Well, I say got to. I'd also like to say that I was kind of forced into it. I hate heights and elephants aren't exactly small. Also I dislike doing new things. I've ridden a camel before and I didn't even like that, so I was pretty sure I wasn't going to think much of an elephant ride. (I didn't)
While we were there, we also went saw an elephant show and a culture show. It was... an experience.
The elephant show was... entertaining, I suppose. I mean, everyone enjoyed watching the elephants do tricks. I couldn't stop thinking about what the training had looked like. (I also have a tendency to be melodramatic and I don't know if my imagination was running away with me) I also couldn't stop thinking about the fact that animals in captivity often die sooner than their free counterparts. There was one part where the elephant was instructed to smile and everyone laughed -- I couldn't stop thinking about what they would have done if this were a human. In my mind, it was a little like the one scene in The Little Drummer Boy, where Aaron's smile is painted on.
He is far from happy, yet he looks as if he is all right. The crowd loves it and the empathetic viewers are sickened.
It shouldn't have bothered me that much, but it did.
As if to add insult to injury, we went to the culture show after that. It was informative and nearly as degrading. It was, in all actuality, a very good introduction to Thai culture. However, I couldn't stop thinking about the elephant show and wondering if this troupe of actors was anything similar to a circus (which tended to be a pretty awful thing to be part of).
It was a long day and I still don't know how much of what I thought about that day is actually important. But it did impact me and I know that the thoughts I had throughout the afternoon will stick with me for a very long time.
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