Before the French, British, Chinese and Siamese drew a line around it, Laos was a collection of principalities that experienced continuous wars, invasions, prosperity and decay. In the 14th century they came close to nationhood when a war lord, Fa Ngum conquered one of the areas and gave his kingdom the title of Lan Xang, and many travellers and romantics continue to use that title today.
Well, with a name like 'Land of a Million Elephants', how can you not try for your own magical moment with these magnificent creatures?
So off to Elephant Village, a reputable company that works on saving elephants from mistreatment and poaching and giving them lots of land to roam on.
Mahout training 101!
Mahout being the title carried by elephant trainers who train for 1-2 years.
With us, well a few commands and we are good to go...
Ya right....
Basics in elephant commands, a ride to the river and through the village fields, and bath time with the elephants in the water was all the time I was willing to commit to.
And I didn't do very well with the basics, cuz I couldn't get my elephant to want a bath. My big skill was staying on and not looking terrified as bare back elephant riding is not my new found talent.
Anna taking her elephant down to the water for some play time!
It was a highlight for Anna if you measure it by her ear to ear grin the whole time she was interacting with them!
The first baby to be born in Elephant village. Momma elephant came to them pregnant.
The village only has female elephants as the males tend to like fighting and get too frisky around the females which does not work well for this family focused business.
Loveable! Fun! And definitely Memorable!
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