Elephant Ride

Comment by Peg — April 29, 2009 @ 5:22 pm

Wow, I had no idea you’d be riding an elephant! That *is* Beth and you, right? Bare feet? Sox? And a comparatively small guy, controlling the elephant with that single, thin rope . . . resting casually over his shoulder? Must be one docile elephant. VERY cool for you two! And fun for us to see the photo. How big was the elephant? What were you actually sitting on? And where was this location? Etc., etc. Cost? Length of trip? Name of elephant and guide? Were you uncomfortable? Etc., etc. Yes, mom of a thousand questions! Feel free to pick and choose. XOXOX

Comment by josh — April 29, 2009 @ 10:20 pm

haha yeah that is us on the Elephant. This was on a day trip from Luong Prabang. We kayaked down the river to the elephant camp. Then we climbed on the elephant, and he was led around in a big circle while we were perched precariously in the human holder and held on for our lives.

Comment by Peg — April 30, 2009 @ 1:20 pm

What’s an “elephant camp”? So . . . you didn’t ride the elephant down the beach for a mile or so? Kayaking? Very cool. What was the water like? Any noticeable wildlife in it? Alligators? XOXOX

Comment by josh — April 30, 2009 @ 1:31 pm

The elephant camp is where the elephants live. Didn’t see anything in the water, but there are fish. No gators or anything like that.

Comment by Peg — April 30, 2009 @ 2:01 pm

Live . . . as in captivity? For commercial use? Or it’s more like their native habitat?

Comment by josh — April 30, 2009 @ 9:42 pm

No they aren’t wild. They live there for working and such. Elephants are an important part of society in some areas, where they are used for work. In Laos they are used to carry lumber out of the jungle from tree farms. The guy at the elephant camp assured me that compared to hauling lumber, carrying people around was a very good job for an elephant.

Comment by Peg — May 1, 2009 @ 2:22 am

Oh! I was again pretty clueless to the culture. Good to be educated. And I like that last line. Thanks for the reply. XOXOX

Comment by dadman — May 1, 2009 @ 11:02 pm

Did you see them working anywhere? I can picture it, maybe I even saw it at a circus (but probably in a movie…) but it would be interesting to see in real life. Were they only in rural areas or were there elephants in the cities, too?

Comment by josh — May 2, 2009 @ 6:03 am

Didn’t see any elephants except for at this camp. I don’t think there were any in the cities – at least not that I noticed. Maybe back in the day they had more of a role in everyday life.