15th Day From the Mosquito to the Elephant

We spent an evening in quiet anticipation of the developments that the photographer anticipated. The question was only malaria or dengue, or perhaps both. It must have been a mosquito, although there was no mosquito bite to be seen, but that is precisely the cunning of these creatures.

Well, to make a long story short, nothing like that happened and in the morning the photographer was ready to resume work.

First, we went to a farm where we were supposed to learn about the effort involved in rice cultivation, but we gave up when we saw that everything was knee-deep in water and mud, and went away. But one thing I learned, I will never throw rice away carelessly, great respect for the rice farmers.

The next stage was a stop at an elephant station. What could be better than a morning ride on an elephant along the Mekong? The chronicler got in the saddle and off we went. While riding on the elephant, he enjoyed the ride.

Then we passed by huge artificially reared teak plantations to an 80 m high waterfall. There was a bear camp at the entrance. The animals were medically cared for before being released back into the wild. Then we continued to the waterfall, simply magnificent. The path leads through pristine nature within a national park. This must have been what Laos looked like everywhere before the deforestation began. The waterfall is so magnificent that I'll spare you the description and refer you to the pictures.

On the same grounds, a Frenchman who had immigrated to Laos with his family had opened a restaurant. The tour guide had treated us to a meal there. Fantastic.

Finally, back to Luang Prabang and a visit to the Royal Palace. Life is good here, but no photos allowed. Then once again to the temple from the 16th century, so that the photographer could enjoy it too.

Then it was over, earlier than usual, and time for the pool.