Luang Prabang

monks getting their daily rations from people lining the streets
(it was REALLY early)

Luang Prabang is the Laos equivalent to Vietnam’s Hoi An. It’s an adorable French Colonial  town that is actually a peninsula surrounded by two rivers. The French colonial influence is not only apparent in the architecture, but in the many bakeries around the town. The town is also popular as a jumping off point for many different outdoor activities, such as elephant riding, which Kate and I did. It’s unfortunate that Luang Prabang was the last stop on our trip, as we were exhausted from all of our other adventures and were quickly running out of (and sick of spending) money. It was also extremely hot and we arrived in the midst of the burning season, which is when all the farmers burn their rice fields to prepare them for the new crop, so we did not have the clearest of days.

bamboo bridge

Despite the fact that the weather was not in our favor, the elephant ride was definitely one of the highlights of the entire trip. We didn’t just sit on a chair on top of the elephant—we were riding behind its ears and giving it (though not always so effectively) directions. We arrived at the beautiful elephant village, which houses 9 elephants, with 6 other young people eager to play with giant, wrinkly animals. We were introduced to our first elephant and the first volunteer hopped on and took it for a spin. We all took turns with a mahout (elephant trainer) guiding us around and helping us with the various commands: bai bai- go; sai sai- right; qua qua- left; and I forget how to say stop (probably not a very good sign). I was the third one to volunteer. As I approached the elephant, the mahout tapped it so it lifted up it’s leg as a step stool. Unfortunately, this was not very helpful as the animals are so large and I felt bad tugging on its ear, so I was basically pushed up the side of the elephant by the mahout and our main guide. Realizing you’re up on an elephant is pretty cool. The mahout told me to keep moving up closer to the head on the elephant, until I was basically sitting on its head. Once my knees got behind its ears, the elephants ears flapped, the mahout told me that it was happy, and it was time for us to start our walk. The swaying of the elephant was a little unsettling, though calming at the same time. I gripped with my knees at each step rocked me far to the left or far to the right, slowly prickling my bare thighs (I was wearing shorts) against the long, prickly hairs of the elephant’s head.

Beer Lao on the Mekong River

After everyone got their first-run, it was time for us to go for a ride, which started out with us getting into a chair on top of the elephant and then switching to ride on its head. As we were waiting in line, I noticed a beautiful elephant (all the elephants at the village are female) that was having extreme difficulty eating its long stalk of sugar cane. After watching this hilarious elephant for a while, I decided that we must ride it. she was a great pick because she had a wonderful mahout named Mr. Pang and was just an overall sweet elephant. Our ride consisted of going down a steep bank that led to the low river. Before actually getting all the way down, our elephant and the elephant in front of us stopped and began making strange dinosaur noises that came from the bottom of their bellies. It was not only weird hearing these strange noises (that were actually the sound effects for dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park movies), but also to be on the elephant and feel the vibrations while they were communicating.

After our ride we fed our elephant, named Buakham, bananas. We then fed ourselves before hopping back on our elephants and taking them to the river to be washed. Our mahout didn’t even come on Buakahm with us, so it was just the two of us and an elephant in the river. We took turns scrubbing her head. The mahouts even said we could stand on their heads and jump into the river, but I didn’t have good enough balance/didn’t want to hurt her, so I declined. After our swim with the elephants, they made their way back to the jungle (it was about 1 PM), where they hang out and eat until their next day of touring. I felt that the elephants were treated extremely well and led happy, comfortable lives. Our mahout never once used a pick or any other tool to control the elephant. The only time he did was to threaten Buakham with a rock, since she continuously was not listening to him or Kate and I while we were on her alone. We never once felt unsafe, though, and no force was needed to get her to behave.

The rest of our trip in Luang Prabang was fairly low-key, as it was the end of our trip and we were tired and running out of money. It’s also burning season in Laos, which means that all the rice farmers burn their fields to fertilize them for the upcoming planting and harvest. There is a haze all over Laos that makes the hot, lazy days a little less picturesque and a lot more lethargic.

our elephant's mahout: Mr. Pang

we stole an elephant

rice cakes drying in the sun