Just so you know....

Just so you know what day we are on, it is the blog for sept 8th. Bt the time we get the Internet connection, it will probably be the 9th but for most of our friends it will still be yesterday the 8th. Confused yet????

Breakfast at 7, elephant ride through the jungle at 8. I am in 2 minds about this whole ride. We get to the spot for the safari and all the elephants and their riders are lined up with wooden seats on top that hold 4 people uncomfortably. You have to swing your legs Round either side of the wooden two by fours. As much as the wood is smooth, on the soft skin between the skin and under of the fore arm, it is pretty brutal. So how must it feel for the elephant with 4 people precariously atop her, with her rider on her neck with his feet behind her ears, a stick too and a sharp metal prong to poke her on the top of her head. Ric and I are at the front so I can clearly see this. Within 2 minutes of the ride, I feel like crying. I am quite upset for this elephant. I decide to pull myself together for the duration. Both Ric and I had previously discussed our dislike of chained elephants and their form of training, etc. This part of the tour was included and so we went. In a way, I think we though we would be riding on the elephant bareback? perhaps this is our naivety (sp?) 

That being said,  5 minutes in we saw a horned rhino and her baby grazing. It was beautiful to watch how graceful the elephant is as it walked through the jungle. Absolutely majestic. We saw a few spotted deer, and 2 other type of deer, but I could not understand our Nepalese rider. We saw loads of peahens, no peacocks, a crocodile, a few birds, monkeys (Macau) and homo sapiens... But no tigers!

It was a peaceful  ride through the jungle. The rain started to fall towards the end of the ride, which actually added to the experience. We hopped off our big elephant and back to the lodge for lunch. Um but it was only 10 am. So I waited until a respectable hour to order lunch- 11.30! I was ravenous. I had spicy butter masala. so good, even though the food colouring made my mouth quite red. Then to top it off, I had 2 lemon crepes. Yummy. 

The rest of the group went on a canoe ride and jungle walk. We chilled, read and then had a siesta. I forced myself to wake up and go for a walk. I dragged Ric out of his slumber also. We happened upon the rider of one of the elephants at his house with one of the elephants, who was sadly chained by one fore leg and one hind leg. He did say that if she  ever got the feeling to go she would just head off. Usually when she gets to hot, and yes she has done it a few times but would usually mosey on back. He let us stay with her for a while and showed us how to feed her and give her water. They drink up to 100 litres per time. Their trunk can hold 10 litres. This we did till sunset. She seemed quite partial to Ric nearly wrapping her trunk around his leg.I half expected her to get a good grip and and turn him upside down. 

Happy we skipped the trek with the others as they saw the same animals as earlier but all ended up with leeches by the end of it all.

Tomorrow we are off to lumbinin, the birth place of Buddha...after a "5 hour" bus ride. Arrgh, it will be worth the trek, I think...
Ais