Day 50

A bus from the Elephant Company arrives to pick me up at around 6:45am, and has me relieved to see some native english speakers already on board. The Kingdom Hotel pickup adds myself and a group of about fourteen Dutch to the mix. Rhonda, the New Jersey minister is one of the Americans already on board, so we talk during the 25-minute journey to the elephant depot. After half an hour or so learning the various safety proceedures, such as “don’t get between a elephant and a hard place”, the elephants themselves arrive for the tour. We board them via a raised platform and sit on a fairly basic saddle. Once the elephant starts moving I begin unconsiously rocking back and forth, and my thighs quickly start complaining bitterly.