Sailing past elephants on the banks of the Mekong River is just the beginning of a great adventure in Laos
We glide gently over the wide Mekong River, passing villages with bamboo houses and temples with gold-leafed roofs that glisten in the sun.
We see water buffalos playing in the shallows and children splashing and waving at passenger boats.
My friend and I arrived in northeastern Thailand the night before and crossed the ‘Friendship Bridge’ into Laos in the morning to board a riverboat across the Mekong.
As you cruise along the riverbank you will see a mix of rural life. That is a good introduction to a country where 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas.
Late afternoon we drive to the village of Pakbeng, a charming jumble of guesthouses and hotels on the riverbank. On the other side lies the Mekong Elephant Park.
Lively: Annabel Venning stops in the ‘soft’ town of Nong Khiaw during a tour through Laos (photo)
A temple in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO city with French colonial influences. Annabel writes: ‘Ten years ago Luang Prabang had 20 hotels. Now there are 200’
Laos was known as Lan Xang – ‘Land of a Million Elephants’. But there are now only 300 wild elephants left as their jungle home is destroyed by development.
Another 400 survive in captivity, brutally exploited in the logging industry or as riding elephants. For every calf born, ten die.
There are sanctuaries like this one, however, where rescued elephants live free from chains and abuse. We spend a joyful afternoon watching four female elephants happily squeak and rumble through the forest. The highlight is the elephants’ evening swim. One is so excited that she slides down the sandbank on her knees into the river.
Laos’ war-torn past belies the serene beauty of its landscapes
Back on the boat for day two, the scenery becomes increasingly dramatic as the Mekong winds between towering limestone karsts. It’s the perfect gateway to Luang Prabang. The town has UNESCO World Heritage status thanks to its combination of traditional Lao wooden houses and creamy colonnades from Laos’ French colonial era.
Sunlight sparkles on temple roofs. Stalls sell freshly baked croissants or steaming bowls of pho. At sunset, a night market unfolds along Sisavangvong Road.
Ten years ago, Luang Prabang had twenty hotels. Now there are 200, ranging from chic Satri House to backpacker hostels. Our favorites are the stylish Apsara and the Apsara Rive Droite, just across the Nam Khan River.
Within an hour’s taxi ride from Luang Prabang are the Kuang Si Falls, a series of waterfalls and aquamarine pools where you can swim for hours, and in the opposite direction the Pak Ou Caves, filled with hundreds of Buddha statues.
Annabel swims in the Kuang Si Falls, pictured, a series of waterfalls and aquamarine pools
Annabel starts her journey in northeastern Thailand, where she crosses the ‘Friendship Bridge’ (above) into Laos
To explore Laos’ less-traveled northeastern countryside, you can easily rent a car with a driver. The Apsara arranges ours through a cheerful guy named Sit, with a penchant for 80s ballads.
A day’s drive takes us to the mysterious Plain of Jars: thousands of enormous stone jars, human height or larger, spread across 90 sites near the town of Phonsavan.
Rice wine or water storage, giants’ drinking vessels or burial vessels? No one knows, but they are between 1,500 and 2,000 years old. It is one of the most spectacular archaeological sites in the world, but the area is also littered with unexploded ordnance.
The Plain of Jars: Thousands of enormous stone jars spread across 90 sites near the town of Phonsavan. Annabel says: ‘It is one of the most spectacular archaeological sites in the world’
Laos was known as the ‘Land of a Million Elephants’, but there are now only 300 wild elephants left, Annabel reveals
This area was the epicenter of the fighting in the Secret War, when the Vietnam conflict spilled over into Laos. The US dropped more than 260 million bombs on the country, which remains the most bombed country in the world. Many cluster munitions are still unexploded in the ground.
Laos’ war-torn past belies the serene beauty of its landscapes, such as Nam-Et Phou Louey National Park. Here we trek through verdant cathedrals of towering trees, pausing to eat sumptuous meals from banana leaf tablecloths.
We sleep in ‘nests’: comfortable bamboo baskets that hang above the forest floor. At night we spotted a leopard cat and Sambar deer, during the day a giant squirrel.
On the way back to Luang Prabang, we stop at the quiet town of Nong Khiaw and climb a hill to watch the sunrise, then swim across the Nam Ou River.
On our last evening we become sad: we never want our Laos adventure to end.
