Luang Prabang, Laos

We eventually arrived in the former King's residence of Luang Prabang after taking the ludicrously winding and vomit-inducing road up to the north of Laos. The World Heritage city sits amid the convergence of two rivers, which swells the already massive Mekhong and makes for an entertaining backdrop, especially while drinking the Corona of South-East Asia; Beerlao.

We arrived on Christmas Eve, which was evidenced only by fancy hotels attempting to cash in on homesick foreigners. Had it felt anything like Christmas we may have succumbed to homesickness, but the absence of everything we usually associate with the celebration precluded us from feeling that we were missing out.

On Christmas Day we decided to splurge financially, in an attempt to make it different from any other exciting day of traveling. We decided to visit an Elephant Camp that attempts to buy elephants from the logging industry, saving them from a situation where normal life expectancy drops from 80 years to around 40, and elephants are subjected to harsh and dangerous working conditions. We hoped that our feeding them sugar cane and scrubbing them in the river was a good trade for carrying our miniscule weight (equivalent to less than 2% of their bodyweight, or less than carrying a mouse for a human).

We can confirm that these elephants appeared to be well looked-after, and there was a veterinarian on site to care for them. Some had suffered injuries as a result of logging accidents - holes in ears from infections and a missing eye for one, but they seemed relatively happy and free from neuroses, which is not always the case for elephants in the tourist trade.

During our relaxing time in Luang Prabang we also visited some of the numerous waterfalls in the area, the most impressive of which was the Kuang Si falls. We rented a scooter at more than twice the cost of Vang Vieng, and drove the 27 km during a (relatively) chilly morning. There were a number of cascades, all tinted with the cloudy aqua blue that I now associate with Laos.

The fall at the beginning of the series was the most impressive, and it was also possible to hike to the top for a view over the surrounding forests.

Aside from magnificent surroundings, Luang Prabang is also well-known for it's large number of monks. We would see them everywhere in their bright saffron robes, though did not take part in the famous gifting of food, which some argue has made an ancient tradition into a tourist spectacle. We did watch and listen as they made their evening prayers, chanting in the deep rumble that is as pleasant as it is transcendental.