Sleeping With the Elephants: an Unforgettable Camping Trip in Thailand

Ryan Farley | December 4, 2015

An American Hitchhiker in Thailand

I woke up early to check out and pay my way into the park. At 2,200 square kilometers, and with no park transportation, getting to my campsite wasn’t a challenge that I was properly prepared for. Fortunately, after hitchhiking route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles back home, I had the secret weapons of a lucky thumb and a disarming smile. I wasn’t sure how Thais would react to seeing a gangly white boy asking for a free ride, or if my hitching gesture was as universal as I was hoping, but it didn’t take long to find out—less than five minutes into the park and I was picked up.

Ryan Farley / Own Work

The owners of the four door pickup truck were a middle-aged couple who were kind enough to pretend they understood my Thai. Like so many I would come to encounter during my time here, they wanted to express their appreciation to me for coming to Thailand and for teaching English. I did the best I could to assure them that their country was doing far more for me than vice versa, and we passed the brief car ride exchanging linguistic lessons.

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