One of the greatest days: This is how we wash the elephants

Now filed under one of my favorite travel memories, the day we bathed and rode the freshly scrubbed elephants in the South of India. I know I'm anthropomorphizing, but just look how happy this elephant is!

We arrived at the river early in the morning, just before the elephants and were invited to join their handlers in the water to help bathe them (the elephants, not the handlers!). Using just a cut piece of coconut husk, we had a blast splashing the elephants and scrubbing them down.

We got to ride the big one later that morning.