In Reply to: ELEPHANT SAFARI RIDE posted by Uwe on Monday, 5. April 1999 at 18:41 Bali Time:
It was raining hard when we went and the elephant seemed tired. We opted for the longer ride and wuld have to say that compared with about everything else in Bali (with possible exceptions in Kuta) it was a bit of a rip-off. Go if you want to just for the experience, but get someone to take a photo of you while riding and opt for the shorter trip.
The elephants do not seem mistreated, perhaps overheated sometimes, but they are actually in what seemed to be a very decent reserve. They are Asian elephants, not the large African ones, but are still beautiful and impressive animals.
I believe the rather large sum they ask at least partly goes to conservation. Have a great time and check out the monkey forest.