luang prabang

Helena & I decided to get the public bus to Luang Prabang, so I farewelled Mika & Roman. There weren't many free seats left, so I sat next to a Lao girl. Was kinda funny, cos the people who had raced on to get the front seats, actually had to deal with the wind & rain coming through the open bus door! Also, when the bus began to get very crowded, a French couple kindly moved their backpacks which were taking up 2 whole extra seats, so they wouldn't get dirty on the floor! What wankers. Was very beautful looking out the window- very misty & green. We even passed an elephant on the roadside (with a trainer). You know you are in Laos, when the toilet stop involves everybody squatting on the roadside behind the bus! After the lunch stop, a Lao man came back on with 2 live ferret-guinea pig looking animals in a cane basket, possibly for his dinner. We finally arrived in Luang Prabang after a long trip, and checked into aguest house. We headed out for cheap vegetarian food stall, and got talking to some people next to us at the table. They had just done a 2 day elephant mahout (driver) trip, which they said was amazing & fun! My plan was to leave straight for Vientiane in the morning, but I loved being in Luang Prabang, and the elephants sounded fun... so, after a drink & discussion, I decided to stay! Helena & I booked the elephant trip for the following day. In the morning I got up early to call home before leaving, but there was a blackout in the whole town so no internet! We got a minibus out to the Elephant Camp, and we were able to ride the elephants straight away. We put on some dorky safari hats, sat on the wooden bench seat & set off into the jungle! Was lots of fun, but thought we would fall out going down the hills. We followed a creek into the river, where the elphants had a drink, before heading back to camp. We had lunch, and then we were taught the phrases the mahouts use to lead the elephants. We studied & quizzed each other for a while (the most my brain has been used in the past few months) and then went & got changed into our sexy, baggy denim 'mahout suits'. This was necessary so the elephants would take notice of us! The elephants were brought over to us, and we mounted them, taking our place on their necks, on an extremely uncomfortable mass of chains. It did stop us from falling off, but it brought many bruises! We had a practice session around the camp, calling out How (stop), Bai (go) and Ya (bad elephant), among other Lao commands. We then headed back into the trees for a very fun ride. My elephant kept making hectic growling noises, but it was only beacuse she wanted to be close to her sister (Helena's elephant). We left the elephants in the jungle, where they would stay overnight, mainly eating (they only sleep for 1 or 2 hours!). Our guide then took us for a walk through the local village. We passed a game of soccer at the school, and watching a family playing by the river. The kids were loving the cameras. Every time we showed them the screen, they squealed so loudly at seeing themselves! Was so cute. We wandered back to the camp, had an early dinner, and spent the night relaxing and playing cards. Had a pretty early night, falling asleep in our cool wooden bungalows. We had a very early start in the morning, to collect our elpephants from the jungle. The second time around was much more comfortable! We headed down to the river and attempted to wash the elephants (quite difficult while trying to balance on its neck at the same time!). Afterwards, we said goodbye to our elpehants & had breakfast at the lodge. We then changed in to our swimsuits and headed down to the river. Luckily, the clouds from the previous day had turned into beautiful sunshine! We kayaked a short way, until we arrived at Tad Sae waterfall. Although I had been here already a few weeks ago, it was still easy to enjoy the lovely clear, fesh water. We had a picnic lunch, then continued to kayak down the river. Helena & I took it nice and slow, was very relaxing. We passed tiny shacks every now & then, with very neat little crops. It felt like we were paddling for ages, when in fact it was only about 4km! After heading back into town, we relaxed a bit, then had vegie food stall for dinner again, and some happy hour cocktails. I also did a little bit of shopping!