I guess when you need a smoke, you light up, even if you’re on an elephant.

The elephant sat and eyed us, impassively, trunking an occasional handful of sugar cane into his mouth while I talked to his human. Elephants seem so wise and sage and discerning.

I asked the Tampuan driver how old he was.

“100.”

It makes for a good story….a 100-year-old elephant is cool…but it left me wondering how anyone would actually know how old an elephant was. Do they have the elephant equivalent of tree rings? Can you look at their teeth as you would a horse? If he’s really 100, no one would be alive to remember when he was born.

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Tags: cambodia, elephant, Kampuchea, Photography, ratanakiri, Travel, Travel Photography