I really wanted to hang out with some elephants but without the tourist tag attached, so we booked three days at the Elephant Conservation Centre in Sainyabuli. To get there from Luang Prabang we caught a local bus which is always a fun experience. We arrived at the station 1.5 hours prior to leaving so we could get a seat each, as even though we booked tickets with seat numbers, Lao people work on a first-in-first-service basis. Luckily we did get there early as those that came last had to sit on plastic stools in the aisle for four hours! The trip took us through beautiful scenery and many local villages with school children running along the edge of the main road! The road was very hilly and mostly dirt and gravel, but our bus had some meaty wheels to cope with it all! Near the end we had to get on a barge to cross a river which was unexpected and quite fun, especially when the local women came round selling fried crickets and crabs! On arrival in Sainyabuli we were picked up by a TukTuk and driven about 10mins away to the dam where the elephant centre was. We were whisked off in a shallow long boat, admiring the surroundings and enjoying the breeze and brief rain shower on the way!
The elephant centre is set next to the jungle and on the edge of a dam which is perfect for the elephants as they eat 200kg a day and drink 150L a day. We settled into our straw bungalow, complete with double bed, mosquito net (a big must!), and hammock on the deck overlooking the lake! We met our elephants (one each) that we would help care for over the next couple of days. I had a 36 year old male with big white tusks, and Scott had the grumpy-ish old female 67years. They are such graceful animals though. We rode them bare back on their necks as the seats are actually very bad for their backs as their is our processes protrude so much they aren’t protected by any muscle or fat. That first day we had a short 10min ride, feed them sugar cane and watched them take a bath in the lake – it was so cool watching them splash themselves and drink soooo much water! As it was so hot, we took the opportunity to go out in the boat with another visiting couple to take a swim in the middle of the lake, and watch the sunset with some cold beer – perfect end to the day!

The following day we got up early and followed the mahouts into the jungle to get our elephants and bring them back for a bath in the lake. We learnt how to ‘be a mahout’, ie learnt the commands for go, stop, left, right and go backwards. You have to speak quite loudly and repetitively as the elephants are relatively deaf and also so slow! We then went for a trek in the jungle on the back of the elephants to let them have a good feed. The elephants just walked slowly through the jungle eating the whole way and created new paths which was fun but we really had to hold on as they went up and down steep banks and occasionally the bamboo branches they were eating from would fling back in our faces.
They did huge poo’s and wee’s which looked like a big barrel of compost and a fire hose. Riding them was generally comfortable, their big ears flapped hard against our legs, and thick leathery skin was soft but hot. They have a sparse covering of hair over their head which is quite spiked so hard to hold on! That afternoon we took a short boat ride to the nursery to see a baby (3 years old but considered a baby until 4-5 years) and his mum. We chilled out on a small floating hut and watched them bath and play in the water. The little one kept running into his mum’s hind legs which she found very annoying, so gave him big kicks with her hind legs – apparently the ‘don’t approach elephants from behind’ rule applies to their baby’s as well!
Laos means land of a million elephants, however there are comparatively low numbers compared to last century. There are only 850 elephants now, last year there were 27 deaths and only four births. 90% of elephants in Laos work in the forestry industry and earn about $3000 a month for their owners. This means the owners are reluctant to get their females pregnant as they need at least 4 years maternity leave (22 months gestation and 3-4 years raising them) and they obviously miss out on an income during this time. The Elephant Conservation Camp has set up a project called ‘Baby Bonus’ where the owners are given a mini tractor to ‘replace’ the mummy elephant if their elephant gets pregnant. This allows the owners to continue getting an income through ploughing or taking produce to the market. They also give away sperm for free and allow the mahout to live at the centre for free. The other 10% of elephants mostly work in tourism which is an increasing trade due to the decreasing numbers of forests and mechanisation.
The Elephant Conservation Centre’s main job is providing free medical care and treatment to elephants around most of northern Laos. Every month they travel round the country visiting elephants in need. If an unwell elephant is very sick and needs to stay in their hospital, they provides free accommodation and food for the owner and elephant, the owner has to pay for the transport to the centre although sometimes they are close enough to walk.
We visited the hospital and watched my elephant being treated for a small wound round his tusk and ear. We also played with a 9month orphan calf who is living at the hospital after being found wandering in a field without his mum at about 6 months of age. He will grow up at the camp and likely stay there and live in the jungle. He was very cute, his trunk very soft and playful but incredibly strong.
That’s evening we went for another dip in the lake as it was just so hot!
The next morning we went to bring the elephants in from the jungle again and watch them bath. We then chilled out for a couple of hours until our bus back to Luang Prabang at lunchtime. The bus ride took nearly two hours longer than the first trip due to leaving late and waiting for the ferry to have enough room for the bus to fit on it! Scotty found a cheap but very nice guesthouse for us to stay in, which was just a stopover before our 5 hour bus to Vang Vieng the next morning.