Thailand and Cambodia December 12 - December 23, 2022.
Please visit our sister organization http://www.geowandering.com/burma---thailand--jan-18-feb-4-2018.html for an outline of our standard tour.
Objective: To survey captive elephant conditions at various “sanctuaries” and other tourist facilities and create videoblogs and other content for our social media page (260,000 followers). We will also track and film wild elephant herds to document their condition and numbers. (suggested donation now $200 per day)
Thailand
There are an estimated 2,000 wild elephants in Thailand and approximately 2,500 captive ones. While Burma only recently banned logging in most of their country, in 1989 the Thailand banned logging in protected natural forests. Like in Burma, an unfortunate side effect was that it threw logging elephants out of work. This coincided with a rapid rise in tourism, which was able to employ many elephants. It’s estimated that half of Thai elephants work in tourism. Is this an appropriate model for Burma to follow? If so, what ethical practices of elephant husbandry should Burma follow? During this tour we will have a glimpse into Thailand’s matured tourist elephant business.
The Thai Elephant Conservation Center (TECC), was founded in 1993 and cares for more than 50 Asian elephants in a beautiful forest located near Chiang Mai. This is a government originated and owned facility and features activities like elephant painting and riding. The elephants are also released into a forest area each evening. We will observe the activities for which we may be ethically conflicted.
The Elephant Nature Park, just north of Chiang Mai, is an elephant rescue and rehabilitation center which offers volunteers and opportunity to help maintain the herds. Well known and highly regarded elephant conservationist Lek Chailert leads the efforts. She has created a thriving herd, as well as providing a natural environment for elephants, dogs, cats, buffaloes and many other animals. Is this the most ethically appropriate way to rescue and support formerly abused elephants - a strong example of practices to be expanded upon in Burma and Sri Lanka? We are planning collaborations with Lek on projects in Sri Lanka as well.
Mudumalai (Karnataka) and Kerala, South India January 24 - February 11, 2023.
Please visit http://www.geowandering.com/kerala---karnataka--dec-26--2017---jan-7--2018-.html for our tentative itinerary. Every year, except during Covid times, we join our local colleagues to survey the health of both captive and wild elephants in these regions. (suggested donation now $200 per day). Starting date now changed to Jan 24
Next Sri Lanka Tour is March 7 - 18, 2023
Elephant & Culture of Sri Lanka, Tour
March 14 - 25, 2023
Please Go Here to make a nonrefundable $500 deposit for your tour.
https://linktr.ee/SavingGanesh
While volunteers are encouraged to join SavingGanesh at any time, we organize one group tour in late Fall, and two in the Winter. These special tours are organized to give a balanced experience in Sri Lanka - wildlife and culture.
We request a $500 nonrefundable deposit to secure a spot, with half the remainder due one month prior to trip departure, and the remainder by March 1. Airfare purchase, cancellations or changes are fully your responsibility.
VISA
Please go directly to the ETA site, while securing the travel insurance separately, if desired.
https://eta.gov.lk/etaslvisa/etaNavServ?payType=1
Also, the health declaration can be done upon arrival, but it’s best to print out the form ahead of time and fill it out prior to arrival. There will be two lines at Sri Lanka’s immigration hall - one for folks that did the health declaration online and have a QR Code and the other line for paper copies (it’s a longer wait there!).
Address in Sri Lanka
Please use this local address when applying for your visa: Address: Peacock Hotel, Matara Road, Peellagoda, Unawatuna; Phone: 077 648 0155
Travel:
Colombo is the arrival and departure city (CMB). We find that the search engine https://www.momondo.com/ consistently offers the best value. Please arrive by the evening prior to your trip, being Nov 6. Some folks may prefer to arrive even earlier and remain in nearby Negombo for recovery from travel. We will pick you up from your hotel. We will drop you to a location of your choice on the evening of Nov 18.
More about Payments:
Reserving your trip is easy! Please secure your spot with a $500 deposit with the remainder due as explained above. Base daily cost of our tours is $200, or $2,400 for our 12 day tour ($500 deposit asap, plus $950 by February 1 and any remainder by March 1). There is a supplemental fee of $30 per night for a single room, otherwise you may be sharing a room with another guest. For payments, yo can click any of the links shown above or even via the "Donate" page of SavingGanesh.org's website: https://www.elephantsnow.org/donate
In the memo section of your payment, please specify that this is a deposit for a Sri Lanka tour!
