Nija yelled out something and the elephant cut across the road, weaving through cars and bicycles, which had to dodge out of his way. He then walked through a wooded area. I didn’t even see a path, but the elephant threaded his way around the trees and bamboo thickets and started up a hill. We tilted backwards as the slope rose. I felt a little uneasy. The elephant seemed to be gaining speed, even though we were on a steeper angle. I risked a glance over the side. The ground below was littered with rocks and tree stumps. What if he fell or tripped? It wasn’t as if we had seat belts or a roll bar or air bags or anything. We had only a little bamboo-and-wicker basket holding us in place. I was beginning to wish I’d asked for a little kiddie ride on the beach. Maybe, I thought, I could ask him to slow down a bit.

“This is fun!” my mother exclaimed.

Now there was no way I could say anything or I’d look like a complete wimp. Luckily for my stomach, the ground suddenly leveled off and we were in a big flat field. There were lots of trees—banana trees—and we were walking between the rows.

“Where exactly are we going?” I asked my father.

He shrugged. “Nija, where are we heading to?”

“Up through the rubber plantation and to the temple at the top of the hill.”

“Sounds good,” my father said.

“The temple is wonderful,” my mother said. “Sam, do you have any sunscreen on?”

“Yeah, I put some on.”

“Your nose looks red. Here, let me put on some more.”

She reached into her bag and pulled out a tube. I had put some on earlier in the day, but not since I had been swimming. It couldn’t hurt. She squirted a big blob into my hands and I rubbed it all around my face and neck. She did the same for my father and then herself. It wasn’t as necessary for Dad. His dark hair and darker skin provided some relief. But for us two fair-skinned “Swedes” it was crucial.

The elephant settled into a slow, steady pace and we rocked gently on his back. It was interesting to see the banana trees from this angle, looking down. We were so close that I figured I could reach out and grab a banana. If my parents hadn’t been right beside me I would have tried.

I couldn’t help thinking about my sister. Here we were on the back of an elephant moving through a tropical forest, and she was stuck in the cold and snow. Then again, it was almost two in the afternoon here, so that meant it was one in the morning in New York. She was probably sleeping, or at least getting ready for bed. It wasn’t so bad to be tucked away in a warm bed on a cold winter’s night.

Nija called out to some people on a donkey cart coming toward us. They smiled and waved and yelled friendly greetings. As they passed, I realized that up here in the hills, only a short distance from the crowded beaches and resorts, we were almost completely alone. Those were the first people we’d met. This was a slice of Thailand that we didn’t see too often. Down below, we were all cocooned in our little resorts, and most of the people were other tourists. The only Thais we’d see were the people working at the resort or selling us stuff from the roadside stands. I wondered what it would be like to take a holiday up here. How did somebody like Philippe live when he wasn’t catering to us and the other tourists?