Luang Prabang

I did not know too much about Luang Prabang when I landed in the airport. Turned out they had just resurfaced the runway in the airport just a few weeks ago, to me that signals this place will take many more tourists soon. The airport is really tiny, but it works.
We had a driver from the hotel pick us up in the airport, but these "airport transfer" service that the hotel offers have turned out to be just another money making scheme, as it is added on the hotel bill when checking out later. However it really does make landing in the airport a more relaxing experience, otherwise we had to fight our way through herds of overpriced taxis and tuk-tuk's. The price is often more than 5 times the real cost, and the drivers all work together to get the high price, but now and then we are lucky, there is always someone who wants to make a buck and will take the low-ball offer we are giving, which in fact is the normal fare price.

Luang Prabang is a very small city in Northern Laos, very well known for.... hmm, I don't know, but it is where most tourists stop by to get a dose of local life in Laos without having to live life in the jungle. Everything seems to happen in a pace where nobody is left behind. It is located at the Mekong River where the river Nam Khan merges into Mekong. There is a strong representation of monks in the city, many temples too mixed into the regular city planning. Everything seems to close down at 9pm, so that's the last chance to get something to drink, if not at a bar.

The woman at the hotel turned out to be very resourceful, knowing what people wanted to know before they asked. She would come in handy the next few days for sure.
Finally we got the hotel room, which was nothing special to say the least. Funny how these hotels have a huge fridge, but all empty. They could make so much more money filling it up with beer. Mini bar prices here are very decent, easy money for them. But of course I would not drink any beer, still down with a bad stomach.

Around sunset, most tourists flock to the city's tallest temple, from where the sunset can be seen over the mountains in the distance. If that is too much, there are plenty of boats at the river that can take people for a considerable amount up along the river, past the clouds that sometimes cover the city of Luang Prabang. People live on both sides of the river, and there are ferries crossing all the time to bring tourists over to restaurants or bars on the other side. This is Laos, there are no life jackets or any other life saving equipment, so if a boat like this capsizes, well, good luck. The solution is swim.
One day we went on a tour to one of their waterfalls, a pretty cool place to swim too. I still had the stomach flu and so didn't want to subject myself into cold water and new bacterias just yet, so I only watched people enjoy themselves. There were a lot of Brits and Germans there, they were seriously in need of some sun on their bodies.
In the jungle, there was also a bear care taking facility. They were rescuing bears that were kept as pets when they were small or just in a cage to impress the neighbor or friends. There were around 15 of them in a pretty big area, divided in 4-5 different areas, probably to keep male bears apart. Just when we arrived, it was feeding time, so we chose to stick around for a few minutes to see how that would go about. The bears were nowhere to be seen, turns out they were not in the enclosure just yet, but back home in their own bear beds sleeping.
The care takers had been out hiding foods in the trees and under big logs. It was not just an easy task for the bear to eat, they had to work hard to find it, then use all their skills to get hold of it as well. Funny seeing how a bear would squeeze the entire head into a hollow log, and not get anything. Then after having done that a few times, it would extended one of the paws way down to the fruit and finally get it. I guess it becomes kind of trivial where the food hiding places are after a few weeks or months in captivity, but still it was fun seeing. Not every spot had food every day, so when a bear didn't find anything where there usually is something it would continue very disappointed to the next-best bet for finding a delicious bear burger.
After having walked around the jungle a little, it really sounded like there was some bigger waterfall than the smaller ones where people were swimming. I continued upstream and definitely the there was a sound of a big waterfall or something else. Finally found the place, no secret at all, just had not been aware that there was a place up here with this big a waterfall. It was maybe 30 meters tall but according to the tuk tuk driver, the water level right now was not the highest and the waterfall usually carried a lot more water than now. Nevertheless it was a pretty nice waterfall, a lot of local people were having lunch around the place as well, seemed like a very popular picnic place.
The ride back on the tuk tuk was probably the worst ever. An additional 3 people were squeezed onto the tuk tuk as well, now we were nine people. Though it might be "certified" for 9 people, I doubt very much it is 9 Western people. It was tight! It was bumpy and the driver thought he was part of a race, driving through all these small mountain roads often on two wheels, I am certain.
Another day we signed up to visit and spend the night at an elephant sanctuary. Laos used to be the Country of a Million Elephants. Now the estimated number is around 2000 elephants. Not sure if there really used to be a million elephants, sounds a little too much, but at least the number of elephants had declined dramatically. The elephants were used for working in the logging industry, pulling logs through the jungle where no vehicles could drive. They would prevent the female elephants from getting pregnant, so that they could work full time. On top of that they would work the elephants so hard that they would get sick, exhausted and die. Most countries signed a treaty that they would not use the elephants for this kind of work, but in Laos this process is still not fully enforced. It takes time to give people a chance to find alternative ways to make a living.
An elephant is a huge investment for a family. It drinks about 100 liters of water a day and eats around 200 kilos of food a day. That's a little less than what I eat and drink during a week, think about that!
We got to ride the elephants a few times and before going there I thought that it was way too little time we got to spend with the animals themselves. After having sat on that big thing with skin like leather and hair like needles, I can't say I would buy any extra time if I could have. The animals are very friendly and calm. They have been donated to the elephant camp since the owners could no longer take care of them. Saved from a life in the logging industry on drugs to perform better and starved, here at the elephant camp it is early retirement for them. They walk with tourists for a couple of hours a day. They get fed good treats from tourists every day and at the afternoon, they are taking back to the jungle where they can spend the night, eating and sleeping. Sounds like a job most people would kill for, haha
While the elephants were resting, we were hiking the jungle in search of yet another waterfall. After having fought our way through the wild Laos jungle full of tigers, monkeys, snakes and rouge elephants, we finally found the other waterfall. The water was coming from several springs far away from where we were, but it was quite amazing how clear the water was. The guide told us that in two months the springs would be dry and the waterfall would stop for a couple of months, so this was the perfect time of the year to see it. There were many lakes that would keep the water if the flow of water would stop for a few months, full of life, crabs, fish and other animals. The waterfall really looks like something from a movie and is in fact totally natural, not man made.
Back at the elephant camp, we were told to wait for dinner at a pool area. Nice! A nice pool built on the side of the river bank, with a really nice view. There was a full bar next to the pool, but unfortunately there was nobody working there that day. Laying at the pool with some elephants running around looking for some food. Not too bad, haha
Luang Prabang, the Gem of Laos, as many calls it. Now I have been there, do I agree? It was said that it was not too touristic yet, that it was a very authentic Laos village. I am not sure about either of them. There are plenty of tourists in the village, of course there is room for plenty more. But as such, the place doesn't offer that much, that might also be why they call it authentic. Of course it is mentioned in the Lonely Planet, and I guess that's how 50% of tourists even know about the place. I was talking to a few guys in Vietnam and they said that if they could chose places in Laos again, Luang Prabang was the only place they would go to. I just can't remember why they thought so. I really enjoyed the part where we were out in the jungle and with the elephants, but as such I don't think Luang Prabang city itself has that much to offer. Maybe that is the good thing, otherwise it would become too artificial.