The land of a Million Elephants – Laos 2024.
The land of a milion elephants - Laos 2024
Our Laos 2024 photography trip has just concluded and what a wonderful time we all had.
Laos 2024 Photography Tour Group - Image from Leena Das
Welcoming back some familiar faces and also some new friends, we assembled our team of budding photographers in Luang Prabang, the ancient capital of Laos.
After a welcome dinner and some introductions beside the Mekong river in the evening, the team rested for the night before rising early to witness and photograph the daily “alms giving ceremony”.
Image by Jan Pieter.
Whilst in Luang Prabang we managed to take in sunset and sunrise on the Mekong river, sunset on the Phousi Moutain, the morning market in addition to shopping and exploring the night market, plus of course, many of the great restaurants here in the city.
Image by Leena Das
Waterfalls, buffalos and rice.
We then departed for a morning at the stunning Kuang Si waterfalls, a truly spectacular and magical place. A stop to sample Buffalo ice cream, feed some elephants and then on to our first home stay at the rice fields. The family welcomed us to our tree top house overlooking the fields. We learned how to plough and plant rice, plus how to process rice from the field to the plate, a truly interesting process. Once we’d had a go at making rice noodles we could have some dinner. After enjoying the sunset, we sat around the ‘big table’ we all enjoyed the local food, a beer or two, and the environment surrounding us.
Image by Jan Pieter
Image By Diane Cook
Departing for the unexplored north.
After repacking and storing the main luggage we set off for our adventure into the mountains of the north.
Along the way, we stopped to photograph the clouds rising over the mountains and some lovely rice terraces. All whilst observing local life in the villages we passed through. It was quite a long journey to reach our destination, but worth it. This area of Laos is not that accessible and very few westerners ever travel through here.
Image by Jill Toman
Our first overnight stay was a real treat. A luxury resort nestled in the countryside. En-suite bedroom huts accessible via walkways through the jungle and over the streams each with a panoramic window of the river and jungle outside.
Next to the resort was a Khmu Village. The locals there work at the hotel which brings much needed employment for them. Exploring the village in the morning mist was wonderful and the locals there were very friendly and curious to see us.
Image by Matt Arnold
Image by Rita
After breakfast we headed off back to the city nearby to pick up school stationary and treats for the kids in the local villages. We bought books and pens for them as these are always in short supply. Andreea decided to get the kids some footballs and games to play with as well, which they were delighted with. Matt bought drinks for the kids as a treat, we are pretty sure that every kid in the village got one to enjoy.
Image by Jan Pieter
Image by Diane Cook
The locals here are a bit shy and it takes time for them to get to know us and accept us. We are met with a strange curiosity and a little apprehension. The people here are of the Akha tribe and as such animists who traditionally believe that a photograph steals the soul. Luckily our local guide knows them quite well and is friends with the chief of the village and his wife. The wife is quite a force in the village and keeps the kids and ladies in order. We brought them the photographs that we made of them last time and they were delighted to have them. She organised some kids and herself to be photographed again by our group in the local traditional dress. The traditional dress is normally only worn at times of celebration such as new year and weddings etc so it was a real treat and honour for us to be able to see them wearing the full dress and allow us to photograph them.
Image by Andreea
The next honour bestowed upon us was dinner. They killed and cooked a pig for us and we dined in their house with their family and friends. Of course we supplied the beer and a great time was had between us all. We also came across a wedding and were immediately invited in. Of course our group took photos for the new couple, prints of these were made after the trip and have been sent back to the village for them. The wedding celebrations were just getting started, again more pigs being dispatched, the ladies preparing food for the feast. Tables laid with food for the ancestors and departed loved ones. The elders had already started on the local whiskey which we were invited to try. Of course there weren’t many takers for this, but Matt out of respect had a drink or two with them to cement our bond with the village people.
As we explored the village the kids followed us everywhere, hiding when possible and giggling a lot. I think we were a great enjoyment for them. In some respects it was a bit of a shame to leave them to continue our journey. It will be interesting to see how the village develops over the coming years should we be lucky enough to get back there again.
Image by Matt
Boat travel:
Stopping along the way to explore villages where they make rice whiskey (lao-lao), see river weed being made into snacks and stopping to explore the raft bridge made of bamboo we made our way to the town where we could collect our boat. After dinner and a good night’s sleep we got up early to see the local Alms giving ceremony in this town. A much smaller affair than Luang Prabang. The few monks from the local temple walked the main streets took the offerings from the locals and stopped to bless their businesses. In a lot of ways this was a much more intimate experience than in Luang Prabang and as such felt more meaningful.
After breakfast we joined our boat to explorer our way along the Nam Ou river back toward Luang Prabang which was two days away. During the journey we stopped at some small villages which are pretty much only accessible from the river. Again these communities were very welcoming and friendly with us. By lunch time we had arrived at our first stop the weaving village. What a beautiful location, set right beside the river with stunning views of the Nam Ou and mountains. The weaving village supplies most of the goods you might see in the night market in Luang Prabang but also sells them on the street here. Wonderful fabrics and colours galore. I think ladies enjoyed the shopping very much together with interacting with the locals and taking portraits of the people they bought from, fair trade photography as Andreea calls it. In the evening we were invited to feast with the locals and receive blessing and wishes from them. The shaman conducted the ceremony and blessed us, the locals tied cotton around our wrists, and each gave more blessings and wishes to us. A lovely evening.
After leaving the weaving village in the morning we made our way further down the river by boat to the next stopping point. Another small town nestled in the mountains on the crook of the river. Here we hiked to a cave just outside town which was a lovely walk in the sunshine through the countryside. Lunch at the cave beside the river was very idyllic.
Next morning we continued down river for a short time before meeting our minibus again. Unfortunately it’s no longer possible to go by boat all the way along the river because of the dams that have been built. The minibus then took us to the next boat pickup point. Here we got on a boat to cross the river and explorer Pak Ou Caves, the cave of a thousand Buddhas. I am sure there are more than a thousand there. Only on this trip did I find out that anyone is allowed to bring a Buddha there and leave it. Something to remember next time.
Pak Ou Cave Laos - Image by Matt
From Pak Ou cave our final leg was to journey down the Mekong river at sunset back to town. What stunning scenery and no better place to reflect on the experiences we had had along the way, thinking of the people we had met and the sights we had seen as the sun set on the Mekong River, the mother river. A fitting end to a truly magical experience.
Sunset boat ride on the Mekong - Image by Matt
Are you interested in finding out about our next Laos trip and maybe consider joining us? Have a look here and don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions!
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