Storytime ~ The Elephant Incident

Last year, I experienced something which is probably considered as ‘weird.’ Not everyone gets to experience something like this. It is one of the most unlikely things possible and it will probably happen to 1 in a million people. I am that one person.  It hurt, I could have died, but I am here now to tell you my story of how I fell off an elephant.

Riding an elephant is, for most of us, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, something you should enjoy every second of it. It is like skydiving or bungee jumping, it is not something you do every day as a sixteen year old Dutch girl. This summer, I had the time of my life in Thailand, it was the best trip I’d ever been on. The culture, the people, it seemed like a different world to me. My view on the world changed, since this was my first time travelling through Asia.

When we were in Thailand, we decided to try tons of new things. We tried bamboo rafting, stroked actual real-life tigers and of course rode on elephants (a must when travelling through Thailand.) They taught us how to feed the elephants and command to get the elephant to walk, sit and stop. My mother and I picked our elephant and climbed on her back. Her name was Mina, an old but cute elephant. Wow, this was one of the most incredible experiences in my (short) life. 

~Mina~

After riding the animal for no more than 200 meters, Mina got scared. Yes, an animal with a weight of 400.000 kilograms and a height of 3 meters got scared. 'Yeah, it was probably a small lizard.' Is what the 'supervisor' said. (supervisor is between quotation mark because it was just a random Thai guy who happened to know how to ride an elephant.) The moment Mina got scared she started to shake us off her back. Since an elephant is quite strong, it was incredibly easy for her to throw us away onto the ground. Yes, I fell off an elephant.

After crying for over an hour and having Thai people treat us extremely well (they are known for their generosity.) I decided I wanted to overcome my sudden fear of elephants and accept the opportunity to climb on a baby one. He was the cutest thing ever and I got to wash and ride him, which was just too cute for words. After this day I had to stay in bed for two days and try to relax while in Thailand. 

 ~The baby elephant, look at how cute he is!~

~Washing the baby, wow, not my most charming picture #nomakeup ~

Despite the fact I was in pain for weeks and survived a traumatic experience, I still want to recommend climbing on that animal, because it is one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I will remember it forever.