What to Wear to Ride an Elephant

Dear readers, I have returned! I know you all missed me terribly, so let's get to it.

As you know, I just spent a little less than two weeks in Nepal. It was an incredible trip-- fun, thought provoking, educational, beautiful, and challenging (in a good way.) I still have things to post from before I went, but I'm going to hold off for now and instead dedicate my next few posts to the trip, while the memories are still fresh in my mind. As I go, I'll also offer some tips for thinking about modesty while traveling, on a few different levels.

Off we go!

One of the things I was most looking forward to on this trip was the wildlife, and especially the elephants. This is partly because I grew up seeing a picture of my grandparents riding an elephant when they went to Nepal, and it looked so fun. So when my uncle first sent the itinerary and there was an elephant ride on it, I was VERY excited.

A few things to know about elephants. There used to be many different species, but unfortunately, now most of them are extinct. The two main remaining categories are African elephants and Asian elephants. The Asian ones are smaller and more easily trained. All are in danger of extinction and are difficult to breed in captivity. The breeding center we visited, in Chitwan (in the south of Nepal, where the land is flatter and the weather is warmer), was the second of its kind, and has had a pretty high success rate.

Look at the baby! Is that not the cutest thing ever???

The goal is to raise and train the elephants humanely, without using chains whenever possible. Obviously, there are some complicated ethical questions about people using elephants for their own need, but it's one of those conservation issues, where domesticating a small part of the population tends to lead to fewer threats for the ones in the wild. At the breeding center we visited, the domesticated females were bred with the wild males. The babies are trained from when they are about three years old, and each elephant has three trainers dedicated to him or her.

The full look, plus a younger sister as an extra accessory.

After we visited the breeding center, we went on an elephant safari of sorts. Again, complicated ethically, but also just so cool. And, as it turns out, really bumpy and super uncomfortable. But also totally worth it.

As you can sort of see in the above picture, you ride with your legs around a pole so as not to slide off. Therefore, this is not an activity to be done in a skirt. Also, because we were riding through the jungle, full coverage was a must. (Believe it or not, I had to pull a leach off that day. I know, gross.) I found the yoga pants (not too tight) were best for this activity, as they are very stretchy and also flexible, which meant I didn't have to think about adjusting them at all. Sneakers were a must. My hair did not much care for Nepal (it is a country of straight haired people) so I mostly covered it up, and I added my RBG t-shirt because RBG rules everywhere. Even in Nepal, on an elephant.

And we all made it off in one piece. Thanks elephant! We will love you forever.