Elephants Retirement 9DEE Phuket — Local services in Choeng Thale

visited Monday 1/20/2020 for the afternoon half day. (5 adults) Upon arrival we were met by a warm and happy staff member. She always had a smile and made us feel welcome. (She also helped us to book by phone and text message prior to arrival as the website had a little glitch. We were not able to book unless we filled in all information including the “pick up time” But we did not need to be picked up. There was no way to get around that question so we couldn’t go any further ) It all worked out just fine with a quick call, and a voucher sent by email. The staff were informative and fun. We had a cooking lesson on pad Thai, a cool tshirt and a delicious lunch and then the elephants walked up😳😁 Totally amazing. We were able to buy soy milk and feed them. I highly recommend this!!!You can tell they care for their elephants very much. We then made a mix of foods to feed the elephants as well as apply all natural bug repellent, which we made. Then off to the bathing pond to for a mud bath and to shower to rinse off. We felt very safe the entire day. I have never experienced anything so beautiful. What a wonderful way to help the elephants through hands on education. I give the staff a lot of credit, they work hard, 😊 Best to all of you😊 Thank you again for a great day AND all the pictures you took and...

My girlfriend and I went for the half-day elephant care afternoon session. Upon arriving we were taught how to make Pad Thai and were treated to a small buffet lunch. Shortly after, our guide Pang Pang taught us all about the elephants they had in their sanctuary. We first got to prepare food and a skin treatment for the elephants which included chopping up sugar cane for them and crushing up various herbs for the skin treatment. Afterwards, we met the elephants and got to feed them, apply the skin treatment, give them a mud spa and finally shower. Such a fantastic and intimate experience as they only run the tour with small groups. This is a very hands-on experience so you can't be afraid to get dirty! Showers and change rooms were provided after the tour. We were also given 2 complimentary water bottles and a free tank top. Many thanks to Pang Pang and the rest of the staff at Elephants Retirement 9Dee, you all gave my girlfriend and I an experience we won't...

I don’t know if it’s even possible to describe that experience with any words. First of all - sanctuaries/retirement places are the ONLY u should visit. It is horrible when owners of the elephants are making money with suffering of these majestic creatures, mostly by trekking. Go there, enjoy, donate, have fun with guides and elephants. We’ve had amazing experience today at 9Dee Sanctuary and it gotta be on your to-do list. You can see the gratefulness of these animals, just because they can finally get some care. Places like this pay lots of money monthly and yearly for renting the ground and to some of the elephants owners just to get rid of suffering. Read about that, talk about that, open your eyes and help these defenceless lovely...