Final Week

Friday, June 1st, was our last day in India. Having finally turned in my last paper the night before, we headed out in the morning determined to ride an elephant on the palace grounds. To our disappointment, the palace attractions hadn't started yet, but we were in for an unexpected surprise...
That's me. On an elephant. Bareback. We got to the palace before the elephant rides had started, but we met up with a group of five elephants going for a morning walk. The men with the elephants asked if we wanted to pet the elephants, and then asked if we wanted to sit on top of the elephants. We weren't exactly sure if it was a good idea, but the men were fairly confident that we were allowed. Next thing we knew, the elephants sat down to let the drivers hoist us on top of the gentle beasts. The scariest part was holding on as the elephant was getting up from a sitting position, but I loosened my grip on the driver as the walk continued. My elephant, Ruby, was very sweet; I couldn't believe how friendly the elephants were. You almost forget they are so huge!
After dismount, Tmac, Em, and I posed for a photo-op, courtesy of the ring-leader of the elephant driver posse. Of course, then we had to tip our drivers...and the elephants...and the other men working with the elephants...Oh well, the experience was worth the tipping.
After our super-cool elephant rides, we took a stroll around the palace grounds and came across the legitimate elephant ride station. Instead of climbing on top of the elephant, the tourist ride consists of you climbing up the stairs shown and then sitting on a large platform on top of the elephant. There is also a warning sign that says, "elephants can be dangerous. They are large and strong. They are not friendly to strangers so please be cautious. If you do not heed to this warning we are not liable for the injuries, etc. please be confined to the areas marked." Glad we saw the sign after breaking the rules.
It was appropriate that our last day in Mysore would be spent very similarly to our first day in Mysore, when we walked into Ibrahim's Badsha store on KR Circle, and our lives were changed forever. Never has one man been able to sell so much merchandise to us. Despite his serious expression, he was one of the nicest and funniest men in Mysore. We went back on our last shopping day to say goodbye and pick up our last remaining gifts. It was fortunate that we were leaving India the next day, because my bags wouldn't have been able to hold any more souvenirs!