Elephant Island

We are still on Ko Chang, and today we saw why this is truly Elephant Island. My sister, Charlie, Jamas and I went on a two hour elephant trek through the jungle (and a rubber tree plantation, which was also and interesting sight to see). We were able to ride bareback, Charlie and I on our own elephant, for most of the way. We were also able to swim, wash and play with these lovely, calm and enormous creatures. I was truly amazed by thier grace and agility for being such a tremendously large animal. 'Our' elephant, named Rambo, was a 34 year old youth with a knack for getting destracted by tasty leaves and bushes along the way. His trainer kept him in line with a series of pokes, prods and nudges with his feet, random sticks and a large steel hammer- which he didn't need, thankfully, on our ride. Rambo was very playful when we took off the huge, carnival-like saddle and climbed on bareback as he lumbered into a freshwater swimming hole. We tried our best to stay on his back as he rolled, submerging himself in the cool water. He kept sucking up water in his trunk and spraying himself, and us, to cool down. Once we got over the initial intimidation of such a massive creature, and realized that elephants - and ours in particular - have such a mellow energy about them, we became more comfortable with swimming in such close proximity of multiple elephants. Luckly the trekking company we used seemed to feed their elephants well and take care of them, so they were healthy looking and had friendly behavioral habits. It was amazing. Neither Charlie or I have ever been so close to an Asian Elephant, let alone been able to ride one. I was just as excited as my eight-year-old nephew was about the whole experience.
Tomorrow we leave to Cambodia. We will post some more pictures soon, when we get around some computers with the right connections.
Much Love.