May
30, Wednesday
We had ordered breakfast for 7:30 this morning since the mini-van was leaving at 8:30 to take us for our elephant ride. The “All Lao Elephant Camp Mahout Eco Lodge” was a few km outside of town and the nicely paved road was being widened in places and got a bit rough. We walked up a short way on a mountain road to get to the area where the elephants were waiting.
The countryside we drove through
The road we were driving on
The path we walked to get to the elephant camp
The elelphants as they wait for our arrival. They look so peaceful. They are obviously well fed and we found out quite good natured.
Some are quite BIG !
The elephants all appear to be healthy and clean, they each have a bench safely secured on top of them with lots of padding in between and they are all munching away on freshly cut long green leaves when we arrive.
We use a rickety staircase to make our way up a platform, from which we will mount each of our elephants and go for our one hour ride. It’s quite impressive really, more so I think than in India at the Amber Palace. The elephants are all well behaved. The biggest one is a male who is 55 years old and who has had his tusks removed; probably many years ago since no evidence of them can be seen now. The smallest one is also a male, 10 years old, and his tusks have been sawn off but the stumps are still showing. All the others are females.
Melissa, who spent the entire day with some of the elephants, learning to be a mahout, later told me that most of the elephants had been rescued years ago from logging areas and had been sent to a rescue farm and for breeding. The ones we were using had been purchased from there for use on this trek.
We followed a small muddy trail down an embankment and it was a bit worrisome because the clay and mud was very slippery for these big animals. The one Melissa and I were riding took its time, even though the mahout was urging it on. I was quite happy with the slower pace and safer ride.
Elephant sliding foot prints left in the mud as we made our way down a steep hill
We passed a small clearing where some water buffalo had immersed themselves in mud.
Then we went along another path to an area where the mahouts got off the elephants and we could take turns sitting on the elephant’s neck. I decided to pass on that acrobatic activity, but Mel went ahead and so did many of the others. Each of our mahouts took our cameras and took pictures of us with our elephant.
Melissa, the mahout ! She looks regal on her elephant.
Photo our mahout took. They have such a human look, a sad look.
Going down the narrow pathways on our elephants
Our mahout, guiding the elephant with his knees; no stick, no bullying, just gentle nudges and French words.
John and Karsten up ahead, the French gentlemen following them, then Mike & Violet
Our elephant had started up in front, but was taking its leisurely time so we ended up at the back of the pack.
We returned to the platform via yet another path going down and then back up a muddy narrow track.
Another group of tourists had arrived and were getting ready to leave.
We all got off the elephants safely and back onto the rickety platform. I got down off the platform as soon as I could since it didn’t seem very strongly made. The French gentleman who had joined our group was on the platform taking pictures when his leg went right through the platform. Thank God he wasn't hurt; I would have freeked if it had been me.
Laos: The “heart of Indo-China”, the “Land of a million elephants” (well not so much anymore). “Deeply rooted in Thai culture, elephant training has traditionally been a familial heritage passed down through the generations. Before 1989, most domestic elephants were used for logging business and forest service to haul logs up mountains. This became illegal as widespread destruction of Thailand's forests resulted in worsening monsoons. Unlike the elephant populations of India and Africa, 95% of Thailand's elephants are domesticated working elephants and privately owned. Today most work for mahouts is in the tourist business, since elephant rides are popular among travelers to Thailand. In Thailand, tame elephants are regarded as a type of livestock and are not covered under Thailand's Conservation Act of 1992. If legally owned, there is minimal protection or welfare for them under Thai law. The tourist experience of elephants in Thailand usually includes any combination of the following: elephant rides, trekking with elephants, elephant shows, and/or elephants begging on the streets of the big cities. Street begging elephants are used by mahouts who charge tourists to feed them. In some areas of Thailand, this practice became illegal due to the traffic dangers posed, however street begging elephants are still a common sight in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.” (I didn’t see any in either location.)
If you look closely, you can see daylight between the flooring on the platform
It was fun and we were lucky because the rain held off. We left Melissa and our guide behind for her entire day with the elephants and the rest of us returned to the Guest House for a much needed shower.
On the road back from the elelphant camp
Saying I found in my Intrepid IndoChina booklet: “An observation from French colonists describing the inhabitants of their Indochinese territories: The Vietnamese plant the rice, the Cambodians watch it grow and the Laotians listen to it grow.”
Families ride together on their motorbikes
As we near our guest house in the unpaved roads near the river where we are staying
Violet and I were heading into town for lunch and to visit the palace museum. Since the last morning shuttle was at 11 am we only had a quick 20 minutes to get ready and go again. Unfortunately the museum is closed from 11:30 to 1:30, so we had some time to kill. We walked down the main street where the night market is held and it was very strange to see a wide open street !
The main street of Luang Prabang; it is unrecognizable in the evening when the night markets cover the entire area with little shopping stalls.
