Elephant Trekking!

Riding an elephant is something I've wanted to do all my life and I'm so fortunte that I was able to!  We've heard and read about lots of terrible places which treat the elephants poorly and aren't exactly conservation  minded so we shopped around carefully when  trying to find a place to ride some ellies.  We found a wonderful group in Sen Monorom who only allows the elephants to work around 4 hours a day.  The elephants are actually owned by a local indigenous group that allows tourists to ride the elephants once they've been recaptured from the jungle.  The mahouts, the men who work with the elephants, allowed us to ride the right way-  not in the little basket tied to the elephants backs but on the necks where we could control and steer (or at least try) the elephants ourselves. It was wonderful!

We spent 2.5 hours riding the lovely elephants into the jungle where we stopped for lunch at a great little spot with a swimming hole and waterfall.  After lunch we got to swim with the elephants and bathe them! It was a dream come true! Afterwards we climbed back on the elephants to ride out of the jungle and be done for the day.  I have to admit that my butt has not hurt that bad in a long time. Or maybe ever.  Each step the elephants shoulder blades, which are rather large and rather bony as you can imagine, dig into your buttocks.  We took a break and rode in the baskets but I couldn't take not being on the actual elephant so I hopped back on the neck after a quick break.  Vasae opted for the basket the rest of the way- she really didnt have too much of a choice in the matter as her mahouts baby boy was in her lap, passed out the entire time.  It was hilarious- Vasae riding an elephant in the jungle with her Cambodian baby... amazing.