Chaing Mai, Thailand.
The elephant trek through the jungle was pretty neat. We got to jump out of the wooden box for a bit and straddle the neck of our big beast. We fed them bananas and posed with them for pictures. Nothing, however, would compare to what came later.
After an hour, or so, of trudging through the jungle, we got to take our new friends down to the river to cool off. We had thought that the elephants we had ridden were huge. Not when put next to the big bull that we picked up to join our bath time fun!
As we neared the river, some of us stopped in our tracks. Brown water flowed quickly by. Brown. Bubbly. Red. With random things floating by. Well, some were not so random. Dung. Elephant pie. Everywhere.
This mattered because we were not just sending the creatures in for a cool down. We were joining them.
The grimy sight of the water made a few people back out. Then, came the question of who wanted to hop on the towering bull elephant. Everyone froze and looked up, so I stepped forward and climbed on to the ladder that was propped up on his side. ( Somehow, I get brave while on adventures.)
My heart was pumping as we headed into the murky water. Deeper and deeper he went. The rest of the elephants huddled in the more shallow water, but my big beast wanted more!
Our guides had said that, if we were lucky, they would spray us. That was an understatement! My ride sprayed me over, and over, and over. I laughed and laughed and tried to close my mouth at appropriate times. The people on shore were laughing and pointing at the show my leading man was providing.
Only for a millisecond did I pause to think about elephant pie.
Cruisin Christine 