FROM BANGKOK, THAILAND

Countryside, Day 4 (June 25), Part  1 of 4

Elephant Ride

AYUTTHAYA, June 25, 2006 - Ever since I was a child, reading books about Africa and Asia, I dreamed of riding an elephant one day, like the brave warriors in the past.  Today, my dream finally came true.  

The sings of elephants were even in the streets of Ayutthaya as Tu, Pop and I rode in our hotel car toward an animal village near this ancient town some 50 miles north of Bangkok up the river Mae. 

This was the first elephants I spotted...

...but there were many more animals waiting for little boys to climb out of grown men from all over the world and hop on top of them.

This is the one they selected for me.  A "blue for boys" sun umbrella seemed appropriate, as well as the red, my birthday color, as I discovered two days ago here in Thailand.  I found out from this elephant trainer that my animal's name was Gold Leaf and that he was 105 years old (the elephant, not the trainer).  J  Elephants live to be 130-140 years of age, I was told.  So assuming an average human age of about 77 (at least in North America), this would make Gold Leaf about 58 in human years.

Once I climbed on board, Tu, my guide, was there to record history... a little boy's dream coming true.

And off we went...

...for a ride through the jungle around these old ruins.  Thought you might also appreciate see how high off the ground you are on an elephant's back.

A close up of the ruin that dates back over 600 years.

It was interesting to see how the trainer controls the animal.  There are no reigns as with horses.  He does everything by tapping his bare feet against the elephant's ears.  Just exactly how that's done, I could not figure out.

All I could tell you is that it didn't always work.  Twice Gold Leaf decided he wanted a snack.  So he turned sideways and ate a bush.  Literally... as you can see in this picture.

During our half hour ride through the jungle, we also saw some interesting bird life, such as this white crane that perched himself in the middle of the elephant walk.  Not a good parking spot, he realized in time, and flew off before Gold Leaf pasted him into the mud.

As we approached the old ruin from another direction, my elephant trainer jumped off an asked for my camera.

Guess this is their designated photo op site, I figured.

On our way back, we passed through some sort of a jungle swamp.  I turned around to take a picture of this Japanese father and his son that caught up with us half way through our ride.  "Lucky boy," I thought.  "He didn't have to wait as long as I for his elephant ride."  Besides, both of them look rather bored, don't they?

Back at the elephant "stables," some local boys put on a show with the animals...

...including even this hoola-hoop trick.

And so I also joined in the fun, riding this baby elephant bareback...

...and then sitting on his "lap."  Beck, as this five-year old is called, was as playful as a three-year old, which is what he would be in human age.

TO BE CONTINUED... 

Go to Snake & Tiger Show... (part 2 of 4)

Back to World Trip June 2006 Index

Back to Home