My Thailand Adventure, part 2

Yesterday I shared some stories and pictures from my trip to Thailand as part of Stampin’ Up!’s 2017 Incentive Trip.  What an amazing time we all had!  If you missed that post, you can see it here.  Was the full day of travel unbearably long?  Yes.  Was Phuket unbearably hot?  Yes.  Did either of those things stand in the way of an excellent time?  Absolutely not!

Our week in Phuket was filled with relaxing times at our resort, fun adventures outside of the resort, amazing foods and wonderful friends.  On Friday, we ventured off the reserve to the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary.  The sanctuary provides a home for elephants that have been injured through harsh and unethical elephant tourism (like elephant trekking or circus shows).  The elephants at this sanctuary are beautifully cared for.  We were able to feed, walk with and observe these sweet, ginormous animals and loved every minute of it!  What an experience!

I took a selfie with the first elephant, thinking this was as close as we’d get (I was wrong).

With careful instruction for how to feed them, we were able to offer the elephants whole fruits.  So sweet!

Look how big and beautiful these elephants are!

When an elephant decides she wants to check out the plants in the visitor’s center, the visitors back up and make room for her to explore.

We watched them hop in the pond to cool off for a bit.  This was a huge pond, but they seemed to hang out with one another.

This was truly an amazing experience!  Even as a child, I was embarrassed for the elephants that danced in the circus – it never felt right to me.  It was wonderful to see these animals in a safe, supportive environment.

There were so many wonderful experiences on this trip – I couldn’t begin to share all of them.  The highlight of most trips is seeing and meeting friends from all over the globe.  What an honor to be with all of these amazing people!  Here are some selfies with some of my favorite people who enjoyed Thailand, too!

Brian King, Julie Skotzke, Janet Holmes

Dena Rekow, Connie Stewart, Kelly Acheson, Hailey Acheson, Brian King

Brian King, Dawn Griffith

Brian King, Brandi Barnard, John Barnard

Brian King, Laura Thomas

Brian King, Allison Okamitsu, Jennifer Pauli, Kerstin Kreis

Brian King, Michelle Last

Brian King, Kylie Bertucci

Brian King, Sara Douglass

Brian King, Shelli Gardner, Sterling Gardner

As I mentioned yesterday, this was an amazing trip from one end to the other.  Stampin’ Up! really showed us lots of love with every detail of the trip and every gift we were given while in Thailand.  This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m so glad I was able to share it with so many people I love.  The Holiday Catalog is AMAZING, and we received lots of great products that I can’t yet share with you.  When I can share those, though, it’s on!

Thank you for supporting me so that I could enjoy this trip, and thank you for letting me share this experience with you.  I hope these pictures have given you a small glimpse into the joy of this trip!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian