Long ago, as we headed to Buon Me Thout with our bank students, our dominant thought was, “well this could go so poorly, but at least we’ll get to ride elephants.”

The fact that we haven’t posted about the elephants should be telling.  The vans entered some amusement park compound nestled into the jungle and abruptly stopped near a tall thatched platform.  Before we had barely registered that an elephant was standing next to the little raised hut, we were quickly ushered out the doors, up the stairs, and onto some metal seats strapped the elephants back.  Viola! In 10 seconds we were lumbering through the forest on the back of an elephant.

Amazing, right?!?  Well, the elephant trudged along a well-trodden path, curved left, and walked back along the paved road–a short standard circuit that didn’t even outlast the novelty of the ride.  We climbed off metal seat, back onto the platform, and down the stairs.  Viola!  After 5 minutes, our overhyped elephant adventures had ended.

The most exciting part actually came when we approached and pet the elephants as they stood idle.  Here, I I could confront the elephant as beast wholly different from me – not as a means of ‘transport’ but as another living creature I had never encountered before, at least not this close.

This brief moment of wonder was fleeting.  The trainer shackled the elephant’s front feet and sent it off to shamble step by step into the forest.

Our whole trip has been characterized by extremely visceral interactions we never could have imagined or predicted.  A LAN party at a Cybercafe.  A Vietnamese wedding with our students.  Being mobbed by friendly and inquisitive young Vietnamese.  In comparison, riding elephants in this amusement-park compound simply felt anticlimatic.