“But Red,” you say, “An elephant is not a place!”
My answer: It is if you are riding it!
I’ve only ever been on an Indian elephant, but I’ve done that
twice. Most notably was the summer I
turned 15. We were living in Sri Lanka and had decided to take a short family vacation to the southwest
coast, where the resorts are. We would drive down the day before my
birthday, stay the whole next day and spend the night, and drive home the day
after.
Most of my birthday was spent pool-side, I’m pretty sure. We could see there was a
trio of young Sri Lankan men walking an elephant up and down the coast,
offering rides to the tourists.
Our trip was extended, not by our choice.
Most of my birthday was spent pool-side, I’m pretty sure. We could see there was a
trio of young Sri Lankan men walking an elephant up and down the coast,
offering rides to the tourists.
That night the chaos began, as we discovered the following morning. All
set to check out, we found out there was an island-wide curfew. No one was
allowed to be on the roads, so we extended our stay by (what turned into) three
extra nights. During those extra days we went snorkeling in a glass-bottomed boat and yes, took elephant rides!
There are/were two main cultures in Sri Lanka: Sinhalese and Tamil.
Separate languages, separate identities, separate religions - and tension had
been rising over the past few years. Suddenly that weekend, riots broke out
in various places. When we went to the beach, we could see ships belonging to
the Indian Navy on the horizon. (Sri Lankan Tamils are closely tied to the
Tamils in Southern India, and the Indian government took a stand.)
On the one hand – SCARY!
On the other hand – Oh look! An elephant!
Finally after days, the government lifted the curfew for a few hours
so that people could go out and get supplies. (You think Americans are bad when
there’s a storm coming?) We needed two hours to get to Colombo, where we could
stay with fellow missionaries, if there wasn’t time to get up the mountain to
home. As we drove the road between the resort and Colombo, power lines were
down across roads in numerous places – they had been used as barricades the night before. The
closer we got to the city, I started seeing dozens (hundreds, it turned out) of
public transit busses, burned-out shells, all along the road.
Military personnel were everywhere. Standing in the roundabouts with
rifles, ready to move if anyone rioted.
The thing is, this is still my favorite
birthday. Terrible things were happening in places, but they weren’t rioting because of *me* or even any issue that
personally touched me. And in the meantime, I had just had a FIVE DAY resort vacation. I think this was the beginning of my becoming jaded to tragic news events.
The Moral of the Story: When life gives you riots, STAY PUT! (and ride
an elephant if possible)
Can you ride African elephants?! They're so much bigger and seem less inclined to cooperate...what an amazing experience. Thanks for sharing your photos and your story. It's interesting what touches us and doesn't touch us when we're kids.
ReplyDeleteMy google search found that yes, there are safaris that will provide rides on African elephants. However, Indian elephants are fairly domesticated and frequently used as work animals, so it may be easier with them.
DeleteI can certainly see why you would become jaded. Riding that elephant had to be awesome!!
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty cool. The Indian Navy were far enough away, and the sun was right overhead... yeah. Priorities.
DeleteDude, I haven't ridden an elephant since I was ten... and the elephant was a dejected, sad sort at the zoo (he'd clearly given up on life and was just going through the motions - now that I'm in my mid thirties, I can relate). What a crazy experience to have as a teenager!
ReplyDeleteWe took my niece to a circus once, and she got to ride an elephant - a big African one, I think. But yeah, it looked pretty sad with its lot.
DeleteI rode an elephant once in Southern Illinois, but it wasn't from there.
ReplyDeletePart of a traveling circus and I'm sure it would have loved to kill us all if given the opportunity.
Well I'm glad it wasn't an Illinoisan elephant. Those are real devils!
DeleteI am very jealous! I have always wanted to ride an elephant. One day, one day....I am glad to hear none of the violence reached you and that you got out okay :)
ReplyDeleteMy friends at school in India were more concerned when we moved back to the States because of all of OUR violence. I guess it's the opposite of the Grass is Always Greener!
Delete