After Breakfast We Were Off Again,

today we decided on a walk in the jungle with elephants,

 

 

 so for today we were off to the Ban Koh Chang elephant ride around the Klong Plu river,

 after checking in we had a look around the compound,

 we had decided on a 2 hour trip, but it did not start till 12.00 midday,

 so we had a few hours to kill, I should mention the elephant ride in the jungle was about a 15 minute drive from Paddy's Palms where we were staying,

 so to kill a few hours,

 

 we drove back to the beach we stayed at before Chai Chet,

 'there was a crocodile there I tells you!', as Popeye would say,

 moving on it was mask on,

 did I tell you how cold the water was?

 but under I went,

 looking for fish and other underwater life,

 three fish and one crab later,

 I was out and trying to dry off,

 then it was Diana's turn,

 

 to get wet,

 and cold,

 but in she went,

 to emerge a few minutes later,

 looking as happy as a happy thing,

 as she,

 decided to go back for a second look,

 at the marine life here,

 then a third time,

 to the right,

 and the left,

 

 until even for her,

 it was too cold,

 so out she came,

 by now it was 11.30, so we made a move back to the elephant ride,

 just as the previous ride was returning,

 a quick look at the shrine,

 and we were off,

 I have to say that the gait of a elephant is not the easiest movement to get used to,

 

 as we made our way towards this clearing in the trees,

 past this pool which from our vantage point on high looked a long way down,

 the avenue we were walking through was in fact a disused rubber plantation as we could see from the scars on the tree trunks,

 

 we made our way up the trail,

 but in truth there was not much of it,

 until it opened up into a few pools,

 and rocky paths,

 

 very rocky paths,

 

 but it made little difference,

 to the elephants as they selected low gear 4 wheel drive,

 we then made our way into a clearing,

 where the mahout dismounted and gave a us a quick course in elephant driving,

 he was instructing in Thai,

 

 Diana was listen in Tagalog,

 I was shouting in English,

 and the elephant could not careless,

 

 we continued our way through the jungle,

 

 but in some places it was still difficult going,

 

 but it looked so nice coming from the jungle canopy unto sunlight,

 

 and of course,

 

 in sunlight one just had to have an umbrella,

 we made our way in a herd,

 

 to the main road, Diana all smiles,

 

 to the mud flats,

 

 and then we saw this,

 it then disappeared in to the undergrowth,

 and reappeared again, a snake, the thing was the elephants were not the least fazed out about it, in fact it almost looked like they wanted to play with it as they all crowded around the snake,

 we made our way to the road,

 Diana all smiles,

 as we got closer to the road,

 

 I am guessing much to the surprise of other road users!

 past a few shops,

 then down we went,

 to the river bed,

 and under the road bridge, remember to duck!

 we continued our way along the bed of the river,

 

 all in line,

 difficult to see but just a few small fish in the pools,

 the river I guess at it's lowest,

 elephants are quiet good at a number of things, but advancing in water without making a noise is not one of them!

 

 as we made our way along the river I noticed this really nice stand of bamboo,

 the water started getting deeper,

 a lot deeper,

 

 very deep in fact,

 

 so it was snorkels out!

 

 and this was where we were headed, the elephant swimming station,

 we all made our way there,

 and dismounted,

 so we could swim with the elephants,

 and guess what?

 it was me first,

 

 so off I went,

 it all looks so easy,

but think on this, I have been bitten by dogs, scratched by cats, pecked by parrots, mugged by squirrels, licked by a giraffe, even attacked in the ankle by a amorous hysterical tortoise, I will not even mention falling off of a truck, car, motorbike, bicycle, ice or roller skates, but this is the first time I have ever been thrown off of a bucking pachyderm!

 there I was then it decided to lay down in the river,

 by sheer luck I managed to stay on,

 much to everyones surprise, 

 

 then it did it again,

 but I managed to crawl back on board,

 then Jumbo, (the elephant not me),

 

 decide that was enough,

 so in I went again,

 I tried to haul myself out,

 but Mr. Gravity was not being kind to me today,

 

 so I made my way back,

 meanwhile amid roars of laughter and cries of shame,

 everyone else was having a great time,

 I made my way to the jetty,

 

 the chairs were placed back on the elephants for our journey back, 

 

 then saddle up,

 

 move out!

 we chose to go the long way round,

 

 we approached the road bridge,

 

 then it was heads,

 and umbrellas down,

 

 next up the bank going back to the compound,

 

I am sure this sign should say car and elephant wash!

 

 we made our way back along the side of the main road,

 

to the compound, we had such a great time, the price of the tour was for 2 hours 900 baht each, for us worth every baht of it, it was so out of everything we had ever done before,

 

 after our trip we made our way back to the beach for a bite to eat, just a snack, then after a few hours just before the sun went down,

 

we made our way back to Paddy's Palms, where after a shower and a pint or two we made move into town to have a look around,

 

 on the way back we noticed that during the day a new bar had opened up opposite our hotel, called the beergarten, German I guess,

 we decided to eat at Paddy's Palms, beef stew for me,

 and a spaghetti dish for Diana,

 'Cheers!,

 from both of us,

 

as we were on holiday Diana decided on a cocktail, a malibu and orange, so to recap, a great day with the elephants, but be prepared for a few sudden duckings if you go swimming with them, but what a totally unique and enjoyable experience, then for us we were off to bed.