It’s a tradition. Whenever a team comes to visit us in Chiang Mai, we have to take them to see the elephants. We start out for Mae Taeng about 8:30am. And by 9:30am we’re at the Elephant Camp, feeding them bananas and bamboo shoots. Some of the Noarlunga Salvo’s team had already returned home, so on Monday morning we took the Evans Family and Deb Strapp out for a wonderful adventure.
Samantha came along, too. Like our friends, it was her first time at the camp. She had the joy of meeting an elephant at a friends birthday party about 6 months ago, but she was still a little overwhelmed by these huge beasts, molesting her with their trunks, hoping she had a treat for them. I didn’t take her on the elephant ride, we decided it was a little too risky – my squirmy girl would be hard to handle, even in a front pack, and she also squeals when she’s excited. I’m not going to risk finding out how an elephant would respond to that! So, she stayed with Sean, while the rest of us mounted our noble steeds and set out for the jungle. Deb and I were able to chat and get to know each other a little better, while we “ooo’d” and “ahhhh’d” at the beautiful scenery. I try to imagine what it must have been like in bygone days when this was the primary mode of transport through the jungle. This is how the Kings and Princes travelled, how the traders imported and exported their wares. And it’s how the army went into battle.
After a 40 minute ride, it was time to spend money in a Lisu village to buy souvenirs. We didn’t. I got us onto that ox cart as quickly as possible, and we bounced back to base, telling stories of stubborn elephants and precocious mahouts.
As we waited for the elephant show to start, I took Samantha over to meet a young elephant. The mahout (trainer) asked if she could have a ride. Sure thing! So I handed her over and she had her first elephant ride!! She did pretty well, but we could tell she was overwhelmed, cause she wasn’t her normal rambunctious self. Everyone in the place was so amazed by this, that they took photos and videos of her. Samantha really is a little star! I think it’s the combination of her baby doll looks and her effervescent personality. She’s just so engaging and impossible to ignore!
It was now time for the elephant show. I think my favourite part was when the elephants began to dance. They started the music, and immediately my Little Dancer started tappin’ her feet and swinging her hips! She danced the entire time. I was bummed Sean didn’t get it on video (he was too busy filming the elephants!). Another really cool part was when the elephants painted – one of them was really good. You have to see it to believe it, but these guys can actually paint a nice picture. Granted, they can only paint one thing, and with the help of the mahout, but it’s still impressive.
The next port of call (after lunch) was the bamboo rafting. This time I did take Samantha with me. I had her securely in her pack, but as soon as I sat down on the raft and she realized that there was water to be played with, she started saying, “Hey, let me out of here!! I want to go swimming!”. So, I took the pack off, but left her in it, and let her sit on the edge of the raft. She started splashing and screaming and laughing so hard. Now, for those of you who are having a cow right now, we were really safe. The river is no more than one foot deep, it’s super calm, and I had such a tight grip on Samantha, there was no way she was going anywhere. At one point, she laid down on the edge of the raft, put one arm and one leg in, and then pushed off and started swimming!!! It was hilarious. Again, I wish we had it on film. All along the river people were taking photos of her and laughing at the little blue and white bundle that was screaming and splashing on the raft. I really wanted to get off and just let her have a good swim, but I wasn’t dressed for it, and Sean was patiently waiting at the end of the ride for us.
I hope to have photos of our adventure soon. But, I might have to wait for Rob to send the photos on CD from Australia, cause Sean took mostly video, and we were separated from him for most of the day.
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