Thailand. A new adventure. Day 11. January 4, 2008

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Friday. January 4. Day 11.
The time of my life.
I wake at 4 am. I am not looking forward to the tour this morning. I have signed up to ride an elephant; I am afraid of heights. This does not strike me as a good combination. Over the last couple of weeks--way before I arrived in Thailand and knew I would have the chance to ride an elephant, I have dreamed of being tossed from an elephant's trunk on to its back and dreamed of being astraddle as one went on a rampage. So now I lie awake for almost two hours until it's time to play "truth or dare." After breakfast we drive to the Maesa Elephant Camp, which houses about 70 endangered Indian elephants. We "board" the elephants two at a time, stepping onto them from a platform, which completely disguises the height. The seat we sit on is a calf's length above the elephant so, for me at 5' 3", that means my feet rest comfortably on the elephant's neck. I don't know how comfortable it is for the elephant, but she doesn't seem to notice.
As we pull away from the station, the next elephant pulls in and two more in our group board and so on. Our train of about 15 elephants chugs forward. What an adventure! Up mountainous terrain, the elephants sometimes as close to the edge of the trail as seemingly possible, through muddy paths, down winding trails, and finally into a river. Periodically one will stop to snap a tree branch or grab a large snack of flowering vines.
The scariest part is that the less you weigh the more you slip and at one point while I was turned to snap pictures of my fellow riders and their mounts, I slipped to the edge of the seat with only a tiny grab bar--which I could have easily slipped under--to impede my slide off the mountain-size beast. But the jostling--which I later learn everyone experienced--just adds to the excitement.
At the station, the elephants pull in one at a time to offload their cargo. I am practically jumping for joy. I RODE AN ELEPHANT IN THAILAND!!!!!! I am still shaking with excitement a half hour later and by then I am being slimed by the trunks of two baby elephants who are busy exploring me while another member of our young crowd, Eric, captures the moments with my camera. I am left with pants and a shirt that probably should be burned.
On the way to the elephant show, we stop and watch elephants bathing in the river, the little ones completely submerging themselves with what seems like joy.
At the elephant show we watch elephants pulling logs, playing soccer, and painting--brushes held in trunks. Oh sure, they're guided by their mahouts who hand the brushes to the elephants and tug on their ears to guide them. But the work is really surprising.
A bit of color.
On the way back from the elephant camp, we stop at an orchid farm and walk through aisles of purple, blue, and white blossoms. A quick peak in the butterfly enclosure to watch their fluttering antics and its back to the bus to return to the hotel.
Batteryphobia. The fear of being far from home without a charge.
I only brought one camera battery with me. I bought two two-gb memory cards, but didn't pick up an extra battery. I haven't been using the monitor to review my pictures, but still the battery charge is fading fast. So I spend the afternoon finding a battery and having it, along with the one I brought with me, charged.
In between, I blog a little, check my email, and exchange US currency for bahts, which seem to evaporate into the Thai air--well, at least into the Thai economy--at a very rapid rate. Tonight I try a chicken coconut-milk soup and pad Thai with prawns. Delicious. It's easy to order food in Thailand. Not only are the menus in English as well as Thai, the descriptions most often are accompanied by pictures.
What an incredible day this has been. Did I mention I rode an elephant?

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Photos

Elephant train
The Maesa Elephant Camp provides one-hour elephant rides. Very exciting.

My new Facebook buddies
Canoodling with the elephants. My clothes were slimed! (photo by Eric Rightor)

Comments

[Dot W.]

Elephant
I loved the Orchid - exciting elephant experience - what a Diary you have ! I know your family was excited over the pictures -look forward to balance of your trip.

[Dale]

Elephant riding sans mahout
For me the part of riding the elephant that caused me the most concern was when the mahout (handler) dismounted from her to take our picture. He was off for several minutes while she stood and posed with us on her back. I was worried that she would take off and we would be on a wild ride upon a driverless elephant! Of course, when she entered the river to wade downstream I couldn't help but think of the slippery rocks ... The elephant camp was a wonderful experience, and the ride was a huge thrill for me too!