Our first day in Luang Prabang was as action packed as you could make it. We rode at 5am to take part in the alms giving ceremony in which monks of all ages walk their way to the monasteries and the local people line the streets to hand them food on their way. After visiting the Way Xieng Thong Temple we had a quick breakfast then went back to bed for a nap. At eleven we were collected by a mini van which brought us to the Kuang Si Waterfalls, about an hour drive from the town. We walked up around the waterfall to a viewpoint and to the source before having a swim in the pristine blue water. It was incredible only for the fact that tiny fish bit at your feet anytime you stopped so we didn't stay too long. We headed back to the town & had a quick coffee and walked to the town viewpoint to see the sun set over the town. We were also lucky to spot a double rainbow while a short rain shower passed over us. Starving we headed for the markets and found a buffet street food stall where we had a huge bowl of all kinds of vegetables and noodles for only €1.50. A summer festival started in town that night & then town was buzzing with entertainment. We saw traditional dancing and music and then even took part in some dance lessons. We spent the night wandering through the night markets teaching mum & Siobhan the art of bargaining.

The next morning we were collected at 8am to head to the Elephant Conservation Centre. It was a long journey to the 530 hectare plot they had for their 33 elephants. Each elephant told a different story but the majority had come to them because their previous job was in the logging industry. Four years previously the President of the country had thankfully made logging illegal which resulted in hundreds of unemployed domesticated elephants and their mahouts (their trainer). Becuase of deforestation there was nowhere to put all these elephants who also had no idea how to survive in the wild. So this centre had started with the intention to allow for domesticated elephants to live as natural a life as possible and slowly socialise them with other elephants. They had recently acquired a 200,000 hectare national park that they planned to reintroduce some of the elephants to eventually. We stayed their overnight in little wooden cabins by the lake shore and our two days were filled with educational talks about the elephants welfare, the logging industry and the centre's ethos as well as observing the elephants from a distance, and at one point even coming up close to rub their shoulder. It was a highly memorable experience to be surrounded by such majestic animals.