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We seem to have done so much since our last blog entry. The elephants in Luang Prabang were a real highlight to Laos. We ended up booking with a local agent who specialises with the elephant tours - paid a little more but most the money went to the elephant camps in looking after and protecting them. The other agents didnt seem to care too much about this!!! When we first arrived we had to get a small canoe like boat across to the other side of the river, with about 10 people in it we felt sure the boat would sink!!! Once we arrived the otherside we had to trek through thick mud and bushes to reach the elephant camp. There were 8 elephants in total, enoguh for one elephant each. We started the day with a ride through the jungle. Martin and I were together on one elephant, we then had the opportunity to ride the neck of the elephant. It was hard work at first, trying to keep balance and we were very conscious of hurting them!! They were all female elephants, apparently the male ones were slightly too aggressive to be with the public!! It was a long walk through the Jungle, and our elephant stopped on many occasions for something to eat - at one point the Mahout (the elephant owner) and I thought the elephant was going to push Martin off as she was determined to bend and eat something off the floor - after that Martin let the Mahout back on the neck!!
Once back at camp, we all had the opportunity to learn how to get on an elephant and walk around the camp using the commands. Everyone pushed me to go first and I struggled to get up - quite emmbaressing!! The word "map" was used for the elephant to bend its leg and holding on to its ear you had to pull yourself up. It took me 3 attempts but I finally did it, everyone else did it in 1! The elephants didnt listen to any of our commands, the Mahout had to keep us on track!
We trekked back towards the river and to the other side where lunch was served, nothing exciting, rice and chicken, but we met a very nice couple from Canada and was a good chance to see what they had done so far on their travels. AFter lunch we headed back to the camp, where we each had our own elephants and walked them down to the river to have a bath. The paths were so steep and so slippery it was hard to keep balance. Once in the water we had to wash our elephants who kept spraying us all with water, and Martins went right under, meaning he go soaked!! It was a really enjoyable day, we were not convinced that they were looked after 100%, but they seemed happy enough.
The following day we realxed in Luang Prabang and organised our 9hour bus journey to Luang Namtha. The bus journey was very bumpy and very long. At some points we felt it was driving on thin air due to the landslides they had had. Once arrived in Luang Namtha, we found a hostel for 3pounds a night, though we moved after two nights because the shower stopped working and the staff couldnt be bothered to fix it. We moved to a lovely little hostel next door, who were much more friendly. Whilst in Luang Namtha, we looked into an oragnised bike trek around the villages but decided they were too expensive (roughly 20pound per person). Therefore we decided to hire 2 mountain bikes and a map and do it ourselves (costing only 3pounds). We cycled to the waterfall which was down a cobbled street, making it hard to ride, then to several temples and through several villages, all that was included on the trek! The day after we were both aching all over and I had several bruises! We realised we had cycled over 25km- quite far for me!.
The next day we decided to jump on a local bus to take us to Muang Sing which was supposed to be backpackers haven, with amazing views and treks. When we arrived, it was pretty much a ghost town, the hostels were awful and there was only one place serving food. We priced up treks, but as it was quiet there they were really expensive. As the day went on we bumped into a few more travellers that had arrived that day and they too were disappointed, so we all ended back in Luang Namtha the following day. Though was nice to see a different town in the more rural side of Laos. So now back in Luang Namtha, we have decided to chill out for a couple days as it is so cheap up here, and then head back to Luang Prabang for a flight to Vietnam. We have decided to not carry out many more tours as we want to now save our money for Vietnam, which we are really looking forward too. We are quite happy lounging about in the town, which banana and chocolate pancakes and fruit shakes all for 2pounds - soon put the weight back on if we keep that up!!
We have already booked our first 2 nights in Hanoi with a lovely guesthouse for 10pound a night, including breakfast and everything you would want from a room, including a bath, entertainment unit, mini bar, toaster etc. Believe it or not that was cheaper than staying in 2 dorm beds in the cheapest hostel, and still only for 10pounds! Bargain. Apparently it is so cheap in vietnam you can get by on max of 20 pounds a day for 2 people. Everyone we have talked to warn us about the money scams in Vietnam and the constant hassles with tours and trips etc, and there are warnings online about taxis, so we know it will be completely different from the laid back laos, which we have decided is the most laid back country we have ever been to.
Hope everyone is well at home, cant believe its been 6 weeks already, time is flying by.
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