Elephants. Need I say more?

---

Day seventeen has to be one of the most amazing days I've had. We had a lovely lie in and our trusty driver Rahul picked us up at midday to take us to an elephant village. I am so glad I waited to do something with elephants here - it was lovely! The elephants were free to roam all over the huge property, no chains or ties to be seen and all the men who worked there clearly cared for them a lot - one even told me that his elephant was his true love!

We were allowed to ride the elephants, they said the walk was good for their fitness and digestion, but instead of riding in a cage they just had a foam pad tied onto their back which I was much happier about. To get on I stood in front of my elephant (she was called Nayana - meaning 'beautiful eyes' and at 21 the youngest elephant there) and she lifted me up on her trunk, it felt even higher than it looked being on the back of an elephant! The men working there were very knowledgeable and whilst out on our ride I had plenty of time to grill them as the elephants were not in a hurry and they were perfectly content to wander alongside them letting them do their own thing.

On returning we fed the elephants dried grass (apparently green grass is bad for them in winter because the water content will cool them down too much) and bananas which they loved! For big animals they were so gentle and I was stunned by their intelligence. The two that we met had such distinct personalities, I can honestly say that I now have even more respect for these beautiful animals.

Nayana had been painted before but it was very faded so next I was able to add to her decoration, all the paints were natural vegetable paint so not at all harmful, and I attempted to touch up some of the beautiful designs. It was slightly tricky as, being young in elephant terms, she was a real fidget! Still I really enjoyed just spending more time around her, it will be an experience I will never forget!

After we stopped for a very late lunch then went into a tailors shop. This proved to be a very interesting experience! They showed us how they use blocks to print colourful designs onto their fabric and then took us into the shop itself full of all sorts of materials and people willing to help you design what to do with them. I ended up buying a scarf and after much deliberation getting a light shawl-jacket made out of a piece of material that I absolutely loved. They also showed me some velvet numnahs they had made sewn with little stones and mirrors and beautiful embroidery.

Exhausted we made our way back to the hotel and popping to the restaurant decided to have some drinks and a snack. I opted not to buy chips and thought I'd be adventurous and order something by the name of 'potato waffers' from the menu. Turns out this means 'crisps' which in all honesty I was quite pleased about - I do love crisps!

---

Photos

So much fun!
These elephants pretty much did as they pleased whilst we rode them!

She spotted some bananas...
Apparently she won 'miss jaipur' at an elephant contest last year!

Elephant painting.
Nayana appeared to quite enjoy being painted, she had such a wonderfully cheeky personality!