ELEPHANTS AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION

Elephants wade the river near the Elephant Village, where we spent a "Lao-some" afternoon. 

As you may have guessed by now, we are big fans of Laos. We even coined our own corny adjective from the country's name--"Lao-some" (yes, as in "awesome"; you love it, right?! us, too!!!). Southeast Asia's only landlocked country, Laos is stunningly beautiful, with the aforementioned mountains and temples and markets, etc.  

Now we've "discovered" something else. Elephants. Yes. It is totally Lao-some. 

Perhaps we should've been clued in by the nation's nickname, "Lan Xang," which means "Land of A Million Elephants." Maybe we missed that in our pre-trip research. No matter. 

Just outside of Luang Prabang are two places with their own herds of the massive creatures. Having heard mixed reviews about one of them, we opted to combine one of Kip's favorite things (driving a scooter) with one of Liz's (riding on the back of a scooter, helping Kip drive) and get up close and personal with some elephants. 

The ride out wasn't exactly on a major highway. For 10 miles, we followed a dirt track frequented by water buffalo herders and rice farmers. 

Kip learns the hard way that the herd of buffalo have the right of way.

This woman found Kip very amusing.

After inhaling lots of dust and making a couple wrong turns (Liz's fault), we finally arrived at the Elephant Village and Sanctuary.

The plan was to arrive, have lunch, hang out with the elephants, and head back. Unfortunately, with our wrong turns, buffalo road blocks, and bird watching, not to mention a torrential downpour that made the muddy road almost impassible at times, we arrived too late for lunch. To top it off, staff told us a large group of elephant riders had just left, leaving behing only one very feisty elephant--Mae San, a recent arrival that had labored  for years in the timber industry--that didn't take too well to traditional rides they offered. 

The elephant handler asks us, "So, you come back tomorrow for elephant riding?" 

Not a chance. After a long discussion and negotiation, we reached an agreement. Instead of taking Mae San out for a ride, we were offered to take our new elephant friend down to the river and give her a bath. While this was not some amazing volunteer opportunity, (turns out, it's something tourists pay for), it definitely will go down as one of the highlights of our trip.

Liz got to ride the elephant down a steep muddy hill to the river, and we both got to take turns swimming out to Mae San and playing in the water. That's right. We played in the river with an elephant. The below photos should be emanating joy. If you don't see it, check your monitor. This was seriously fun.

And then, our mahout, or elephant handler, decided he would let both of us ride the elephant back up to the village, and he would take photos for us. That's right. We had a private elephant AND our own pachyderm paparazzi. Guess what's going on our Christmas cards...that is, if we can get them sent before February, like last year.

So, after the happiness overload, we sneaked into the Elephant Village's private pool. Yes, in addition to a herd of elephants and personal photographers, this place even has a pool, randomly, in a grassy area behind the elephant pen. And...wait for it...not only is there a pool, but the place even has a swim up cappuccino bar with locally grown coffee. We obviously had to try a few things on the menu before the long ride home...(thanks Cameline, H. Myers, and S Zipse!)

Fully caffeinated and with staff starting to question if we belonged in the pool, we decided to call it a day. Our timing was perfect, as usual, and we left just as it started raining pouring. 

As we rounded a muddy curve, we approached a mudslide and resulting roadblock. Kip (being Kip) decided to ignore a man in a bright yellow jacket who told us to stop (the jacket had "police" on the back, but Kip insists he didn't see it or understand what the guy was screaming). He barreled right through. That's right...through a washed out road. 

The scooter was sliding all over the place, Liz was yelling directions, and Kip was doing all he could not to drive off a cliff. Finally, Liz got off and walked barefoot through knee deep mud and rocks (flip flops were useless). From the other side, she was able to snap this photo, which shows Kip on the scooter directly in front of the yellow "JCB" backhoe as a local man stares at him incredulously. 

Yes, that's Kip right in between the backhoe and the front end loader. This is how those "stupid tourist" stories get started.

Eventually, the scooter and both of us made it through in one piece. After sunset, we returned safely to Luang Prabang. The man who rented us the motorcycle asked us where the heck we'd been.  "Just cruising around town" we told him, staring at monks and such.

