The steering of the beasts of burden, though thoroughly fun, was not as comfortable as we had imagined. Straddling their necks, there was a constant sensation of being on unsteady ground and the fear of toppling forward headfirst over their trunks. The elephant’s skin was also covered with stiff hairs like thick whiskers and our inner thighs would have been very chafed had we been on the ride longer than planned.
At the end of the day, the pachyderms deserved a much needed bath and some relaxation after straining under the weight of these heavier-than-normal sweaty foreign tourist. I am not sure it occurred to Bob until too late that he would be dunked in the same water that the elephants, shall we say, unloaded their daily constitutionals.
