We have just returned from our “Shangri Lao Full Day Expedition.”  We drove by minibus to the Shangri Lao Elephant Village, only 15 km outside of Luang Prabang, but a good 45 minutes this morning, thanks to the three “lost” other participants in our group.  Our guide tried to hunt them down at a few more hotels–no luck–so off we drove, after a slight delay.  Even though the elephant village is close, (serious) road construction is in progress, so serious that we parked the minibus and walked the last short distance because of a huge crane working in the middle of the road.  (OSHA would not be happy with safety conditions here.)

Kendall and Delaney rode an elephant called Mae Kham Koun, the largest elephant at the elephant village.  This elephant stepped on a UXO (Un-Exploded Ordinance, per the guide)  in 2001 while working in the logging business.  She lost part of her left front foot, but this did not slow her down on today’s ride–instead, frequent stops along the way to gather huge quantities of grass suitable for munching slowed our pace.  My elephant was called Mae Buakham.  Her owner, Mr. Phaeng, was also her mahout, and he managed to talk me into getting out of the traditional Howdah seat and riding on her neck for a short distance.  This is not easily accomplished when you are 51 almost 52.  It involves wedging your knees behind your elephant’s ears, balancing on your hands, and praying that your elephant does not decide to unseat you.  As I say, I rode only a short distance this way.  I then had to reverse the process to get back into the Howdah seat–not too gracefully!  Delaney and Kendall took turns on their elephant’s neck–except that the elephant decided to have a bit of a run while Delaney was precariously perched.  Happily, no one fell off her elephant during our two-hour ride.  We passed through incredible parts of the jungle in a teak tree forest.  We passed by some rice fields along the way where farmers and their families had moments earlier finished making their sticky rice.  The fires used to cook the rice were still smoldering.

We left our elephants at lunchtime, after properly thanking them with a large bunch of green bananas.  My elephant dearly loved her bananas and continued to reach for them long after they were gone.  An elephant’s trunk is not an easy thing to avoid if you are in close proximity!  The girls and I had a lunch of traditional Lao food in a secluded hut by the Huay Sae River.  We mostly ate the sticky rice.

After lunch, we hiked “the easy route” to a waterfall that was unfortunately dry–it’s not the wet season yet.  This was a 30 minute, fast-paced march down the steep side of the mountain we had just ridden up by elephant.  Our guide ultimately found a walking stick/branch for me to use for a hiking aid, but it was quite a hike.  We then took a bamboo boat back to the elephant camp, enjoying our coffee break (hot water and Nescafe).

Our minibus ride back to the hotel was a long one–we got stuck between two construction machines and literally watched the road in front of us be completely covered in dirt and rocks next to the road construction.  Another machine then came by to clear a narrow path for the minibus–we were relieved to make it out of there in one piece.

We have congratulated ourselves on an adventurous day.  We will go to bed very early tonight, because our guide picks us up at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow to give morning alms to the monks.  But first, off to a much-needed massage.