Beyond feeding the younger elephants sugar cane and peanuts, or watching the rescued adult elephants – one even nursing a foot injured by poachers – bathe and learning about the Malaysian efforts to conserve these creatures, the trek itself told a story.

One about hopping in an Uber to travel 1.5 hours away into the jungle, with no return plan. And learning after the visit, the next bus only fits three when you have six. And that it doesn’t leave from this small village for another two hours, so hey, you find a restaurant. And you eat the best food you’ve had in this country so far, with curry and traditional breads, as the owner and her children smile in amazement at the hunger you worked up. And you return the same shock when your late lunch feast for 6 comes out to $1.04 a person.

It’s one about wandering aimlessly around a grocery store, attempting to identify fruit you’ve never seen, stopping to smell the spices (literally) and trying to make friends with a local toddler who takes his mom’s phone to snap a photo if you. One about warm, fun conversations on a bus you hope is going in the right direction, but you’re not worried because the company feels a lot like home. One about writing this post, smushed between two friends who were strangers four months ago, listening to the neon signs as they reminded me to breathe. Inhale it all in. Try not to exhale the time too quickly.

I was more amazed by elephants than I could have imagined but yet? Still not as much as this journey continues to exceed my expectations.

And yeah, I’ll say it, changing my life more and more, with each day.