Please call Philip on WhatsApp with questions: 1 458-256-1306 or video chat or message via Facebook
Tax Deduction:
You will be joining us as a contributor/volunteer, thus your expenses may be tax deductible. Our EIN number is 47-2047666.
Duties to qualify for tax deduction: You will be prompted at any time to take up a microphone, a camera, or provide "influencer" activities, by writing about elephants to your audience in social media or elsewhere. You will be learning much about elephants and will become an advocate. If you take up these roles, you are welcome, from our perspective, to write-off 100 percent of your travel cost. Otherwise, a 70 percent write-off is acceptable. Any donations beyond $200 per day is fully tax deductible, without limitation.
Hotels and Food
The typical accommodations you will enjoy during our travels to Sri Lanka are mostly 2.5 star hotels by Western standards, and four star by Eastern Standards ;). We do our best to stay at the cleanest accommodations available in each region. Sometimes while joining wildlife rangers in the field, we don't have our first choice, but reasonable efforts are always made. Example of hotels
We eat at the best and cleanest restaurants available anywhere we travel. Kothu is a staple while on the road in rural areas. String hoppers are a tradition for breakfast with coconut sambol and dal. Fruit is abundant everywhere. Veg and non-veg options are available in this largely Buddhist country.
Please peruse Philip Price’s GeoWandering Tours website for examples of past tours, going back to 1993!
Link to our historical archive — collaborating partner: GeoWandering Tours
Sri Lanka Culture and Wildlife Tour Details
We often join government rangers and veterinarians as they conduct field operations - when we do so, we gift them with videoblogs of their activities, which they are always appreciative. We are in process of creating a multitude of video content about lost elephant corridors, human/elephant conflict, failed trenches (boundaries), and/or prevalence of invasive plants. We distribute our content thru social media and our 260,000 followers. Each video generates up to half a million views!
This tour will specifically be intermixed with visits to World Heritage Cultural Sites and wildlife safaris. Including: The Ancient City of Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Dambulla Rock Temple, classic train ride to Ella, and visits to Ayurveda herbal gardens, and tea plantations.
Additional Info: We will visit several of the national parks: Yala, Kaudulla, Lunugamwehera, The "Great Elephant Gathering of Asia" at Minneriya. We will also visit Udawalawe's Elephant Transit Home (orphanage).
Entrance Fees to Ruins and Parks
Please be prepared to pay entrance fees for Parks and Ruins, as it’s not included in our tour pricing, mostly because we don’t typically go to these places with our volunteer teams. Elephants are generally fine inside parks…it’s the one’s outside that we worry about! Some people are uninterested in spending time among the ruins, so it’s up to the individual. We will be allowing options for folks to explore the ruins, or attend elephant-based actions. A balance between the two is encouraged, as the ruins of Sri Lanka are extraordinary.
Entrance fees at the major ruins like are found at Anuradhapura, Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa cost about $30. Park entrance fees are $25-30 per person. We can cover the cost up front and ask that at the end of the tour that a donation be made for an equal amount.
Internet Service
Strong cell service is everywhere, and most hotels have free wifi, but is susceptible to weak signals, so my preference is to purchase a data package for my cell phone! They are cheap, but your phone needs to be unblocked to switch out sim cards.
Travel smart....travel safe!
Arrival at Colombo Airport
Cell Phone Services
In the Arrival Hall, which is next after baggage claim, is the place to find an ATM and Cell phone sim cards. Firstly, as you enter the arrival hall, go left 100 feet to find a bank of ATM machines. It’s assumed that you will have let your home bank know you are traveling to Sri Lanka, thus they’ll be prepared when an exotic withdrawal is made! Lock out’s can be the result, unless you’ve notified them! 220 rupees is $1. Thus, $300 is equal to 66,000 rs. This is a fine amount to begin your journey!
Phone Service
Is your phone unlocked? If so, then go to the Dialog booth adjacent to the ATMs and pick up a sim card! If not, then you’ll need to rely on other people’s hotspot or wifi for services. Alternatively, ATT, Sprint etc do have international plans that you can inquire about. Expect to pay about $100 premium for this service, with limited data. Dialog prices are about $5 for 18-20gb of data. The sim card comes with a starter packet of 10gb for about $10. Another alternative - we do have a portable router available that you can borrow and load with a data package.