Grounds of the Palace and Temple
Side streets of Luang Prabang
These are the larger tuk-tuks we rode in
One of the government buildings
Another side street. This may have been the one where we ate from the street vendors on the first night here.
We ran into Lindsey downtown. My breakfast of muesli and yogurt (again out on the verandah) was long gone by then, so back to the French Bakery we went for lunch, where I ate a delicious fresh salad and drank a mango shake. We wandered into the Palace grounds and waited for the ticket office to open and then went it for a walk-around what is now a museum. No pics sorry !
The temple on the grounds of what used to be the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang
A statue of one of their kings in the Royal Palace grounds
The serpent garding the stairs to the temple
And the one on the other side is the multiheaded serpent, or "naga" {Harry Potter fans will recognize this name !} the sacred name of a mythical serpent in Southeast Asian and Indian literature
Decorative details on the outside temple walls
and doors
Inside the temple
Luang Prabang was the Capital of Laos for a number of years. “Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be 6.5 million in 2012. Laos traces its history to the Kingdom which existed from the 14th to the 18th century when it split into three separate kingdoms. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three kingdoms, Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Champasak, uniting to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a long civil war ended the monarchy, when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975. A Royal Family ruled over the country from 1904 to 1975. In 1975, the Pathet Lao, led by another royal, Souphanouvong, overthrew the Royal Government and arrested many members of the Royal family. The King, the Queen, Crown Prince and the King's brothers were taken to a remote location to a re-education camp, where they died." "Laos was dragged into the Vietnam War. The eastern parts of the country followed North Vietnam and adopted North Vietnam as a fraternal country. Laos allowed North Vietnam to use its land as a supply route for its war against the South. In response, the United States initiated a bombing campaign against the North Vietnamese, supported regular and irregular anticommunist forces in Laos and supported a South Vietnamese invasion of Laos. The result of these actions were a series of coups d'état and, ultimately, the Laotian Civil War between the Royal Laotian government and the Pathet Lao.” We are told that there are still many unexploded cluster bombs throughout Laos and that we will find out more about these later during the trip.
Dinner tonight was at the guest house, on a small deck overlooking the river. Lots of moths fluttering around after dark as well as a few fire flies; and of course the mosquitoes were out in force. They seem to like Deet ! I’ll need to apply some “After Bite.”
We had ordered breakfast for 7:30 this morning since the mini-van was leaving at 8:30 to take us for our elephant ride. The “All Lao Elephant Camp Mahout Eco Lodge” was a few km outside of town and the nicely paved road was being widened in places and got a bit rough. We walked up a short way on a mountain road to get to the area where the elephants were waiting.
The road we were driving on
The path we walked to get to the elephant camp
The elelphants as they wait for our arrival. They look so peaceful. They are obviously well fed and we found out quite good natured.
Some are quite BIG !
The elephants all appear to be healthy and clean, they each have a bench safely secured on top of them with lots of padding in between and they are all munching away on freshly cut long green leaves when we arrive.
We use a rickety staircase to make our way up a platform, from which we will mount each of our elephants and go for our one hour ride. It’s quite impressive really, more so I think than in India at the Amber Palace. The elephants are all well behaved. The biggest one is a male who is 55 years old and who has had his tusks removed; probably many years ago since no evidence of them can be seen now. The smallest one is also a male, 10 years old, and his tusks have been sawn off but the stumps are still showing. All the others are females.
Melissa, who spent the entire day with some of the elephants, learning to be a mahout, later told me that most of the elephants had been rescued years ago from logging areas and had been sent to a rescue farm and for breeding. The ones we were using had been purchased from there for use on this trek.
We followed a small muddy trail down an embankment and it was a bit worrisome because the clay and mud was very slippery for these big animals. The one Melissa and I were riding took its time, even though the mahout was urging it on. I was quite happy with the slower pace and safer ride.
Elephant sliding foot prints left in the mud as we made our way down a steep hill
We passed a small clearing where some water buffalo had immersed themselves in mud.
Then we went along another path to an area where the mahouts got off the elephants and we could take turns sitting on the elephant’s neck. I decided to pass on that acrobatic activity, but Mel went ahead and so did many of the others. Each of our mahouts took our cameras and took pictures of us with our elephant.
Melissa, the mahout ! She looks regal on her elephant.
Photo our mahout took. They have such a human look, a sad look.
Our mahout, guiding the elephant with his knees; no stick, no bullying, just gentle nudges and French words.
John and Karsten up ahead, the French gentlemen following them, then Mike & Violet
Our elephant had started up in front, but was taking its leisurely time so we ended up at the back of the pack.
We returned to the platform via yet another path going down and then back up a muddy narrow track.
Another group of tourists had arrived and were getting ready to leave.
We all got off the elephants safely and back onto the rickety platform. I got down off the platform as soon as I could since it didn’t seem very strongly made. The French gentleman who had joined our group was on the platform taking pictures when his leg went right through the platform. Thank God he wasn't hurt; I would have freeked if it had been me.