Oops. 

MARKETS, MONKS, AND WATS ON THE MEKONG

One of many wats around Luang Prabang, Laos. Great view from the top, reachable by lots of stairs. 

People come to the UNESCO World Heritage town of Luang Prabang for lots of reasons. Some, like Kip, enjoy checking out the countless temples while watching the daily rituals of saffron-robed monks that constantly roam the streets. 

Liz peruses the night market.

Others, like Liz, can spend hours at the morning and night markets when they're not soaking up the beauty of the town and its Parisian café culture. And then there's all the Thai-influenced food, cooking classes, sunsets, volunteer opportunities with Big Brother Mouse, and day trips into the mountainous countryside. 

The city is surrounded by two rivers, the Mekong and the Nam Khan. Well-preserved, French-colonial architecture mingles with ornate Buddhist wats, the result of two centuries of Buddhism topped off with five decades of French rule that ended only in 1953.

Beyond the city limits, we spent one afternoon at the incredibly beautiful Kuang Si Falls, just 30 km from Luang Prabang. 

The largest falls, complete with its own "do not swimming" area.

We had a photo with us in it, but it had some obnoxious
tourists in the background. We think this is more serene.

To Kip's enjoyment, the waterfall even had a rope swing, which of course he had to go off of with a back flip. The video can be seen here.


After the waterfall and rope swing visit, we headed back to explore the city. The former capital of Laos until the government was relocated to Vientiane in 1560, Luang Prabang is still known as the religious and spiritual center of the country. At virtually every corner, you can see monks of all ages strolling around town, usually carrying umbrellas to shield themselves from the baking sun and frequent rains. Subsequently, Liz has really taken to this practice. She now goes everywhere with an umbrella and wonders why more people don't do this back home.

Watching the pre-dawn procession of monks receiving their alms is one of the top things for tourists. Each morning monks of all ages walk the streets with empty baskets. As they walk, residents and visitors alike solemnly place food and other items into their baskets. 


It's quite the spectacle, and many visitors seem to forget the ritual is actually a religious procession, not a circus act for photo-happy tourists to set off flash bulbs in the faces of the monks. There are rumors of stopping the processions due to the bad behavior of some tourists.  That said, it is a beautiful thing to witness, if done respectfully, which we tried our best to do. So, since none of our close up face shots of the monks turned out (kidding) above are a couple of images from the processions we were lucky enough to see (when we actually woke up on time to make it).

Bats for breakfast?

And now, for the markets! Luang Prabang has the most incredible markets we've seen in Asia. And trusts us, we've seen a lot of markets. The morning event kicks off around 5 am, and usually ends by 9. 


Lining both sides of a narrow street, vendors lay out their wares on bamboo-woven mats and blankets. Overflowing baskets of rice, piles of noodles, buckets of live eels, grilled frogs, bats, pythons, bug larvae...if it's edible and in the area, it's probably here. We'll let the photos below speak for themselves.  Or, if you feel like getting nauseous (not from the market sales, but from Liz's shaky camerawork) you can view some videos here, and here.

Live, writhing eels straight from the river...come and get it!

Fresh python for sale. 

Lots of veggies, too.

In addition to the morning market, which again, we think was absolutely amazing, there is also a craft and souvenir market in the evenings. While most Asian markets can be chaotic and filled with screaming hawkers giving visitors the hard sell, Luang Prabang's may be the most tranquil and enjoyable on the continent. Needless to say, Liz went a little nuts, particularly with the purchase of elephant trinkets and coin purses.

Liz...still shopping. 

PHOTO FRIDAY: ARE WE THERE YET, MOM? MOM?

It's monsoon season in southeast Asia, which means it rains just about every day here in Laos. Despite the frequent downpours, life goes on, as seen above as a young mother tries to stay dry while taking her two kids to school. It's hard to imagine a scene like this would go over well with authorities back home, but driving one-handed while holding an umbrella (or a baby or lunch or a live farm animal) and transporting multiple small children passes for normal parenting in Laos--and many other countries in the world.