Having already done canoe, walking, and jeep safaris, only an elephant safari was left. We were up early and by 6:20 we were bobbing along on the back of a huge pachyderm by the name Basanti. When she started to wade into the river we were a little worried, not knowing how deep the dark water was and whether this elephant ride would leave us as wet as the previous one. After a quick stop so Basanti could have a drink we continued; the water at its deepest getting waist deep (for an elephant).
We tried our best to enjoy the experience, and it was absolutely magical, but it was difficult to set aside the conditions we'd seen earlier on our trip, and ignore the treatment of the elephant by the rider. His "tools" were grotesque metal hooks for ensuring she went the right direction, and his strategy for getting on was to hold onto her ears and walk up her trunk. Admittedly, it was a real moral struggle for us to decide whether or not to do the ride at all, but it had a real appeal, and we gave in to the idea. It would be difficult to convince Erin to do it again. At any rate, it was something to ponder on our bus ride back to Kathmandu.
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