We had the most incredible experience today and spent the day at Elephant Village, just outside Luang Prabang. Elephant Village is a private camp and tourist destination which focuses on the protection and rehabitation of elephants in Laos. Unlike their African counterparts, Asian elephants can be trained (to a certain degree) which definitely makes it easier to ride one.
We learnt how to get up & off an elephant, tell it where to go and we also got to wash them in the Mekong River. I’d love to say that they’re as easy as riding horses but they’re not.
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| Getting up was not as easy as it looks! |
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| Off to the river to wash our elephants! |
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| Mine went swimming underwater! |
When they want food, they will head straight for the foliage no matter how much you scream. The elies are also quite hairy and can live up to 90 years old! When we fed them, you can actually hear the suction from their trunks (exactly like a vacuum cleaner hose!)
The elephants are such magical creatures and it was an incredible opportunity to get close to them in person!
Wow! What a great experience. Looks like you had lots of fun.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gift to spend time with such magnificent (and playful, it seems) creatures. Thanks for passing the gift along.
ReplyDeleteDid you catch any of them painting?