Post from Tim:
Elephants are huge. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but that was one of two thoughts running through my head before the elephant trainer ushered Michelle, our friend Catherine, and me to mount the enormous elephant standing next to us. We climbed a ladder to an elephant-high platform where I was 'volunteered' to hop on first. I stepped barefoot across the elephant's broad neck, walked the rear, swiveled around, and sat down on its bare back. When I looked down, the other thought
running through my mind came through more clearly - my brain reminded me that if I fell from this height, I'd break my neck and my mother would give me the biggest, 'I told you so!' finger wagging ever. But then I saw the giggling eight-year-old boy who was the trainer for the other group's elephant and felt much safer about my position. At least our guide was old enough to drive a car. The guide sat on the elephant's neck and controlled it by grunting commands, nudging behind its ears with his bare feet, and tapping it lightly with a mean looking pointed hammer. As we ambled down the road, my legs gripped the elephant's back with the same efficiency of a child's hand palming a basketball - the elephant's torso was too large for my legs to get a good grip, so I had to rely on gravity and my friends to keep me on top.
The short stiff hairs on the elephant's hips swished below mine and, with each lumbering step, gave me the sensation of being tickled by bristles from an old scrub brush. Meanwhile, the trainer made "Ughh, ug, ungg!" noises and drove the elephant down into the Pai River.
My skepticism about taking a touristy elephant ride faded away when we reached the deep section of the river. The trainer barked the new command of "Bon, bon, bon" and the elephant turned into a slow motion bucking bronco, dunking us into the cold river and hosing us down with sprays from its trunk. (Brave Catherine in the front took the brunt of the trunk spray). It was better than any amusement park flume-ride I'd ever seen. Between our fits of laughter and the dunking we took, it was a miracle we stayed on. We arrived back at the elephant camp after our 90-minute ride sporting sore bottoms and wet clothes. But the elephant put up with us so graciously that Michelle tipped him a big bunch of bananas.
Here is a sketch that Michelle drew of the elephant:
