Riding an Elephant

Another first happened yesterday, we rode an elephant. The ride was part of a bigger shore excursion that showed us the little towns and beaches on the island of Ko Samui, Thailand.

Thailand is definitely a tropical land: Red dirt, wild greenery, wilting heat, and humidity, and lots of industrious people. The streets are filled with motorcycles and scooters; it’s a place where you never feel dry. But I digress, back to the elephant ride.

Yesterday we took one of the ship-sponsored shore excursions that included a 4x4 Safari across the island to see elephants, monkeys and oxen, followed by an elephant ride and an ox-cart ride. That sounded perfect.

The 4x4 safari took us all over the 56 kilometers of coastline on KoSamui. We saw a waterfalls (the largest on the island) and a rubber plantation. Finally, we headed off the main road to a dirt track that brought us to the elephant compound. We were greeted by 2 “baby” elephants, a 6 year old and a 9 year old. They were cute, for lack of a better word. Elephants have a natural smile, so it’s hard not to like looking at them. The two babies performed some tricks, but their best trick was eating baskets of bananas without chewing. Next we were shown the older elephants that we would ride.

We walked up a flight of stairs, and saw a “loading ramp” for lack of a better word, and waited for our elephant to get in place…then we stepped on her saddle, and climbed into the 2 passenger “chair.” The mahout tied a “seat belt” across the chair and urged ToMei forward. She was a bit stubborn at first, halting every few feet. He nudged her behind her great mottled ears and finally she decided to move. The ride was not smooth, and it was way up in the air. Riding an elephant is like riding in the top deck of a double-decker bus. As ToMei walked we swayed. Going up a little grade was relatively easy, but coming down that same grade meant we had to hold on a bit tighter. It was an absolute treat.

A few facts about elephants: there are 6000 elephants in Thailand. Only females are trained as the males become unmanageable as they reach maturity. The elephants in Thailand are Asian elephants, meaning they have smaller ears than the elephants in Africa. Elephants live up to 90 years, and training starts when they are 6 months old. They start working when they are about 10 and work for the next 50 years. The older they get, the more mottled their skin becomes. Lastly, their hide is about 2-3 inches thick. They usually have one mahout who works with them their entire life…man and elephant are friends forever.

After the elephant ride, we saw the monkeys. Did you know that monkeys are color blind? I did not know that. The monkeys are used to pick coconuts, so they are trained to feel and pick only ripe coconuts. A well trained monkey can pick over 500 coconuts a day, which is far more than a person can do.

The last treat was a ride in an ox-cart. Like the elephant ride, it was not smooth. Wooden wheels do not have a lot of flexibility.

It was a fun day.  Next stop is Singapore.