Roasting

I felt like a turkey in the oven last night. My shack was ridiculously hot, despite the weather. Around 7:30, a huge storm blew in. It started with gusting winds, which because the area around the huts is all dirt, turned into an absolute sand storm. We were eating dinner at the time, and tried to cover the food, but everything ended up tasting a little gritty. After the winds, the sky opened up, and it absolutely dumped rain.

The breeze cooled things off slightly, so I fell asleep in a hammock for a while. I finally moved into my shack, but it was like an oven in there. They only run the generator here from 8pm-10pm, so there are no fans & no running water.

Woke up this morning at 5. Phot was staying with his girlfriend & their new baby today, so he sent the one other mahout he has on staff, and myself, into the jungle to get the elephants for a swim.

Thom, the mahout, is new to the job, and the elephants can tell. He commands Mali to walk forward, and Som Boon and Kamun wander off into the bushes to eat. He goes to get them, and Mali wanders off. Takes about an hour, but we finally get them to the water. When bath time's over, we have to do it all in reverse.

By 2:00, I decided I'd had enough. There was no where to shower, and the river was so muddy that I felt grittier coming out than going in. We had spent most of the day lying in the shade, and without being able to watch the elephants, I felt like I was wasting my time.

I talked to Phot, and he drove me into Lat Ya - the nearest town. From there, I traveled the 2 1/2 hours by public mini van back to Bangkok. At least here, my room has a shower (ok, a hose on the wall of my bathroom, but still....)and air con. A bit of a splurge, but at $19/night, I guess I can afford it.