May 3, 2026

MASON'S ELEPHANT SANTUARY was a little slice of Heaven! in crazy, congested Bali! I really wanted to treat the Spa Manager Stacy and our Entertainment Manager Kelly, to a fun, non-stressful event that they could truly enjoy! Stacy had never seen elephants before and her squeal of delight, when we first laid eyes on them was pure joy!

We walked right into the male ( with long tusk) getting frisky with the female, in the swimming hole. Note, the female then mounted him!   Then they both cooled off, for awhile, before exiting the pool for some food. Then we move over to feeding them and the trainers had them posing for photos with us all.

After feeding the elephants we cleaned up a bit and went to watch a 20 minute documentary about the history and mission of the Santurary. We heard all about the Australian founder, who married a local Balinese woman, and started the whole mission over 25 years ago and who now continues to run the Foundation with their 2 sons. We no sooner walked out of the movie tent and who do we walk straight into ? the Mason Family ! They were celebrating the wedding of the son. We chatted with them for a bit and then got the below photo with them. So impressive what they have created and sustained over all these years!

Next we were off to jumbo wash an elephant, a first for all of us! This beauty lady is 45 years old.

XI'AN, CHINA - WALLED CITY

By Pat Patrick • September 15, 2026
Xi'An, China has been on my must do list , for awhile. The story of the Terracotta Army has fascinated me, since I first heard it. What I didn't know too much about, was the actual City of Xi'An and the walled inner City that remains today. It was built from 1370 to 1378 during the Ming dynasty on top of the older Tang dynasty foundations. There are 9 miles of City walls, they are 39' high, 45' to 50' wide at the top and 55' to 60' at the base. There are four main gate towers and the only draw bridge restored is at the South Gate. There are 98 ramparts, watchtowers, battlements and a wide surrounding moat. It one of the oldest and best preserved fortifications in China .

MORE CHONGQING & Strange Signs

By Pat Patrick • September 14, 2026
After our Panda watching we went to Erling Park for some good city views. Green space in Chongqing is rare, it is truly a concrete jungle with a few planters and trees smattered in along the sidewalks.

CHONGQING ZOO - PANDAS

By Pat Patrick • September 14, 2026
The 21 Pandas at the Chongqing Zoo is t he largest grouping of them of anywhere we have traveled in China. We were all excited to see them and were up and on the road by 7am. They are super popular and morning is the supposedly the best time to see them active. It was another hot and steamy day, but less brutal than yesterday.