Elephants!

They said 8am, and there were there at 8am sharp. Which would have been a lot lovelier if we hadn't thus missed breakfast. But, well, elephants.

Our driver was probably a tuk-tuk driver in another life -he did make the tires of the mini-van squeal more than once. But after about an hour's drive, we arrived at the Thai Elephant Farm. We were welcomed with fresh water, pants and tunics for riding the beasties, and a nice speech on how they treated elephants (nicely) and respected the environment.

Af ter paying our respects to Ganesh, the god of elephants, we were armed with simple commands words and bananas to get acquainted with our new friends. (Basically, we learned to make the elephant kneel to get up and down on it, stand up, go forward, turn, and stop. Command words are accompanied with traction on the ear, or movements of the legs behind the ears.)

Solene had a lady whose unpronouncable Thai name means "Long Life", while I was paired with Loulou, a lovely brunette, and one of the tallest -which might be a reflection of my height.

After some awkward manoeuvers, we were up, and starting on our ride.

Elephants are not a smooth ride. Too forward, and you risk falling down the front of the animal (we sat on the neck), too far back and you sit on the shoulders, which move too much to be a right seat. There is a middle way, in which previously unused muscles make themselves know.

We rode thus to the "natural spa", a spot where black clay can be found, where we had lunch, were kissed by various elephants when fed banana leaves, and scrubbed the back of most of the ladies. The guide also generously covered our exposed skin with mud, all for a better skin.

(Our lunch was a dish of rice, vegetables and chicken, wrapped in banana leaves: lambas.)

After a break, we rode our elephants back down the river, where we bathed (or where bathed by) them (the version depends on who tells the story, the human or the elephant).

And back to the farm, where we brought bananas to the seven-and-a-half-month-old calf, had fresh ananas, shower, a spa of natural Thai herbs, and a CD with the pictures taken along the way. We were also each given a framed picture of us in a frame reputedly made of elephant poop!

And we are finally back and dreading sore muscles tomorrow!