Monday, July 5, 2010

Thai One On - Day 4

  • Ate a quick snack from 7-Eleven (of which there are many throughout Thailand) for breakfast before getting picked up early for our day of Mahout (elephant driver) training.
  • Joined a couple from Ithaca, NY, two girls from France and three girls from England, and headed north to the jungle. Stopped at a market to get pineapple and watermelon for elephants and mangosteen and dragon fruit for us. On rural dirt road, "traffic" included cows and elephants!
  • Our day as Mahouts (one of the greatest days of my life!):
    • Hiked into elephant camp and met other Mahouts before changing into Mahout clothing.
    • Met and few elephants pineapple and watermelon we had brought.
    • Learned how to get up on elephants from side by using their front right leg.
    • Learned elephant commands in Thai including right, left, go, stop and reverse.
    • Fed elephants bananas while atop them -- P an I fed ours an entire bunch rather than just one at a time, but they didn't seem to care as they downed the entire bunch in just a few gulps!
    • Broke for lunch of chicken and veggie curry w/ rice, and fresh pineapple and watermelon.
    • Rode elephants bareback to nearby water hole to bathe them -- one farted while in the water!
    • Rode elephants through jungle to mud pit for "mud fight" w/ elephants and other Mahouts. 
    • Enjoyed an afternoon snack of pumpkin leaf soup. 



  • Returned to town in the evening and dined on ginger pork and garlic pork at The Swan, a quaint restaurant by the river owned by a guy from San Jose!
  • Stopped at 7-Eleven on the way home to grab a few drinks to enjoy on the hotel's rooftop terrace.

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