NEVER ride an elephant. NEVER bathe with an elephant. NEVER watch an elephant at a show or circus. ALWAYS do your research and support ethical tourism. .
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By riding or bathing or attending elephant shows you are causing pain, distress and death to thousands of elephants. Our visit to @samuielephantsanctuary was one of the best days of my life but also one of the most heartbreaking. The work they do to rescue elephants who are abused, or close to being murdered (because they are worth more dead than alive) is unbelievable. Every penny raised at the sanctuary goes to support the 6 elephants here but also enables them to educate others across #Thailand to protect elephants rather than hurt them. The elephants here had been beaten, blinded by having their eyes pulled out, had their babies stolen and killed, starved, and had bricks and rocks thrown at their heads to try and kill them. .
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There are 4000 elephants in captivity in Thailand so it’s impossible to set them all into the wild or for this sanctuary to recuse them all but they are helping one elephant at a time and rely on the support of ethical tourism. If you ever visit #Thailand please support this or one of the 2 other sanctuaries. Elephants need a lot of food so they need all the support they can get.
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#ethicaltourism #ethicalelephanttourism #elephantsantuary #samuielephantsanctuary #kohsamui #thailand #travel #travelgram #travelblogger #Bophut #bophutbeach #tourism #travelguide #honeymoon #honeymonth #hinchleyshoneymonth #travelthailand
I will organise drinks with so and so once I lose 14 pounds. I need to lose a dress size before the birthday/wedding/christening otherwise I won’t enjoy it. I have to lose weight for my wedding or I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. My life will start and I will be happy once I’m smaller.
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These are thoughts that have plagued me since I was around 14 and I’m not alone. I think 90% of the women I know believe that they can begin living life properly when the scale says a different number. Diet culture (a society that focuses on and values weight, shape, and size over health and well-being) is so engrained into everything its damn near impossible to not believe your life will be better when your body looks a different way.
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I’ve been reflecting over why I need to change my body - what would I actually achieve? I have a husband who adores me. I have friends and family who think I’m amazing. I have a job that I love. I run because I genuinely enjoy it. Being smaller is not going to change any of that.
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So, as I’m personally taking steps to retrain my brain away from diet culture to a place where I can truly enjoy my life now, not when I’m x pounds lighter - I’m so glad to see this year #MentalHealthAwareness week is concentrating on #BodyImage. Because if these are thoughts that plague my mind 90% of the time, I’d hate to be a child growing up in today’s diet culture with the added pressure of social media and blurred lines between what’s real and what isn’t.
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Full blog post in bio.
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