Elephants Close Up

These elephants are near near The Bayon at Angkor Thom, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

I have a strong affinity to elephants ever since I was thrown aboard one in Northern Thailand in 1991. It's a very long story but at that time I thought I had pulled an elephant's ear off as I grabbed it whilst standing on it's lifted knee to haul myself on to it's spiky head. I slipped off the knee and fell in the mud a few times before I thought I would give it one last super effort. Same thing happened, however this time I had ripped off the elephants ear and lay in the mud with it draped over me. I peeled it off me and stood and hugged the elephant's lifted front leg, terrified of looking up and seeing blood gushing out of the enormous hole in the side of it's noodle. During this very traumatic moment I realised the two Thai guys, Lek and Lee and the Australian bloke who got me into this situation were laughing their heads off. I worked up the courage to look up at the elephant and lo and behold there was a perfectly good ear still attached the side of it's noggin. Perplexed, I looked down at the ear I had "torn off" and that's when I realised it was a hessian sack that was wet and the same color as the elephant and it had been dragged of by my efforts.

Since that time I have some very strange elephant experiences, some where I felt threatened but most of the time we seem to get along just fine. Years ago on Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An there used to be an elephant that took people for rides along the shoreline. My first encounter with this elephant was funny for anyone who saw it. I was lying face down on the beach listening to music and trying my darndest to ignore the constant barrage of vendors plying everything from mangoes to nail scissors in their perpetual assault, wearing down the most hardened and jaded traveller. I'd had enough and just wanted to relax so when I felt the presence of someone inches from my head and a shadow was cast over me, I was ready to unleash more venom than a Taipan. But as I took out my earphones and looked up what should I see inches from my head? A bloody great elephant's foot! It gave me such a fright that I scampered in a very undignified fashion across the sand and into the sea totally ignoring the little French kid sitting on top saying "hello".