Last night was the first night we spent in the tent. Given that we have our own central air in the tent, and the bed is like any other four seasons bed, it was pretty comfortable. I did wake a couple times to some major bug noise. Either crickets or locusts, I'll have to read that bedside guide to nighttime noises they provided. Trish didn't seem to have to problems sleeping straight through.

Today was our first full day in the golden triangle. The agenda was a bit intimidating. Vacations for me are usually spent poolside or beachside with a Mai tai in hand. Today was a whole other level of vacation and forced me out of my comfort zone.

It started with a 8am, 30 minute yoga class which focused on stretching. The class was led by a tiny woman from the spa, and the session was held in a little bamboo yoga hut next to the pool. Trish and I were the only ones there. We've come to realize that all activities here are private, which is really nice.

After yoga we ran back to our room to change but more importantly, catch a glimpse of the elephants bathing. I think trish mentioned we are staying in the "elephant tent" which basically means we have a view of the elephant bathing pool where they get washed up every morning at 8am. It was really cool seeing our first glimpse of the elephants, but the surprises kept coming.

We changed into our Mahout outfits, which took me a long time to figure out. I was a little worried about wearing long sleeves and pants in Thailand. Even though it probably only tops out at 90, the humidity is ridiculous. Trish looked adorable in her outfit. See photo album.

As we were approaching breakfast, we noticed 2 elephants blocking the entrance to the restaurant. There was one baby, about 5 years old, and another older, bigger one. The baby was so cute. The first thing I noticed is how well they make eye contact, but all in all, my first reaction was a little bit of fear. So the people there gave trish and I some bananas, and we started feeding them, at first not wanting to get too close. They would take the banana, peel it with their trunk, and eat it. I guess they did not like the peels. Eventually, we got comfortable enough with them, and the little one gave trish and me a kiss, which was a little wet, but pretty cool.

Finally we sat down to breakfast, next to the elephants. I had about 8 cups of coffee and a Thai style omelette. I talked about this before, but it is basically an omelette like we all know but add soy, crab, spring onion and a side of sticky rice. Trish had fruit.

Our Mahout met us at the restaurant to begin training. He led us down to the longtail boat and we took it 5 minutes down the camp to the elephant training part of the camp. When we approached , we saw was a stable of 4 elephants. Huge!! These females (they were all female) weighed 4 tons each. Way bigger than the elephants at breakfast. He started by giving us some simple verbal training and precautions. He taught us the golden rule is to stay away from the tail because they can't see you and can inadvertently hurt you by swinging their tail or sitting on you. We got the basics, bai means go, hao means stop, and ben means turn. Yelling those commands coupled with your body movements is what controls the animal.

Second lesson, and most important was mounting it. There were three ways, and they are all at least a little awkward, but we got the hang of it. I was especially proud of Trish's courage. Once you get up on the elephant, you are a good 12 feet in the air. You also can't play fiddlestix with them. You wrap your legs around their neck and behind their ears and gran their temple for balance. You need to grab their ears (like handlebars) to give yourself stability when getting on and off. Other than that there is nothing to hang onto.

After some basic driving training, we trekked to the top of the camp. It was cool how sure footed these huge animals were. Trish was in front of me on her elephant and a few times i worried her elephant would fall back on mine (and me) during the steeper inclines. This did not happen.

We then went down to the water hole and bathed them. They took us right into the water with them and they got down on their hind legs so we could bathe them from head to toewhile we are on them. Trish's elephant played a little trick on her where she stored water in her trunk and then flung it back on Trish as she bathed. She was drenched!! But what an amazing once in a lifetime experience. Today is a day we will never forget.

And we had a whole other adventure in the afternoon that i'll let Trish tell you about.