You haven't lived until you've ridden an elephant.
By Robert Downes From the book, Planet Backpacker
You never know where you’ll meet an elephant in India. Out in the country, of course, but also on city streets and inside Hindu temples. They are gracious, friendly, intelligent creatures, much larger than you’d imagine when you meet one in person. Whenever I see an elephant, I go weak in the knees, like a 13-year-old teenybopper in the presence of a pop star. Shocked, flabbergasted, awed, amazed, star-struck, humbled, worshipful... it’s hard to describe the feelings you get when you’re nose-to-trunk with one of these wonderful creatures. Most Americans desire a million dollars, a Porsche, or a six-bedroom home with a view. My India-induced fantasy would be to own an elephant. Not that you could actually ‘own’ one -- at best you could be friends, serving this royal creature the finest foods and providing its daily bath. Thus far, I’ve seen elephants bathing in a river, along with a stately wild tusker dining in the dark by the lights of a safari truck. I’ve seen a momma and her calf, browsing in the jungle. But the best was in downtown Pondicherry, where we came upon a Temple of Ganesh. There was a huge elephant outside, his body painted in sacred markings. A twinkling light of intelligence shown in its eyes. I offered it a coin and it accepted it from my hand in the nostrils of its rough, hairy trunk. Then I bowed and it touched me on the head in a blessing. The temple was small but fabulous -- as ornate as a baroque jewelry box -- with dozens of Hindus worshipping their god of good luck. On the walls were pictures of Ganesh in hundreds of incarnations, with multiple arms, lovers and depictions of him in many lands. Lo, the Remover of Obstacles! Between a lane of golden pillars, worshipping Hindus packed the temple, waving their hands over the sacred flames of a candelabra carried by a barechested monk in an orange kilt -- horizontal ashes marking his forehead. The tinkle of cymbals filled the air, along with the rumble of a mechanical drum machine and the clang of an iron bell -- a tremendous racket, meant perhaps to draw the attention of Ganesh. Vinit bought a baseball-sized yellow ball of lentils, cashews and raisins to sacrifice to the god. Ganesh got a morsel and we ate the rest. My forehead was smeared with a bar of coconut powder, indicating that I had made a sacrifice. There is no single holy day like Sunday for the Hindus. Every day is a holy day. Many go to the temples of Krishna, Shiva, Lakshmi and other gods every day. Personally, I would go if only for the elephants. The elephant’s blessing is working so far, except for my tendency to explode from both ends at times. Our band of backpackers have all came down with cases of vomiting from different bugs than we’re used to in the food and water. It’s not much fun being sick combined with the constant heat, crowds, traffic, pollution, grime and hassles of traveling in India. But India isn’t a place you visit for a “fun” vacation -- it’s more along the lines of a hallucinogenic ordeal you come to experience.
For more tales of Asia and the travel life, buy Planet Backpacker from Robert Downes via PayPal on this site, or through amazon.com.
Riding Elephants From Planet Backpacker By Robert Downes
...The biggest thrill in Thailand, however, is an elephant ride. Tourism has literally saved the nation’s elephants. From 1945-1975, some 200,000 wild elephants were slaughtered by poachers as Thailand entered the modern world and people ditched their age-old traditions in order to scrape up money for the new consumer products which flooded the world after WWII. The old trainers, called mahouts, nearly died out along with the animals, since elephants were no longer used for logging, warfare or other jobs. They were only good for the money gained from their tusks. But when elephant-adoring tourists began coming to Thailand in 1985, the people here began to see their value. By the early ‘90s, elephant rides were all the rage, and today, they’re a “must” for every tourist in Thailand. As a result, there are now 50,000 wild elephants protected in parks around the country, and 5,000 “house” elephants working in the tourism business. Elephant riding is addictive. Jeannette leaps out of the howdah and straddles the elephant’s neck on the stroll through the jungle. Ours is the biggest tusker in the bunch and I call him Big Boy. Every 10 seconds he rears back his trunk and demands another banana. We purchase two bunches because our tender says nothing makes an elephant crankier than when you mess with its food and water. Really cranky elephants get their point across by stomping people; and when an elephant stomps you, he means business. In India, there was a newspaper photo of an elephant going nuts. He threw his American rider from his howdah, and then knocked over a truck. But Big Boy is good to us and floats like a raft through the jungle -- well worth two bunches of bananas. Buy Planet Backpacker by Robert Downes via PayPal on this site or through amazon.com
Copyright 2011 - Robert Downes - The Wandering Press - write me: bob@planetbackpacker.net
