Now I know how you feel...
Dear All
Having talked to you, in yesterday's blog, of my time on the road from seedy hotel to seedy hotel I thought I'd better come clean! After the hot slog through the south-of-Bangkok collection of gypsy elephant camps, between the fumes of the road and the sweat and dust of the abandoned industrial sites, K. Lord and Amp dropped me off at the airport and I hopped on a flight to see Aoy for the first time in months - thought I'd better remind her what I looked like.
So, after whipping up your sympathy, I am now writing this from the Dhigufinolhu atoll and the wonderful (of course) Anantara Maldives.
My reasons for coming clean are not purely conscience salving; yesterday I took my first ever hotel course. In the hands of a fantastic instructor, Ms. Shoko, I had a scuba diving experience and it dawns on me that this is exactly how you guys must feel when on an ele for the first time - even down to the panicked "I don't think I can do this" (words I don't think I can have uttered in panic since I gave up being scared of heights), the laughing boat boys and the gentle instructor just reassuring me to calm down, give it a few breaths and try again.
The safari on the reef, through utterly bewitching scenery that left me amazed, that Shoko was utterly familiar with but passionate about also has it's parallels to our elephant walks in the Golden Triangle.
Just thought I'd let you know that I now know how you feel...
...and, from now on, every time I catch a mahout giggling at your best efforts to get used to something he grew up with I might just deduct a dollar from his wages, put it into a fund, and bring them all out here to learn to scuba dive.
I think they'd love it once they got used to it, but you're all invited to come and stand on the boat!
Having talked to you, in yesterday's blog, of my time on the road from seedy hotel to seedy hotel I thought I'd better come clean! After the hot slog through the south-of-Bangkok collection of gypsy elephant camps, between the fumes of the road and the sweat and dust of the abandoned industrial sites, K. Lord and Amp dropped me off at the airport and I hopped on a flight to see Aoy for the first time in months - thought I'd better remind her what I looked like.
So, after whipping up your sympathy, I am now writing this from the Dhigufinolhu atoll and the wonderful (of course) Anantara Maldives.
My reasons for coming clean are not purely conscience salving; yesterday I took my first ever hotel course. In the hands of a fantastic instructor, Ms. Shoko, I had a scuba diving experience and it dawns on me that this is exactly how you guys must feel when on an ele for the first time - even down to the panicked "I don't think I can do this" (words I don't think I can have uttered in panic since I gave up being scared of heights), the laughing boat boys and the gentle instructor just reassuring me to calm down, give it a few breaths and try again.
The safari on the reef, through utterly bewitching scenery that left me amazed, that Shoko was utterly familiar with but passionate about also has it's parallels to our elephant walks in the Golden Triangle.
Just thought I'd let you know that I now know how you feel...
...and, from now on, every time I catch a mahout giggling at your best efforts to get used to something he grew up with I might just deduct a dollar from his wages, put it into a fund, and bring them all out here to learn to scuba dive.
I think they'd love it once they got used to it, but you're all invited to come and stand on the boat!
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