Chitwan National Park Part II (the Elephant Ride):

So, I must first apologize to all of my readers as time has escaped me after I promised a part II to my journey to Chitwan.  That, and load shedding has really frequented power and Wi- Fi loss.  So, here it is.  I hope you're ready.  

As soon as we got out of our micro-bus, we were met by the guides that orchestrated our one night, two-day stay at Chitwan.  We stayed at the Rhino Resort and set our bags down and headed to lunch.  Following lunch, and many cups of Nepali tea for me, some of us ventured further on the grounds of the resort, observing some of the largest water buffalo, appearing so docile, but natural instincts told me to keep my distance anyway.  It was so incredibly humid, even from the moment we opened up the bus door, that it almost steals your breath until you adjust.  We had some time to burn before our elephant ride through the jungle, so we continued to explore through the humid outskirts of the jungle, just along the river, where we saw docked canoes, tiki bars, many water buffalo and small bird fowl that coexist symbiotically.  The buffalo let them perch on their backs, or heads, to pick bugs, ticks, etc while the birds receive their nutritional supply.  We took many pictures of exotic insects, beautiful butterflies, two wild elephants in the distance, and the VERY COOL Touch-me-Nots, which are jungle flora that, when lightly touched, shrivel up, then later open up again into its beautiful form.

When we returned to the resort, after a long time of sweating through many layers, not even noticing the sweat dripping from our entire beings, it was time to head to the elephant ride.  We hopped in the back of a truck that had benches for sitting and we took our rickety ride to the elephants.  As this was my first time seeing an Asian elephant in person, I had so much excitement and anticipation, remembering their very unique markings on their ears, faces, and trunks.  Perhaps it was because of my encounter of a 60-African elephant herd while in South Africa, being charged by the matriarch while in a tiny Toyota Camry that made me stare at the elephants and think, "wow, how small!"  That impression was short-lived as we climbed steps to get leverage on our elephant (only 3-4 passengers per elephant) and quickly placed ourselves in the wooden crate/box-like platform.  I had the back left corner of the elephant, so as soon as her hind leg moved, climbed upward, dipping downward into the river, I moved as well, so I wrapped my legs around the corner wooden pieces and stayed like that for a good two hours through the jungle.  It was no wonder I had bruising on my thighs upon our return.

Everything seemed so surreal; were we really on top of an elephant?  And this one wasn't angry at me?  I couldn't see much of the elephant as I faced backwards, but I was able to see everyone else on their elephants.  It was so peaceful so high up as the elephants quietly, and cautiously, continued on our journey.  Even now and then, the elephants were stopped because the passengers, leaning more one way or the other, started to look a bit lopsided and the elephant mahout would stand on top of the elephant and re-adjust the fixings to straighten out the platform for the passengers' safety and the comfort of the elephant.  

And that's when it happened.  I heard the crack!  Our elephant mahouts, those that direct and ride the elephant, typically given that elephant at a very young age and bonded to it for quite some time, kept these elephants under tight, and, what I perceived to be, abusive scrutiny.  Never did I feel like our elephant was going to veer off into her own direction, or buck us off, or even drown us all, but I still heard the crack of a stick that the mahout uses to whack on their head.  As we ventured further into the jungle and some groups took different routes, you could still hear the crack on their skulls.  They also had the Ankusa, which is the metal training tool with the hook, which they may use to stab in the head, ears, and mouth (the most sensitive areas of the elephant).  Most mahouts had ankusas with them, but they just used the sticks through the duration of our ride. 

When I heard the crack on other elephants and my own, I had a gut-sickness as that method of controlling the elephant went right through me and I began to regret that my money sponsored this kind of behavior.  Not all mahouts were abusive and some more than others, but nevertheless, as cool as the ride had been, seeing the depths of the jungle at a safe height, even seeing the endangered Nepali rhino and her calf, and feeling so charmed by the unique beauty and grace these elephants exhibited, all I wanted to do was free them and let them roam in the wild for the rest of their lives.  It hurt me to witness this cracking on the skull.  I wondered if it even hurt the elephant as their skulls are so thick and massive, but abuse is abuse is abuse!!!!  Had I know that kind of treatment would be administered, I know I wouldn't have opted to ride an elephant.  

One of our mahouts was especially skilled in tracking animals, taking us through the jungle to see them, one being the two rhinos and a calf at the tail-end of our ride (no pun intended)! We came across three species of deer, including the barking deer, a family of wild boars, and sitting nice and tall, my face caught a lot of spider webs, leaves, some tree branches, and one branch almost stripped my shoe right off my foot.  It's no wonder that one of the Hindus' favorite deity is Ganesha (elephant-headed god), son of Lord Shiva and his wife, Parvati.  Ganesha is known for many types of blessings and gifts, but is commonly known as the "remover of obstacles". Think about it!  How can one tell where an elephant has been in a jungle?  You follow the trail of broken branches and clearings made by their massive girths and weight.  So, for a Hindu, they may pray to Ganesha to remove obstacles, burdens, temptations from one's life.  It all came to mind while we trudged through the jungle, quite graciously I might add.  I found a peace within just by staring and really watching the faces of the beautiful giants behind us.  There's such a peace found within their beauty, their unique markings, the way they move, and the only time I fell out of that stupor of awe was when I heard the 'CRACK!', again...

As one of the mahouts located rhinos, all mahouts have a unified holler to communicate with each other, the elephants picking up their paces, and as we came out of the jungle and into the clearing, there they were, a mother rhino and her calf.  I've never seen anything like them!  I've seen the rhinos in Africa, but the rhinos in Nepal reminded me of some prehistoric dinosaur, like the Stegosaurus, or even the Triceratops (to a degree).  These rhinos looked like they had plates of armor fitted around their enormous bodies.  They were absolutely gorgeous and quiet in their eating and maneuvering around the grasses.  It was like I couldn't take enough pictures.  They were too magnificent to take my eyes off of them.  It was absolutely incredible!  This experience was unforgettable for many reasons, but also because these sightings are rare and although the rhino population is starting to climb again due to conservation efforts, one is not guaranteed to see one, even on a two-hour elephant ride.  

As our elephants ventured forward, we came across one more rhino and as the sun caught the top of his head, the tufts of hair on his ears reflected red through the sunlight.  What spectacular features!

As our ride came to a close, and at least ten elephants with passengers lingered behind us, we disembarked from our wooden platform with careful steadiness and climbed back down the stairs.  Our mahout directed our elephant over to us and that was the first time I saw her gorgeous markings and serene face.  She brought her trunk over the fencing and that was the first time I touched an elephant's face, trunk, and ears.  I felt like I needed to thank her for dealing with us as passengers and putting up with, what I perceived to be, needless cracks of the stick.  Her eyes were so calm and she stuck around for us to each take pictures with her, pet her trunk, which was so much rougher than I thought, and hairy!  But she was beautiful, hair and all!  

So, for those of you who were so enthralled by my opportunity and want to know, "how was it"?  Honestly, my answer is bittersweet.  It's obvious of the bitter part of that sentence, but the sweet experience was my seeing a certain natural serenity in the danger and the ecosystem that exists within the depths of the jungle, but I also feel so touched to have witnessed and felt the grace and beauty of an elegant animal, so intelligent, so unique, and so gentle in its purest form.  A disposition I will never forget for as long as I live!