“So how did I end up on top of an elephant?” This was a very reasonable question that Q posed to us the other day. It involves a little bit of a set up.

As you may have gathered from some of our previous posts, it has been raining a fair bit in Mumbai, well, actually, A LOT. We can count on one hand the number of “sunny” days we have seen, and apparently the monsoon season has been extended this year, oh joy.

For the past 8 weeks we have also been basically living out of our suitcases. Our apartment is furnished so we have beds and couches and the like, but we don’t have our own dishes, toys, books, or artwork and the kind of stuff that makes it feel like home. Our sea shipment was supposed to arrive a couple of weeks ago, then we were told last Tuesday, then maybe Friday, then they had problems finding it, and when they finally found it, it was on the wrong dock where they didn’t do international customs clearance, so they had to move it to a different dock where they do international customs clearance….and you get the idea.

Then there is the issue with our diplomatic visa. When we were issued our visas, they were only valid for a single entry into India. I have yet to meet a diplomat who only enters the country once, but for whatever reason this is what was done. So we have had to reapply for new visas, and send our passports to New Delhi, all of which takes time so for the meantime we are stuck in India, unable to leave.

The kids had Fall break last week and while I had been hoping to go someplace where I could go scuba diving, that plan was derailed by the visas, visiting VIP delegation, and the ever changing date of our sea shipment’s arrival.

Finally on last Monday evening (having learned we wouldn’t get our shipment on Tuesday) it got to the point where I googled “where is there sun in India,” and that is where we booked plane tickets leaving Wednesday morning.

Jaipur

Jaipur is a small little hamlet (by Indian standards) of about 3.5 million people, and while there is lots of history I could recount, elephants and monkeys were the highlight of the trip.

On Thursday we went to an elephant farm where the owner’s family had been caring for elephants for 4 generations. Up until about a decade ago he used his elephant to ferry tourists up a rather steep hill to the Amber Palace but listening to people’s interest and curiosity about elephants, and realizing how uncomfortable (and cruel) the wooden carrying platforms were, he decided to set up the farm. Starting out with a single elephant there are now about 10 giants who have been rescued from circuses and less than ideal work situations across the country.

To be honest I never thought I would be standing right next to an elephant, let alone allowing my kids to, but it was a phenomenal and enriching experience. Elephants truly are calm and majestic creatures. While social animals, they are also quite shy so we had to get to know Hema, Ano, and Lakshmi before learning how to feed and wash them. We also got to paint them (with non-toxic paints made from local rocks and glycerine) and all in all spent the better part of half a day with them.

Friday morning we went to the Monkey temple and with the help of our guide the Monkey Whisperer (no seriously, if you have ever seen the National Geographic series Monkey Thieves? Our guide was the guy involved with it) we were witness to (and subjects of) quite a show.

To satisfy my historical cravings we spent some time at the Amber Palace which was built in 1598-99 and besides being an architectural gem, also had technology to create a 16^th century Jacuzzi. Oh it is good to be the King…

Oh yeah, and we stayed in tree houses too.