Bath time in Patara Elephant Farm. Photo by Jeana Shandraw of Surf and Sunshine.
Next year, swap the hectic life in the urban jungle for the simple one in the great outdoors: take care of elephants in Thailand, fall in love with sea lions in the Galapagos, be a hero on horseback in India.
Where: Patara Elephant Farm in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Two elephants start "kissing" and hugging and the baby runs in between them, trying to get more attention. It's a happy day on an elephant farm in Thailand.
Read it: Elephants are People Too (They Just Might Be Happier)
Where: Ridge to Reef Farm in St. Croix, United States Virgin Island
Living off the land in a manner that makes the place better is not only possible, it breeds inspiration and healing. And on top of that, people will pay for it.
Read it: Giving back on Ridge to Reef Farm
Watch it: He Built a Farm in Paradise
Where: Indonesian Borneo
It was an intense four-week program that involved laboring in the heat of the Bornean sun, but to see the infant orangutans climb on the structures we built was a joy to behold.
Read it: I Followed Orangutans Down the Road Less Traveled in Borneo
Where: Rajasthan, India
The stillness of the lake on one side. The babbling, noisy, river of humanity on the other. It seems to represent the contrast that is India.
Read it: To the Horses of Humanity
Learn more: Heroes on Horseback: Relief Riders International
Where: Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Cuteness alert. Sea lions ahead. The cutest damn animals you've ever seen. Now putting on a show at a Galapagos Island near you.
Where: All over Mexico
They’re majestic. Simple. Wholesome. They are also really cute. I admire their nonchalant sense of independence. It’s certainly difficult not to be jealous.
Read it: Doggy Style, Life Off-Leash
Where: Pushkar, India
These are not Starbucks lattes. Camel-herding chai wallahs make their morning chai from scratch.
Read it: Camel's Milk Chai in Pushkar
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