Swimming with elephants at Patara Elephant Farm

It has been about three months since we went to Patara Elephant Farm. Clearly it's past due for me to finish the blog post.

After you leave the Patara main area, you ride the elephants up into the mountains to a waterfall. I took some pictures at the waterfall, but I was in full bikini and I feel weird putting those pictures on the blog. They look pretty sweet with the Instagram filter, though.

Here, you dismount (a bit stiffly, after all that crouching!) and eat an incredible picnic lunch:

Top row: Bananas, lychee, mangosteen, fried chicken, coconut and banana fritters, banana.
Second row: banana-leaf wrapped rice balls, with different meats.

With the other tour members

Just like with horses, you have to care for the animal after it's been exercising. Vegetarian lunch leftovers went to the elephants, and meat went to some locals, who I suspect were the guides' families. (That felt slightly awkward, but I can see them putting the elephants first, since the elephants create jobs). 

Then we helped the elephants cool down by bathing them again in the river.

Nice technique.

My elephant, Ma Ree, is on the right.

You can tell it's Ma Ree because she's whacking me in the head with her ear again.

And then, swimming time!

Baby wants in!

They can keep their faces under because they're breathing through their trunks. Like submarines!

Elephants feel really weird and prickly on bare legs.

I should have mentioned in the last post that photo credit for a lot of these shots go to the Patara team. They have photographers following you around all day, so even if you go completely by yourself, you're guaranteed great shots of you and your elephant. They give you a CD of pictures and video when you leave. They would also take pictures on your camera if you showed them which one it was. The pictures and videos in these posts are a mix of Patara photogs on Patara cameras, Patara photogs on our camera, and Justin and me photographing each other on our camera.

Family shot, with elephant, and random person's back.

How's it going down there?

Discovery: Justin and I are the only Western people under 40 without tattoos.

It was incredibly chaotic in the river. Elephants are big, and with all the people and elephants shoving around, sometimes you got a bit squashed. Justin had a bad knee injury a while back and has to be careful not to get his leg pinned, and you just can't rely on baby elephants to look out for anybody but themselves.

 

Nobody puts baby in the corner.

So Justin finished early, leaving me to carry on with the blithe confidence of the perpetually lucky. This explains why there are a lot more pictures of me here. (Sorry, Kathy). I had a complete blast. If the combination of a rodeo ride, a water park, and a mosh pit sounds fun to you, you'll probably enjoy it as much as I did.

Mind your manners.

 

Elephant surfing.

Then my elephant - I have no idea which one it was at that point, actually - gave me a lift out of the water and back to the trail.

Hi-ho, Silver

Away!