Laos: The “heart of Indo-China”, the “Land of a million elephants” (well not so much anymore). “Deeply rooted in Thai culture, elephant training has traditionally been a familial heritage passed down through the generations. Before 1989, most domestic elephants were used for logging business and forest service to haul logs up mountains. This became illegal as widespread destruction of Thailand's forests resulted in worsening monsoons. Unlike the elephant populations of India and Africa, 95% of Thailand's elephants are domesticated working elephants and privately owned. Today most work for mahouts is in the tourist business, since elephant rides are popular among travelers to Thailand. In Thailand, tame elephants are regarded as a type of livestock and are not covered under Thailand's Conservation Act of 1992. If legally owned, there is minimal protection or welfare for them under Thai law. The tourist experience of elephants in Thailand usually includes any combination of the following: elephant rides, trekking with elephants, elephant shows, and/or elephants begging on the streets of the big cities. Street begging elephants are used by mahouts who charge tourists to feed them. In some areas of Thailand, this practice became illegal due to the traffic dangers posed, however street begging elephants are still a common sight in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.” (I didn’t see any in either location.)
“Elephant conservation in Laos is hampered by the lack of economic development. Laos used to be known as the Land of a Million Elephants -sadly this is not the case today although the country does retain a significant amount of forest cover which could provide the basis for a progressive policy of elephant conservation.” Total Wild Elephant Population in Laos = 781 to 1,202. Total Captive Population = 1,100 to 1,350.
We take our turns getting off at the platform.
It was fun and we were lucky because the rain held off. We left Melissa and our guide behind for her entire day with the elephants and the rest of us returned to the Guest House for a much needed shower.
Saying I found in my Intrepid IndoChina booklet: “An observation from French colonists describing the inhabitants of their Indochinese territories: The Vietnamese plant the rice, the Cambodians watch it grow and the Laotians listen to it grow.”
Families ride together on their motorbikes
As we near our guest house in the unpaved roads near the river where we are staying
Violet and I were heading into town for lunch and to visit the palace museum. Since the last morning shuttle was at 11 am we only had a quick 20 minutes to get ready and go again. Unfortunately the museum is closed from 11:30 to 1:30, so we had some time to kill. We walked down the main street where the night market is held and it was very strange to see a wide open street !
Grounds of the Palace and Temple
Side streets of Luang Prabang
These are the larger tuk-tuks we rode in
One of the government buildings
Another side street. This may have been the one where we ate from the street vendors on the first night here.
We ran into Lindsey downtown. My breakfast of muesli and yogurt (again out on the verandah) was long gone by then, so back to the French Bakery we went for lunch, where I ate a delicious fresh salad and drank a mango shake. We wandered into the Palace grounds and waited for the ticket office to open and then went it for a walk-around what is now a museum. No pics sorry !
The temple on the grounds of what used to be the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang
A statue of one of their kings in the Royal Palace grounds
The serpent garding the stairs to the temple
And the one on the other side is the multiheaded serpent, or "naga" {Harry Potter fans will recognize this name !} the sacred name of a mythical serpent in Southeast Asian and Indian literature
Decorative details on the outside temple walls
and doors
Inside the temple
Luang Prabang was the Capital of Laos for a number of years. “Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be 6.5 million in 2012. Laos traces its history to the Kingdom which existed from the 14th to the 18th century when it split into three separate kingdoms. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three kingdoms, Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Champasak, uniting to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a long civil war ended the monarchy, when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975. A Royal Family ruled over the country from 1904 to 1975. In 1975, the Pathet Lao, led by another royal, Souphanouvong, overthrew the Royal Government and arrested many members of the Royal family. The King, the Queen, Crown Prince and the King's brothers were taken to a remote location to a re-education camp, where they died." "Laos was dragged into the Vietnam War. The eastern parts of the country followed North Vietnam and adopted North Vietnam as a fraternal country. Laos allowed North Vietnam to use its land as a supply route for its war against the South. In response, the United States initiated a bombing campaign against the North Vietnamese, supported regular and irregular anticommunist forces in Laos and supported a South Vietnamese invasion of Laos. The result of these actions were a series of coups d'état and, ultimately, the Laotian Civil War between the Royal Laotian government and the Pathet Lao.” We are told that there are still many unexploded cluster bombs throughout Laos and that we will find out more about these later during the trip.
"The country's isolation , for reasons of war and politics, has preserved an older, slower and more traditional way of life: Old Asia, an Asia without the crowds. It is a culture where relatives and neighbours provide support for each other, and society has its own social welfare system woven in."
Lindsey stayed downtown to visit the temple on the hill;
Violet and I went back to the Guest House to enjoy the rest of the afternoon
quietly in our cottages.Dinner tonight was at the guest house, on a small deck overlooking the river. Lots of moths fluttering around after dark as well as a few fire flies; and of course the mosquitoes were out in force. They seem to like Deet ! I’ll need to apply some “After Bite.”
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