The city of Luang Prabang was enshrouded in fog at breakfast time but by 09:00 the sun had broken through and we were in for another warm to hot day. Today being the 2nd of December is National Day in Laos and the people are celebrating 450 years of the country’s existence.
Much of the day was to be spent at the MandaLao Elephant Conservation Park which is about half an hour’s drive from our hotel in central Luang Prabang.
The park, on the banks of the Nam Khan River was set up in recognition of the severely depleted number of Lao elephants left in the wild and the need to take action in their conservation.
Elephants have long been employed as beasts of burden in Laos, especially in the forest industries where their strength is used for transporting logs. They have also been used for riding but this is now considered politically incorrect for a number of reasons including that the saddles used cause injuries to the elephants’ backs.
A senior guide at the park told us about the declining numbers of elephants with there now being less than one thousand in the wild whereas there are stories from a hundred years ago of a herd being so large that it took three days to cross a river! Poaching for ivory is of major concern but this is being progressively overcome by vigilance, DNA profiling and education.
The park has a breeding programme whereby they are intent upon avoiding the in-breeding that has weakened the elephants’ gene pool. Gestation is normally around twenty two months for male calves and eighteen months for female calves. Typical birth weight is around 80 kg and within a year a calf may be as much as 300 kg.
Understandably, humans encroaching on forest and jungle land has played a key role in the population demise. There are moves afoot to designate areas where the elephants can exist with appropriate food and water free from human interference. Food availability is a key issue as adult elephants need to eat about 200 kg of foliage a day for survival as their digestive system is poor and only about 40% of their intake utilised for nutrition.
We spent several hours with two female elephants that had been rescued from forest work and riding. Under close supervision of another guide and two assistants we fed them bananas and helped wash and cool the elephants by throwing buckets of water over them while they stood in the river. This feeding and washing they enjoyed we feel sure, as bananas are a special favourite, equivalent to ‘elephant chocolate’ we’re told!
Wearing special gumboots we then trekked into the nearby forest and the two elephants followed. They walked slowly up a narrow creek (Huay Nok) for about a kilometre. Eventually we reached a cool jungle area where they fed on the foliage of low scrubby plants next to the stream.
The elephants were seemingly aware of our presence at all times and appeared to be calm and receptive to our company during the two hours we strolled together. The whole experience was delightful and we found this time with the elephants quite profound and it engendered a deep sense of respect for these amazing creatures.
At the completion of our elephant encounter we had a luncheon at the park’s reception area and then returned to Luang Prabang.
Before adjourning for the day we stopped off at Wat Xieng Thong which is considered by locals to be amongst the most important symbols of their country’s religious heritage.
Wat Xieng Thong meaning Gold City Monastery is notable for the brilliant coloured glass mosaics that adorn the exterior of several of the main buildings that comprise the temple complex. The sim (main temple building) was built in 1560 by King Setthathirat and served as a coronation venue for several of the Lao kings. The sim has sweeping roof lines and green mosaic lotus buds on newel posts at the entrance. The back wall has a stunning Tree of Life mosaic.
The surrounding buildings include the Royal Funerary Carriage House, the Drum Pavilion, a library, monks’ quarters and the Red Chapel which houses an expertly sculpted bronze Reclining Buddha.
An interesting story relates to the Chedis (stupa) in the courtyard. Apparently during a storm a large tree crashed onto the stupa and broke it open to reveal magnificent gold and silver Buddhas that had been hidden inside for countless centuries. The stupa was rebuilt and the icons replaced and once again hidden from view.
Back at our hotel we had much of the afternoon to ourselves so relaxing and catching up on diaries and emails became the main concern.