels like home to me. I miss all of my friends and family, but I want them to be here...I don't want to leave. I really feel like my soul has caught up with my body. Mylene is leaving tonight after dinner.....Mona is leaving on Wednesday.....The last 5 days are going to be hard. So much of this experience has been the people I've met.

Things have really settled down at the Center since the raid. We have a goat....and a kitten that got hit by a car. Rikke loved it back to life with sheer will power. There's no way it should have survived, and now it's doing great!

Today was much cooler than it has been....I don't know what the actual temperature was, but it felt much more pleasant. I sliced my finger today while feeding the bears....that was lovely...one flesh wound per week I suppose. I'll see you all in a few weeks!!


14 July 2004: Preparing to Leave
Things are winding down for me here at the Center. Mona left this morning, which really stunk! but I'm going to see her next week. God-willing, I'm going to meet her on Ko Tao, which is an island in the Gulf of Thailand. We'll be there for a few days and then head to Bangkok. I want to do a few touristy things there like seeing the giant reclining Buddha and the floating market, and then I want to finish some shopping at the giant weekend market. Then, that Saturday, I say goodbye to Mona for real and head for the airport and home.

I'm really glad that I came on this adventure, but it will be nice to see my loved ones again. I do miss all of you. I wish, however, that instead of leaving, you all could come here and share this with me. I'm going to do my best to bring as much of Thailand home with me via pictures and stories as I can, but you just can't take a picture of what it feels like to stroke the trunk of an Asian elephant or look into the thankful eyes of an aging gibbon when you hand her a biscuit or wake in the morning to a song that is so loud, but so beautiful it brings an instant smile to your face or see the miraculous change of a Bengal tiger who came to this place from a gas station unable to walk and now enjoys rubbing his head along the cage when you walk by making the happiest sounds.

Good things are happening here, and the people of Thailand, well at least the people in Kao Look Chang, are changing the way they think of animals because of what's happening at this Center.


17 July 2004: Count your fingers...ok...whew
Ok, so that nice weather I was writing about? Yeah, didn't last. It's hot again (I know...you're saying, "Well, Sarah, you ARE in Thailand."). Someone had a thermometer yesterday...I'm not sure I feel better knowing it was 98 degrees BEFORE factoring in the humidity. It's nice in the morning though. It's been really clear...which is why it's been so hot in the afternoons.

I can't believe I'll be home in a week! That's so crazy! I'm excited though, because in a few days, I'll be sitting on the beach with Cisca and Mona soaking in that sunburn (I'm pretty proud of myself that I haven't been burnt here other than the burn I got at the Reds game before I came!).

I got to feed Meow yesterday! That's was so exciting. There I was, with a hunk of raw something (I think it was chicken, but I didn't care) with my hand through the fence waiting for the Bengal tiger to take it from my fingers....without taking my fingers! He's really a sweetie....like a big (BIG) housecat) It's funny to see him look up at you from the pool or his sleeping hut and make what, if you didn't know better, would be a ferocious face, and then come rub his head on the cage for a scratch.