This was number one of my list of things to do in India, and I did it. What an amazing experience, albeit bitter sweet.
Wait,let me not get ahead of myself. We had an incredibly early start this morning with a 06h30 wake up call to set off to the Tiger reserve Park for a wildlife boat ride. Mmmm, not many wildlife out at the moment, don’t blame them though, we had wailing babies, screaming kids and extremely loud parents from the North.
Think they heard us coming a mile away. We did however manage to see a family of ottos, couple of birds, some elephants on the top of a mountain that were so far away they looked like trees and a little black dot that the guide informed us was in fact a wildhog. Oh and some Indian buffalo. There are 37 tigers in the reserve but no one has seen them in over 12 years.
That was a little disappointing but a fun ride all the same. After breakfast we headed off to the Spice Plantation where we had a very sweet man that took us on a tour around the place explaining all the different plants and spices that can help us. Turns out I need almost every one of those to help me and I had to hold myself back from popping a leaf or two in my mouth. We climbed up the tree house to see the most beautiful scenery from high above. The guide was amazing and had loads of interesting stories for us.
At the shop at the end of the tour Nancy had to hold me back from trying to buy every single thing in there, but we did walk out with a reasonable amount of things. With the glorious aroma’s and taste still with us, we said our goodbyes and set off.
Then off to the highlight of my day, an elephant ride. I honestly felt like a gambler in a casino, a kid on a jumping castle, a turkey after surviving thanks giving. After we bought our tickets we were shown to a ledge where we waited for our turn. Then Nishma came along, a 32 year old female elephant and we both climbed on. She was beautiful, cute
hairs on her head and pink spots everywhere. Her skin was tough but as you went behind her ears it became so soft. With every step she would take you could feel her muscles moving under you. I cant put into words how incredible this was for me. The trainer must have thought I was off my rocker cause I was talking to her like she was my best friend. Suddenly though I felt an intense sadness because as lucky and privileged as I felt, it also felt like this was not what she was meant to be doing. Walking around in circles all day with silly people on her back.
When we climbed off we got a chance to have some photos with her and I know it sounds really silly but just looking at her made me feel so humbled and blessed. I don’t know when my fascination started with elephants but for as long as I can remember they have been my favorite. I think it’s because they are such old souls and so intelligent and even though they are so huge they are still so gentle. If Nishma wasn’t so big, I swear I would have put her in my pocket and taken her home.
Soon we going to finish off our day with an Ayurveda massage. It is a system of healing that has been practiced for over 5000 years, and we’re pretty excited!
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