Yes, I Did it Again

Deonstrating technique
Originally uploaded by susiebarber

So today, I went back to see my elephants. When I arrived, Betsy was already out on a trek, so I had to settle for Somboom. Her name is the Thai word for perfect, but she so isn't. Both the driver and I had the hardest time getting her to move. It seems like we spent most of our time standing still. She was a big eater at the end, but whatever.

We then went for a walk along the river and saw a mother and daughter playing in the water. They gave me some cucumbers to feed them while they were in the river. There was a young Aussie boy there who was scared of them, but I managed to get him to feed one of them. And when the guides went to get them out, the daughter decided to block them and make a stand. She really wanted to stay. It was so funny -- everyone was laughing pretty hard.

Afterwards, they let me stay a couple of hours with the "off duty" elephants. I spent most of my time with Betsy. I found out that they suspect she's pregnant. They first tried breeding her in early July, but don't think it worked. From what I can tell, they leave her in field with a horny male. Anyway, the day after I rode her, they tried again. in the last 2 days she has sprouted elephant titties, so they're pretty sure it worked. She now has 20-24 months of pregnancy before she gives birth to a 60cm tall baby. Poor thing!

She and I hung out for nearly 2 hours. At one point, I hit the ruffage pile for her and found some with a pineapple still attached. When I fed her that, I think she became my friend for life. She kept leaning up against me and touching my cheek with her snout. Pretty cool. There was another elephant near by that would come up to me tap me on the shoulder and then point his nose to the ruffage pile. I was being ordered to drag some food over, so I did. It's funny how well they communicate.

There is one part of hanging out with elephants that isn't so cool -- elephant farts. They're loud, long, and extremely smelly. Elephants are probably the largest vegetarians on earth, so just use your imagination. And then it probably wouldn't come close to as bad as the real thing. Truly rancid and not recommended for the faint of heart.

I just left a pub where I got a late lunch. I got to watch Thailand get their first gold medal in women's weightlifting. Everyone here is very proud! I think I'll go back and rejoin the celebration.