a dream come true :)

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Well today was the day I've been waiting for all my life I recon - "own an elephant for a day"

as soon as we arrived we were given a really interesting talk on the history of the elephant, why the

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are in decline and how they are very eco friendly. For example when they tread in the mud they form natural little pools that fill up with water that are then inhabited by insects and plants.They live for about 80 years, and one bull will service several females, they come into season every 4 years and the gestation will be 22 months.

There were 7 of us altogether, 3 couples and me - all very nice people. My elephant was called Mymason he was 35 years old weighed 3 and 1/2 ton about 6ft high to his back and we got on like a house on fire .... I fell in love with him the minute I saw him. the very first thing you do is give your elephant a bucket full of bananas to say hello. It was great fun putting a load of bananas into this great big mouth - huge tongue and they have 6 sets of teeth in their lifetime.

then we were taught how to give a daily health check, so you know your elephant is healthy 😊
1 - they should flap thier ears and wag their tail
2 - they should have mud/dust on their sides to show they slept laying down as a sick elephant sleeps standing up
3 - check they are sweating - they sweat on through their feet
4 - check their poo - there should be at lest 6 plops !
you have to smell it - it should smell of grass
then squeeze it to make sure there is fluid in it (so they're not dehydrated)
check that the fibres are easily pulled apart and no big lumps !
and finally taste it !!!! ...................... only kidding !!!!

obviously my Mymason passed with flying colours so off we walked to the river to have a bath,

I led him by the ear and marched in, great fun throwing water over him and scrubbing him down!

then it was time to get on him and ride him bareback...............I opted for one of the harder ways , you ask him to raise a foot, you step onto the foot and then climb up onto his back >>>.............. as you can imagine i was the height of dignification !!!!!! NOT

then I was on top, sitting behind his neck with my legs tucked behind his ears ..... and nothing to hold on to !!! whooo hooo I was away .......... fabulous feeling , my trainer walked alongside most of the time and then wandered off for a bit leaving me trugging along totally in control !!!

We marched on reasonably flatish ground for about 45 mins then we came to the waterfalls, Ta my trainer said for me to get off - but everyone else was walking into the water so I told him i wanted to go swimming with Mymason too, so in we went and had a lovely swim together !!!

Then we were presented with lunch but was more like a banquet .......... lots of gorgeous food - which was laid out on a tablecloth that was infact banana leaves and our plates were also banana leaves .... food was delicious 😊 after we finished we all fed the elephants with the left overs including the table cloth and plates !!!

Then we went on an hours trek through really tough turain up and down hills in the jungle, with the elephants stopping every couple of yards to eat every type of vegitation imaginable including trees !!!! the journey was very similar to my trek, although its easier riding an elephant but more scarey ! they are amazing in the fact that they can walk up a really steep hill that is only about 12 inches wide with a sheer drop along side !!! by the end of the hour my thighs were actually killing me -

Then we had a short break and then we were shown how to mount our elephant a different way (still undignified for some of us !!) and we were now sitting on top of his head with legs dangling in front of his face !!! this was more comfortable and I surprised myself as I found it quite easy to ride this way, there was a rope that went around his belly that you could hold onto when he was going down hill .... that was a bit hairy on occasions !!!

then it was time to say bye bye to Mymason and Ta ............... I got a kiss from Mymason - like being hoovered on your arm with something very wet !!!

so there we are, my dream really has come true ........ I rode an elephant bareback !!!!!

theres no more to be said ........

night night everyone , love to you all

from me xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Comments

[Lynne]

cor blimey
Chuckie, how fab it's been to get your daily diary! It's just brilliant - I never realised you were so blinkin fearless! And today's pics were the best. How brill brill brill. Well done you! Carry on having fun and taking care. Love Lynne xx

[Sally]

WOW
What an amazing day Karen, I want to have an elephant day too..........great piccies, keep up the good work on the blog, you've got a book in the making!! Take care honey

[angecad]

get the coffee in
Your elephant experience looked amazing bet you loved every minute of it. Well I'm all packed and ready for the off so see you in Bangkok airport, meeting area 3 so get the coffee in ready!!!!!!!! see you soon!!!!!!!!!Angexxxxxxx

[Jo]

wow weeeee!! Elephants.... you are properly in there, feeding and swimming! My fave photo of your trip so far is the one of you sitting on his head all submerged in water!! amazing. Just shown Nick as hes well impressed. Your dream come true. love you xxx

[karen the adventurer]

for Tom
hiya Tom i will tell you all about my travels when i see you next month, ive got millions of photo's too. see you soon bud . love antie karen xxxxxxx

[katie]

WOWEEEE!!!!
Hey babe, what a day! there aren't many that can say dreams do come true....so you keep dreaming, that yummy aussie hunk may be right around the corner! You look like you're having the time of your life i'm so glad for you-and obviously wish I was there, as does Scarlett. We regularly read your blog together and she was ( of course ) most interested in the Elephant poo information which I had to repeat several times to her amusement!! What a beautiful Elephant! Can't wait to really see you and hear it all for real, plenty of time left tho so let rip and live it up!!Lots and lots of love Me and Miss Maisie x x x x x x x x x x x x

[Sammy Taylor]

Loving your blog!
Hi Karen Looks like you are having a fab time! Thanks for giving me the link to your blog, i've been checking out your amazing photos and travel tales, sounds amazing, i bet you are loving every minute of it! Isn't the food lush!! I ate so much while i was there, so cheap and loads of it! Your elephant photos look fantastic. :-) Keep enjoying yourself and take care Love sammy xxx

[the youngest baby]

OMG!
I AM SO JEALOUS... THATS NUTS, ITS NUTS I TEL YA! AWWWWWWWWWWW! WOW MUM ... miss u lots like jelly tots.... penis (hope tha makes u remember me whilst ur havin all this fun) dnt 4get me i do want u 2 cum bk to us all lol xxx these piks r just so amazing, its like theyv been edited xxx love u lots xxx

[michael]

wow
this looks amazing. I did elephant riding in Thailand too but not quite as adventurous as you. The photos you have are brilliant you look like your having an amazing time!