Siam Safari 4-in-1
Half-day Tour

Siam Safari’s 4-in-1 half-day trip is like a speed dating session with the natural world. Elephants, monkeys, and water buffalo are all on the dance card, as are demonstrations of Thai resourcefulness.

Five bamboo stations dot the hill top, and small groups rotate from one to the next. The presentations are hands-on, educational, and always punctuated with a good dose of laughter.

Land Rovers Truck

Fun for children and informative for adults, the mini-shows don’t test attention spans or lose anyone’s interest. It’s a morning – or an afternoon – that will enrich both your holiday and your appreciation of local culture.

These days, transfer to and from the hotel is a given on most tours in Phuket. But the classic Land Rovers and look-alikes (an entire fleet have been painted moss green and refitted for hauling groups), are definitely unique. While not exactly necessary in the untamed-road-through-the-jungle sense, they do add a welcome touch of ‘safariness’.

A monkey, a pair of buffalo, and coconuts

Thai-style rodeo

The tour’s resident monkey is a pigtail macaque, and her tail is not the only pig-like feature: she’s fat (enormously so) and a bit of a diva too. But no matter, she’s still able to perform her gum-chewing, coconut-retrieving, milk-drinking duties. She might not cooperate with people wanting to take pictures, but a moody monkey is still a funny monkey.

The water buffalo are much more accepting of cameras. Visitors, singles or in pairs, clamber on to the back of Mr Handsome and Mr Lucky, while the buffalo stand nearly motionless, chewing their cud and looking particularly uninterested. When the cameras cease their clicking, the animals are fitted with wooden carts and haul human six-packs in a quick loop.

In Thailand, as demonstrated at the coconut station, nothing is wasted – not the tree, the coconut, not even the husk. The amount of effort required to reap the benefits of the nut-fetching monkey’s hard work is considerable, but well worth it. The guide explains the many uses – from milk to oil to desert – while the nut cracking specialist deftly fieldstrips the coconut until nothing but shredded meat remains.

The ABCs of rubber

Rubber Tree tapping

Tidy forests of perfectly aligned trees occupy many parts of Phuket, but they aren’t the work of obsessive trolls – they’re rubber plantations. For those that have wondered what happens in these magical woods, the rubber tree demonstration is quite enlightening.

The entire process, from tapping the tree to collecting, cleaning, and pressing the sap, happens right before your eyes. This is where the tires on your car or bicycle – among many other necessary products – are born.

Curry in the jungle

Curry ingredients

The Thai curry station has all the ingredients for the spice-filled dish laid out in a table in front of a bamboo hut, and it seems that this is more than a place for tourist visits, but also the chef’s residence.

She sets about chopping ingredients and placing them in small individual bowls like on a television cooking show, while the guide calls the play-by-play. Ingredients pass from one guest to another, allowing everyone the chance to assess the distinctive aroma of each item in the curry.

All aboard the elephants

Elephants & Mahouts: ready for trekking

The camp’s setting, high in the hills between Chalong and Kata, is breathtaking and peaceful. At no time is this more obvious than during the 30-minute elephant trek, where the stunning sea views extend for miles. You’re on an elephant’s back on top of a small mountain – it’s difficult to get more elevated than that in Phuket.

The mahouts – which are Karen people, not Thai, and have been working with pachyderms for generations – balance on the beast’s necks, a foot behind each ear, and make sure their animals linger at the best viewpoints. Arriving back at the camp, guests purchase fruit baskets and treat the elephants to post-walk goodies while the guide outlines the plight of Thai elephants.

Approaching the beast

Nobody doubts that elephants are intelligent, and the youths are not only clever (an adjective the guide used repeatedly), but they have an endearing playfulness that’s almost human.

The second half of the elephant program is a show put on by three young – but by no means small – elephants that appear to be smiling at all times; they really look like they’re having fun. They run through a routine that includes saying hello, giving kisses (with sound effects!), and painting “like Picasso”. Music comes on for their next-to-last act, the elephant boogie, and they keep dancing long after the music ends. Posing for pictures after the show, they sway back and forth like Stevie Wonder to a song only they can hear.

Tour notes

The 4-in-1 tour lasts approximately three hours, and is conducted twice daily (morning and afternoon). For a little more money, morning guests can choose to conclude their trip with lunch on a wooden Chinese junk while cruising Chalong Bay or dine in the jungle; afternoon guests can add a sunset cruise with a drink and light refreshments or dinner in the jungle.

By Aaron Mahan

Interested in this tour?

Siam Safari 4-in-1 Tour
Price from 1,450 Baht

Pick up from hotel and transfer to Chalong. Travel by four wheel drive Land Rover into Chalong highlands. Arrive at Siam Safari elephant camp on the top of a mountain. Watch how monkey are trained to pick coconuts and see them in action. Learn about buffaloes, you can try to sit on one as well, try a ride on a wooden cart pulled by buffalo... Read more...