Becoming a Laotian Mahout and Jungle Trekking
Trip Start
Jun 07, 2008
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Trip End
Aug 12, 2008
Luang Prabang,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Monday, July 14, 2008
So we get back to the elephant camp (we have to cross the river each timei n this little rickety speed boat) and first go for an hr ride with the elephants through the jungle, very cool
Hmong woman at the night market, Laos PDR
. We got the special treatment and actually got to ride on their heads-necks, and not just on the little bench that regular tourists get to sit on. Then we get back to the cafe, have lunch and memorize all the different Lao commands we will need to control our elephants with: if you ever find yourself on an elephant in Laos, you`ll want to know pai (go), pai sai (go left) pai khau (go right), thoy (turn around), map long (lay down- this is very helpful when bathing and climbing up onto your elephant), how (stop), and jab ow (take this- meaning food). So we get back onto our elephants, this time riding bareback (without any benches or anything) and go for another long walk into the jungle in order to tuck them into ``bed`` and kiss them good night- they bed in a different area of the jungle than where the actual camp is (not sure why...) so they have to be taken and retrieved every day. After we put the elephants to bed, Angus and I go tubing down the river, and contrasting the wild and crazy tubing scene in Vang Vieng, we had the most tranquil silent float down the river with our guide, Pahn.That night we had an amazing Lao supper and I took 2 outdoor showers (did I mention that our bathroom was attached to the cabin but completely outdoors, just had walls tall enough that no one could see you naked!) and upon climbing into bed, Fabi and I discovered that our quaint little cabin had loads of ants in the bed!! Thankfully we were tired and they weren`t the biting type of ants (or at least they weren`t hungry that night) so we weren`t that bothered.
That next morning, I woke up to see the sun rise (although it was kinda cloudy) and then we all went for a hike to collect our elephants for their baths! I never though I would get to bathe an elephant in a river in Laos, but it happened
The "Princess," Laos PDR
! We just walked the elephants right into the river and commanded them to lay down and then we were just splashing water all over them and scrubbing the dark hair on their heads (possibly the cutest part of an elephant), and one elephant got really excited and started smacking her trunk on the water and spraying all of us. Great times. Then it was time to say goodbye to our beloved elephants and part ways. The next part of our day was spent going down the river to the Kuang Sii Waterfalls. Fabi and Angus took kayaks, but because I was still sore from all the rafting, tubing and swinging I opted for the bamboo raft. Pahn, another guide and myself went on the 3ft x 10ft bamboo raft towards the falls, although because the current was so strong (thanks to, you guessed it, the rainy season of Laos) we couldn`t dock and had to go much further down the river and eventually we were able to grab onto some foliage and dock on some bamboo trees (the irony). The problem is that we are miles away from the falls (and Fabi and Angus) so we have to trek through little water falls and water up to my thighs in order to get back where we needed to be. Pahn was insistent that we check for leaches after each bout of water trekking, and thankfully we found none! We get to the falls and they are incredible!! Three tiers of rocks and trees and you can climb all over them and eventually you get to the bottom and you can jump into a cool deep pool of water- amazing! The only other waterfall that could possibly trump Kuang Sii would be Iguazu Falls, but those you can`t play in as much. Then we trek back to our bamboo raft (and it was still there!!) and make our way back into town.
I spent the night shopping at the Hmong Night Market, had a massage and crashed at like midnight. The past two days have been pretty low key, we needed to make our way back to Chiang Mai Thailand, so we took the slow boat which entails 19hrs on the boat split up into two days. Basically lots of reading, eating, playing cards, zoning and mooching off of other peoples iPods (because I didn`t bring mine).
We just crossed the Thai border today and are in Chiang Mai. Tomorrow we are going trekking through the hill tribes for 3 days and then after that I am meeting Tasha in Bangkok for a much needed reunion, and then I am off to Sumatra! BYE!
Comments
What an amazing journey!
I am an elephant trainer and would like to offer you a job at my elephant camp! But my elephants speak English, is that okay?