Elafantastic, Jaipur India

Today I spent my day bonding with the elephants at Elafantastic in Jaipur, India. This was my first time being up close to elephants and I was so excited! When I arrived, I introduced myself to an elephant by feeding her bananas. This helped with familiarizing my scent before I was able to touch her.

One bushel of bananas later, I was given a small stick and a cup filled with paint to create artwork on the elephant’s body. The wooden stick scraped along the elephant’s sand papery skin, going over each wrinkle and crack of her body. Hues of orange and blue formed as I drew patterns on her. When I finished my design, I took a ride on the back of a different elephant through the jungle. With each step the elephant took, I clenched my Bisleri water bottle as my chair rocked back and forth on top of the elephant’s back.

During my adventure in the jungle, I spotted wild peacocks and heard the roars of tigers and lions from a near by sanctuary. We passed the sanctuary and I was able to snap a couple of photos of a tiger.

After the jungle excursion was over, we were invited to join the owner’s mother for lunch at her place. She cooked up a delicious vegetarian meal, full of flavor and spices. Her pet rabbit joined us for lunch in the family room. He was just sitting quietly in the corner observing these foreign guests.

When I returned back to Elafantastic, workers were preparing the elephants’ meal for the evening. They were baking chapatis on a brick stove. One worker was crushing garlic as well as other herbs to create a multivitamin for the elephants.  The workers encouraged me to try riding an elephant without a harness. Before I knew it, I was climbing up an unstable ladder onto an elephant’s back. I put all my trust in the hands of this elephant. I positioned myself near the elephant’s shoulder blades and felt like I was going to fall off with every step she took. Riding bareback on an elephant was a very frightening yet thrilling experience.

I truly enjoyed interacting with  these beautiful and intelligent creatures.

Love & Light!

Gessi