Elephant Trekking

We have been looking forward for a long time to this day of elephant trekking. We had to walk across the peninsula to take a longtail boat to Krabi where we loaded into the back of a pickup truck rigged with seats along the sides which drove up the mountain so we could ride atop of elephants through the jungle. Although it had been sunny when we left the house we were caught in a downpour by the time we were in the truck. I don't even know why I bothered showering and putting on dry clothing this morning. We had umbrellas but they did little good.

There were four female elephants in our group. Nathan and Isaac and I rode on the largest of the sisters. I don't know if she had a skin rash or if red ants were climbing all over her, but she was constantly rubbing against the trees to relieve the itching, and when an elephant scratches it shakes the ground. Imagine the ride we got atop of her. As she climbed the muddy, rocky hillside, we definitely felt as if we were riding an all terrain vehicle.

We had a chance to feed the elephants afterwards. I'll bet most of you didn't know that they like cucumbers and raisins. Just like the rest of the Thai, they really like Nathan.