Ban Suan House Chiang Saen

... That was the first I heard that we were going IN the river WITH the elephants. OK, cool. So I was the first one in. Down another set of steps, but these were not as steep. The mahout had gotten on Lanna behind me. We got in the water, which was somewhat cold. Lanna wandered off towards the edge. I was trying to figure out what the mahout wanted me to tell her to do. Then I got her turned around towards the middle and back to the center where everyone else was (they ...

... soup that was slimy and fishy, and had I not been on my best behavior, I would have spit it out immediately. I shudder to think what it could have been.

But other than that, the dinner was great. Our host was very interesting and did a good job talking about the area and the elephant program. It got us all very excited for our time with the elephants the next day.

After that we were all ready for a good night's sleep. That bed was soooooo comfy!

... was another 7/8 hours of just sitting there so by the time we arrived in Luang Prabang we were glad to see it.

So, even though it took 3 days, the trip between Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang including the border crossing was no sweat at all. The bus journeys were bearable and the boat trip gave some nice views of life along the river. At one point Han saw some Elephants being loaded onto a barge as we chugged by – I was asleep though and she says she tried to wake me.

... open-able windows for fresh air ! The road was not as mountainous or wiggly as the one to Luang Prabang, but it was very poor, a dirt track in places, bumpy potholes and gravel in others, the road had often been washed away or covered over by mudslides and it took us until 2pm to get to Udomaxai our lunch stop.

We filled up on noodle soup, which was really tasty, I did fancy chicken and sticky rice until I saw the baby grilled chickens ...

... are so incredible. Along the way another chap jumped on the back ladder and somehow managed to cling on for dear life..well there wasn't any room inside and hitchhiking it not really a viable pastime in these remote parts as you can imagine. You're more likely to get a sunburnt thumb than a lift!
We tried to insist on going all the way back to the river by the main road but they were having non of it. They were worried that they wouldn't be able to get ...

... spent the afternoon relaxing, the four of us, and the first real opportunity we had been given to sit and chat. Michael was a fashion designer and furrier - not sure how to spell that one but he basically designs and makes things out of fur, in Austria where it is still very much acceptable. Brigid works with him. They have both travelled extensively, particularly Michael, and that would probably account for the small amount of stuff they ...

... there was no 'stop'. So that meant a very quick production line of putting one bottle under the high pressure stream, taking it away very quickly and putting another one underneath. Needless to say we got wet! Still, it is THE cheapest way of getting drinking water in Thailand and seeing as we go through a lot of it in a day it was a great find for us. I have seen that many photographs of the King of Thailand I feel like I know ...

... on my neck and shoulders. They looked horrified that anyone should do such a thing, but proceeded to pummel, pull, push, thump, knead and generally torture me for the next 1.5 hours. When they got to the shoulder and neck area, one of them lay down beside me and started stroking my arm and kept saying 'OK', ooh, I thought this is going to hurt, and it did. At one point, she was knelt behind me and I was lying on my back with my hands behind ...

... many people take elephants to Bangkok and other big cities in Thailand, where people will pay more to feed, touch the elephants, etc. The elephant camp allows the elephants (and their mahouts, who come with them) to earn a living in a safer, more humane way. For our mahout training, we first went into the forest to pick up our elephants since they'd been eating all night (they apparently eat 250 kg/day) - I'd assumed we'd just help the real mahout lead our elephants out of the ...

... to meet Captain Kurtz any day. Still I like Laos. If you want to see Thailand how it used to be, go to Laos. After a long long day of travel the truck finally pulls into town shortly after dark. The immigration office is closed, so there’s no choice but to spend the night here. I’ll cross the river tomorrow. I’m home. Happy Thanksgiving.