Tired of petting cats and dogs? Come to Phuket and pet elephants.
🌈Highlights: Phuket has a coffee shop where you can pet elephants. You must come and see it. There are two Elephant Coffee Shops, which are very close to each other. I chose a relatively cheap one. Even if you don't pet the elephants, you can order a drink and watch others feed them.
🐘Petting elephants: This coffee shop is by the bay, close to the tidal flat. When the tide rises, the elephants will be in the water. I went there in the afternoon, and the tide was just ebbing, so I could see a large area of tidal flat. The staff was very polite. They said there were three elephants, large, medium and small, and asked which one you wanted to choose. Considering my size, I chose the small elephant. When it was led out, it turned out to have a head of red hair, which felt a bit hard to the touch.
🍌Feeding: You can buy a fruit plate separately. It costs 400 baht for a large plate with all kinds of fruits, but the elephant obviously prefers bananas and doesn't like dragon fruit.
📷Taking photos with elephants: Of course, intimate photos are charged per person. It costs 1,000 baht per person to take photos by yourself. There is a more expensive option where the staff will help you take photos. Of course, riding an elephant into the sea costs extra. As long as you pay, the staff will be very cooperative. They won't deliberately limit the time and will let you take enough photos. They will also instruct the elephant to pose in various ways.
🚗Address and transportation: It is very close to Marriott Merlin Beach, but it is best to take a taxi. It is on a hillside. Search for Blue Harbour. The coffee shop is actually at the foot of the mountain. You need to walk down a long spiral staircase. The scenery is quite good.