Riding Animals in India

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These were some of those opportunities and decisions we made to get out of our own comfort zones and experience new stuff and have fun while we can. We traveled to India for business and pleasure, and during the trip I got to ride these two animals. We were driving through a certain dirt road and saw a camel and its handler on standby at the side of the road waiting for anyone to ride it for a little fee. We were there already so we grabbed the opportunity of riding a camel! It was quite an experience as I had never rode on one before. The ride was so rough and bumpy though as you can imagine with those long legs (boy did it walk so fast!), and the saddle was wooden with the parts spaced far apart that you could feel the hard edges because there was no cushioning. It was very uncomfortable, nonetheless, I had several belly laughs, while holding onto the saddle itself for dear life!

Riding a huge elephant. It was a smoother experience compared to the camel ride, as the massive elephant walked much slower and ‘graceful’ than the camel. It was an enjoyable little trip down the dirt road. Like the camel ride setup, they were at their space at the side of the road, however, they didn’t have a place yet for easy loading and unloading especially for smaller size people, one reason maybe was because it was not a full-blown business and they didn’t have to do it often. So the challenging part was the getting on and getting off it. Photo below shows the guys helping me get on the elephant’s back. Going down was exhilarating because I had to literally jump off of the elephant’s back from at least about eight feet onto the ground. It is amazing to see that we can do things that we don’t normally do when faced with a ‘situation’.

Beasts of burden. We know that some animals have been used to carry heavy loads, and they are capable for it. And even though in some parts of the world they are not utilized as much anymore because of the advances in transportation, I think it is great that some owners are deriving income from interested tourists, who are definitely not heavy a burden compared to what these animals were used to or capable of carrying. But of course, as in everything, as long as it is done in moderation and with consideration of the animals’ needs, it is good. In the two cases above, I observed that they have food for the animals ready, and the animals seemed to have aplenty of downtime.

Wordless Wednesday: The Frog and the Mouse!
Tuesday Travels: Animal Ride.
Our World Tuesday: Beasts of Burden.

And I think that an animal riding on the back of a different animal is just amazingly precious! The below is a newspaper cutout picture of what occurred during my stay in India. These two get it! The frog giving the mouse a ride on its back. It was nature at one of its wonders and beauty, that love and caring transcends the species, especially when everything around seems a burden that is drowning.

Credits to Mumbai Mirror.

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Born and raised in the Pearl of the Orient Seas, now living in the United States; a traveler, road tripper, outdoor camper, and field photographer.

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