Contiued from part 1
After our second amazing elephant bath we rent some bikes and take a ride down to the elephant breeding grounds. What we didnt know was that the ride there was crazy. It was a gravel road but the rocks were big like the size of your fist. And the bikes were crap with no spokes and very hard to control. We get there and there is just a river with a guy washing his jeep in it and a bridge made out of cement bags and bamboo which is about 60m long. So Mark sees this guy selling peanuts so he buys a handfull and were nipping on the peanuts while crossing this treaturous bridge not knowing were were going. ON the other side of the bridge theres a big field with lots of water buffallo running around and a couple cows.
Bridge to the Elephant rehabilitation centre
We headed across the feild and went upto a little hut that saold the tickets. We head through a little gate and walk down a little path and theres a big L shaped outdoor elephant pen. There are about 30 elephants all about 3 metres away, and they're all chained to the ground. We later found out they were chained because some times they run away and rampage the nearest village. We look at all the teenage elephants and then finally get to a mother and its baby. The mom is doing some kind of dance and the baby is trying to break a ball of hay which has been rolled but it is actually just stepping on its trunk. It was pretty cute. Artemis is squealing with joy. She won't stop going on about how that was the cutest thing shes ever seen. But the mom won't stop doing this weird dance. For a while we thought the mom was trying to teach something to its little baby but she just wouldn’t stop! So we ask one of the tour guides what she’s doing and he says it’s just a nervous habit. So we continue until we see another babby.
This time the baby walks right up to us and a whole bunch of people gather around and start petting it. The mom looks like she is gonna have a heart attack but the baby seems to bee enjoying itself. And then this one guy backs up into me really hard and I'm like what the hell! So I turn around and the baby elephant is running right at me! So I start running away and it just goes back to getting pet. The baby rammed a few more people before another baby came to check out whats going on! And then about 10 guys come that work there with these huge bags of little balls of hay.
Baby Elephant
Artemis and Caleb petting the baby
So all the elephants go back into their spots and start eating. But they eat the hay really weirdly. First they kind of unravel it a bit and then stick it in there mouth and then pull it all out again as one big string of hay! So I ask a guy why they do that and he says that there is sweet potato and rice inside and that they eat all the hay later. So we go to watch how the baby is doing and its realllllllly funny. Its still on its first hay roll and it cant get the first bit unwound. And then it gets fed up so it starts shaking its head trying to break it, just like a puppy dog with a chew toy. And then next thing we know the rice inside is flying everywhere. It picks up the sweet potato and eats it and then it seems happy.
Our bike back we were back on the gravel but on top of that all the elephants are coming back from their jungle ride and we're trying not to bump into them. But what feels like forever.
Caleb
All of us sitting on the back of the elephant
On our final day we decide to try the elephant ride again in order to see Rhinos but still not luck. Somewhere else I guess. Then back to Katmandu.
The drive back of just over 100km once again takes about 5 hours. There is a protest at one point, some farmers are blocking the road protesting the price of rice, that takes and hour and then Caleb gets sick and we have to stop while he pukes his brains out. Entering Khatmandu we are once again amazed by the total and utter mayhem.
We returned to the Melungtse for a few nights,our favorite hotel, finally ate Tandoori at the Richmond Bakery and Cafe, it was fantastic, and then off to Bangkok.
Lianna
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